Opportunity knocks for Bellerby

Several times during the 2006 season Lotus Exige driver Dave Bellerby (Northallerton) was close enough to the championship leading Supercar racers to make it clear that, given the right opportunity, he could win an event.

In the first round of the 2007 Kumho Tyres MSA British Rallycross Championship Bellerby got that chance and became the first driver of a two-wheel drive car to win a British championship event in 20 years.

Prior to Bellerby finding himself in a position to win there was heartbreak for Andrew Jordan (Sutton Coldfield) who had dominated the event. Jordan had set fastest time in each of the three qualifying heats and then led the Supercar A final from start to finish in his Ford Focus. At the start of the Superfinal John McCluskey (Dublin) edged ahead before Jordan struck back and took the lead entering the first corner. Jordan’s superb run in the event came to an abrupt end when his car lost drive in the middle of the turn.
“I’m not sure what broke, but the car lost drive and I stopped in the corner, McCluskey went over the front of me and Steve Hill hit me from behind, it wasn’t his fault, in the dust he didn’t see me,” said Jordan. “I’m very disappointed because we dominated it today and it was my race. I’m looking forward to round two at Pembrey now.”

The Superfinal was halted to allow the cars of Jordan and Hill to be removed from the track and in the restart McCluskey led from “Mad Mark” (Barnard Castle) and Dermot Carnegie (Dublin). McCluskey’s car had also been damaged in the earlier incident and handling problems caused a second lap spin which put McCluskey and Carnegie out of the race.This incident left “Mad Mark” in the led with George Tracey (Mullingar) running second and Bellerby third. With both of the first two cars also having sustained damage in the earlier incidents, it took Bellerby little more than a lap to split the pair and soon after that he was looking for the lead. The first time he went ahead “Mad Mark” immediately retook the the position, but Bellerby was successful in his second attempt, cutting past the leader at the North Bend before, to the delight of the capacity crowd, easing out a small lead to win.“I realised at the start that the leaders weren’t getting away from me,” said Bellerby. “The Lotus was handling superbly and I felt sure I could win it.”Tracey eventually finished second ahead of “Mad Mark”, Belgian Luc Maris , leading Stock Hatch racer Julian Godfrey (Heathfield) and Pat Doran (Milstead) whose challenge in the finals had been blunted by gearbox problems in his Ford Fiesta ST.

Junior Rallycross
Samantha Thom (Cookstown) won the Bill Gwynne Rallyschool Junior Rallycross Championship event in her first start in the championship. The former kart racer signalled her intent by setting fastest time in the first qualifying heat. Starting third in the A final, Thom passed George Tracey Jnr. (Mullingar) and then racer leader Ben Rennison (Richmond) to take the win.

Stock Hatch
Current champion Julian Godfrey (Heathfield) had been planning a move to the SuperModified category for 2007, but with his new car not yet ready started the season in the Stock Hatch in association with Yokohama championship. Fastest in all three qualifying heats, Godfrey led the A final from start to finish, leading home Ash Simpson (York), Tony Lynch (Wigan) and Polish driver Wozciech Bialowas who started his first full season of British championship events with a strong points scoring result.

Tonhire.com 40th Anniversary Classic Rallycross
Welshman Malcolm Davies (Haverfordwest) emerged as the best of the ten drivers in the Tonhire.com Classic Rallycross event run as part of the activities marking the 40th anniversary of the first Rallycross event. More than 250 former drivers, officials and sponsors were guests at the event, among them Robert Reed, the television producer who conceived the idea that became Rallycross.

BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship
The first round of the BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship took place alongside the British championship. Dave Baines (Tarporley) took his first win in the Stock Hatch category at the wheel of his Citroën Saxo. Ben Rennison (Richmond) won the Junior section and David Brown (Wickford) took the win in the SuperModified category with his Mazda RX7.

The second round of the BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship takes place at Blyton in North Lincolnshire on April 22 before the series rejoins the British championship schedule at Pembrey in May.

2007 Kumho Tyres MSA British Rallycross Championship
Mon. Apr 9 Lydden
Mon. May 7 Pembrey
Mon. May 28 Lydden
Sun. Jul 1 Pembrey
Sun. Aug 5 Knockhill
Mon. Aug 27 Lydden
Sun. Oct 14 Mondello Park (IRL)
Sun. Oct 21 Croft