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Sykes breaks Swift Sport Cup victory drought

The MSA British Rally Championship’s Swift Sport Cup contested the Toddsleap.com Ulster International Rally this weekend, Richard Sykes and Simon Taylor relieved to take their first win of the 2009 season.

The pair set six fastest times over the thirteen stages, stage ten being cancelled due to an earlier accident, leading from start to finish on the 127 mile event. But crucially the Stourbridge driver’s early pace was sufficient to build over a minute cushion, which allowed him to cruise the final stages when niggling gear selection problems worsened.

His relief came after a season of fast times interspersed with frustrating transmission related retirements and an off on the Jim Clark, but he was nonetheless pleased with the result on such a demanding event.

“The gear cables had become slack as the event went on,” he explained, “and I was praying that the final stage would be cancelled after the earlier accident. So we had to keep everything crossed as we drove through it; we'd lost second and fourth gears by the end even with a dozen cable ties holding it all together. I'm delighted but it was a definite relief to get to the finish.”

Manx youngster David Harrison and his Welsh co-driver Glyn Thomas hung on to the leader throughout the event. The closing darkness of Friday’s final two stages had proved difficult though, the support bracket breaking on the jumps on stage five, leaving the lights bouncing around in the darkness of the day’s final stage.

The previous event’s winners Like Pinder and Peter Scott had a dreadful event after clipping a bank on the very first stage. A tight muddy corner caught out the 25 year-old Yorkshireman and the resultant damage forced them to stop at the roadside with bent suspension and a broken driveshaft.

Despite being able to re-start on Saturday, the massive sixty minute penalty for missing all of Friday’s stages meant they pottered round for points, Scott stating that his 60th birthday on the Sunday would bring a bus pass that would enable him to travel faster!

Gordon Nichol and Emma Morrison needed a good finish to maintain their twelve point lead in the series after Rally Isle of Man. This they achieved, taking a useful third place with four fastest stage times on the event. Their first stage was marred, however, when they lost around forty seconds when they came across Pinder’s stricken car, slowed to a standstill by Scott on the preceding corner, before realising that the stage was not blocked. Saturday was eventful too, the crew careering through a gate which had been knocked down by an earlier car, fortunate only to clip a pallet and lose around 45 seconds turning round in the wet field.

Australian Molly Taylor continued her first full season competing in the UK, learning all the time on unfamiliar tarmac. She and co-driver Jemma Bellingham drove a deliberately cautious Ulster, choosing wet pattern Pirellis over slicks in the changeable weather, after a big off in the Isle of Man on slippery damp asphalt. Aside from an odd overshoot, the pair drove a sensible and controlled event, now lying second overall and leading Junior driver, the winner of this category assured a place in the Pirelli Star Driver shootout at the end of the season.

Her result was also sufficient to secure the 2009 MSA British Ladies Rally Championship title, a prestigious award which is presented alongside the overall British Rally Championship, Junior and Teams’ trophies at the Royal Automobile Club in London

Not having such a good event was Nick Everard, the 21 year-old suffering with an upset stomach from the outset. The gruelling and bumpy nature of the stages caused he and co-driver Chris Davies to stop on the third test, Torr Head, losing over a minute while he overcame a bout of sickness. This, coupled with gear selection problems early on and an overshoot on Saturday, left them fifth, but credit was certainly due for the youngster’s perseverance as he still looked decidedly grey by Saturday’s finish.

The six finishers split over £1300 in prize money on the tough event, Sykes taking £500 for his win, £300 for Harrison and £200 for Nichol, with cash for every finisher paid out at the end of season awards ceremony. To date the Swift Sport Cup will pay out nearly £6000 in prize money at the awards, but the main goal is the end of season title, still attainable by the top four on the final event, International Rally Yorkshire on September 26th.

Ulster International Rally Swift Sport Cup results
Pos
Driver
Co-driver
Nat
Time

1
Richard Sykes
Simon Taylor
GB/GB
2:13:30.5

2
David Harrison
Glyn Thomas
GB/GB
2:14:32.9

3
Gordon Nichol
Emma Morrison
GB/GB
2:15:09.2

4
Molly Taylor
Jemma Bellingham
AUS/GB
2:21:41.4

5
Nick Everard
Chris Davies
GB/GB
2:22:40.8

6
Luke Pinder
Peter Scott
GB/GB
3:14:36.8

Swift Sport Cup provisional points
1
Gordon Nichol
GB
84

2
Molly Taylor
AUS
70

3
Luke Pinder
GB
69

4
David Harrison
GB
54

5
Richard Sykes
GB
50

6
Nicolas Everard
GB
44

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