Morrow takes second Evo Challenge win by narrowest of margins

• Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge - Round Two

• Brick & Steel Border Counties Rally – 24th March 2007

• Phillip Morrow beats Sebastian Ling by just 0.1 second!

• …and Julian Reynolds finishes third by 0.8 second.

• Mitsubishi crews take top six Group N places.

Phillip Morrow, co-driven by his brother Simon, won this weekend's round two of the Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge - the Brick & Steel Border Counties Rally - by just one-tenth of a second. They now hold a healthy seven point lead in the championship.

Less than one second separated the top three crews in round two of this year’s Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge, the Brick & Steel Border Counties Rally, when Phillip Morrow co-driven by his brother Simon, clinched victory ahead of Sebastian Ling /Aled Rees by just one tenth of a second, with Julian Reynolds/Patrick Walsh only eight tenths of a second behind them. For Morrow it was a case of déja-vu, as he won the Evolution Challenge on this rally two-years ago by the same minute margin - but to have the top three crews all within 0.9 second made this the closest podium finish in the championship’s seven-year history. Such is the competitiveness of the Evolution Challenge, the top 10 Mitsubishis were separated by less than a minute and-a-half!

The rally started and finished in Jedburgh and featured 60 miles split into eight stages in Kielder Forest. As well as the Mitsubishi series, the event also represented the second round of the Hankook MSA Gravel Rally Championship, with 45 teams starting the National A event, 21 (47%) of which were Evo Challenge entries.

The first test, a 7.3 mile run over Ogre Hill, saw David Bogie steal the rush on the 20 other Mitsubishis, setting a blistering time 2.5 seconds ahead of Ling – good enough to put him in fifth place overall, with Morrow and Reynolds no more than a second behind.

First to hit problems was Jonny Milner, who had two wires drop onto the exhaust pipe and weld themselves together, causing a fuse to blow and the car to stop – just one mile into the stage! After much activity under the bonnet the former British Champion got the car going again and collected the bogie time, but subsequently lost over seven minutes.

Stage two, a four-mile blast through Redesdale, was covered quickest by Reynolds –again just fractions of seconds separating him from the other leading Evo runners. At the first service halt of the day the Mitsubishi standings read: Bogie, Reynolds, Ling and Morrow. However, they were not alone, as just a handful of seconds behind them were Daniel Barry and Nik Elsmore, both ready to pounce if the others faultered.

Making regular trips from Spain to compete in this year’s Evo Challenge, Alex Sabater was bitterly disappointed to retire for the second time in as many events when his car’s engine overheated. Wayne Sisson’s excellent start was spoilt when a problem with his car’s rear differential slowed him on stage two, necessitating it being replaced at the service halt.

An 11-mile run through Simonside forest and a repeat of the Redesdale stage were next on the agenda and, to show what might have been, Milner recorded the fastest time on SS3. Second fastest on this stage was Errol Clarke – another youngster showing great potential in this season’s Evolution Challenge. Morrow and Bogie both collected front punctures after hitting the same stone three miles from the end, Morrow hardly dropping any time, but Bogie lost a frustrating 15 seconds - and the lead.

With a fastest time on SS4 Morrow went into the lead, albeit only 0.7 seconds ahead of Reynolds and then Ling. Bogie was now in fourth, followed by Barry, Clarke and Elsmore who all reported good runs, although admitting to be looking for more speed in order to get closer to the leading quartet.

Not having a good day was Connor McCloskey, who was surprisingly down on pace although driving well, his loss of speed traced to a split turbo pipe. But his rally didn’t get any better, when the car’s jack broke when changing a wheel in SS5 and he went over his maximum time limit.

As it turned out, stage five – nine miles called Pennine Way, provided no advantage to any of the leading Mitsubishi crews, as 11 of them beat the bogie time and were therefore all accredited with exactly the same number of minutes and seconds.

It was a similar story for SS6, but for a different reason. With many of the competitors held up in the stage because of a previous car crashing and blocking the road, the leading teams were all allocated the same notional time. However, Morrow had got through the stage before the accident, recording a time 10 seconds quicker than anyone else, but a 10-second penalty for clipping a cone marking a chicane leveled out his short-lived advantage.

The end of stage six heralded the retirement of another of the Mitsubishi championship’s overseas competitors, Daniel Siguroarson from Iceland ending an excellent run on his first time with the Evo Challenge, after loosing the alternator/water-pump/power-steering drive-belt somewhere in the stage.

Others having problems were Richard Hill who’s solid run was hampered by a puncture and consequent wheel-change. Also Alan Carmichael, who lost the bolts out of his rear differential casing when he hit a series of rough sections, but still managed to nurse his car to the finish. Not so fortunate was Jonathan Sparks who’s gearbox cried enough at the end of SS6.

In contrast, Neil McCance was keeping out of trouble and getting quicker as the event went on, as was Thomas Naughton who reported that he was finding it difficult to maintain a steady pace over the rougher sections of road.

Because of the delay in SS6, organizers decided to cancel the eighth and final stage, meaning that the 11.5-miles through Harwood Forest was the final test of the day. In an attempt to overhaul Morrow, Ling blasted through stage seven to record the fastest Evo Challenge time, followed closely by Elsmore, with Morrow, Reynolds and Bogie between two-and-three seconds behind them.

With times so close is wasn’t until crews returned to Jedburgh for the finish that the final results emerged – and what a finish - Morrow the Evolution Challenge winner by just 0.1 second from Ling, with Reynolds 0.8 second behind him.

“I can’t believe I’ve won again by a tenth of a second on this event”, said a somewhat surprised yet happy Phillip Morrow at the finish. “To take two wins so early in the season is great news, but after having punctures and with it being so close I have to admit that luck was on our side today.”

Morrow also collected maximum points in the PIAA Junior category, with Bogie second and Stephen Petch third of the six under 25 year-old drivers that started the event.

The Evolution Cup for nearer-to-standard Group N Lancers also saw the same winner as round one, Miles Johnston claiming his second victory. However, he was pushed all the way by Ferran Font from Andorra, another overseas driver making a welcome debut to the Mitsubishi series. After overcoming a few problems, Mark I’Anson was pleased to complete the Evo Cup podium and score his first points of the season.

The Evolution Challenge offers drivers what is widely regarded as the best prize in British rallying – the chance to become a Mitsubishi works driver in the 2008 British Rally Championship.

Also included in this year’s Mitsubishi championship are the Pirelli and Performance Friction Brakes Cups.

The series is backed by Mitsubishi Motors UK Ralliart, with support from its associate sponsors: Pirelli, PIAA, Speedline Corse, Sparco, Performance Friction Brakes, Shell Helix and Tesco 99 Octane - suppliers of the controlled fuel for the championship.

Results

Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge Round Two
1 Phillip Morrow (Lisburn)/Simon Morrow (Lisburn) – 0:55:12.3
2 Sebastian Ling (Llandysul)/Aled Rees (Crymych) – 0:55:12.4
3 Julian Reynolds (Narberth)/Patrick Walsh (Aberystwyth) – 0:55:13.2
4 David Bogie (Dumfries)/Rob Fagg (Isle of Man) – 0:55:40.4
5 Nik Elsmore (Coleford)/Vicky Allen (Denbigh) – 0:55:53.3
6 Wayne Sisson (Carnforth)/Daniel Stone (Chesterfield) – 0:56:13.6
7 Stephen Petch (Richmond)/Michael Wilkinson (Tow Law) – 0:56:22.6
8 Neil McCance (Coomber)/Sean Moriarty (Kerry) – 0:56:26.7
9 Errol Clark (Irvinestown)/Craig Parry (Llanymynech) – 0:56:29.0
10 Daniel Barry (Enniskerry)/Mark Bowens (Cork) – 0:56:39.2
11 Thomas Naughton (Bury)/Horace Saville (Bury) - 0:59:36.3
12 Jonny Milner (Huggate)/Ian Windress (Northallerton) – 1:02:51.9
13 Richard Hill (Chesterfield)/Aled Davis (Llanelli) - 1:03:02.5
14 Alan Carmichael (Ballymena)/Ivor Lamont (Ballymena) – 1:03:03.0

Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Cup

1 Miles Johnstone (York)/Ian Bevan (Wrexham) – 0:59:04.3
2 Ferran Font (Andorra)/Miquel Amblas (Spain) – 1:00:28.1
3 Mark I’Anson (Haydon Bridge)/Graeme Walker (Henley) – 1:02:19.0

Retirements

SS2 Alex Sabater (Barcelona)/ Chris Thirling (Wickham) - Overheating
SS5 Connor McCloskey (Lirea)/Damian Connelly (Monaghan) – Jack
SS6 Jonathan Sparks (Glastonbury)/Bradley Magnus (Downham Market) – Gearbox
SS6 Daniel Siguroarson (Iceland)/Isak Guojonsson (Iceland) - Drivebelt

Championship Positions

PIAA Junior Award
1 Phillip Morrow 10
2 Stephen Petch 6
3 David Bogie 6
4 Connor McCloskey 4
5 Danny Barry 2
6 Errol Clarke 2


2007 Evolution Challenge Calendar
 

The Championship organisers reserve the right to amend the series calendar in the event of a rally being cancelled or due to other unforeseen circumstances.

Webmaster - webmaster@bordercountiesrally.co.uk