James Williams claimed his first victory in his Orange Amplifiers Hyundai i20 N Rally2 on the double header Manx National Rally (10/11 May) – and in doing so scored maximum points on both Rounds 2 and 3 to extend his lead in the Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt Rally Championship.
Co-driven by Ross Whittock, the west Wales driver led the three leg, two day, 15 stage, 127 stage mile event from start to finish.
The dry and fast conditions continued on Saturday, where James extended his lead as the longest leg of the event progressed – eventually winning the famous Isle of Man event in his Pirelli-shod Hyundai by an incredible 4mins 04.5secs. He now has a perfect Protyre Asphalt score of 90 points after three rounds.
Former Manx winner Hugh Hunter returned to the event after his big accident last year and was bravely up to speed very quickly.
The Ruthin driver lost Round 2 points when he dropped from second to fifth on the final Friday night stage after spinning on some loose gravel, hitting a wall and removing most of the lights on his Robert Hunter & Son Tarmac/Lewis & Hunter Contracting Fiesta Rally2.
He and co-driver Rob Fagg had a good run on Saturday to collect second-placed points and finished the event third overall.
Callum Black made an uncharacteristic mistake on Leg 1 after cutting a corner, hitting rock and bending the steering on the opening stage in his Pallas Connections Fiesta Rally2 – which contributed to a very time-consuming spin on SS4.
This left last year’s Manx winner and defending Protyre Asphalt champion down in ninth (eighth Protyre Asphalt) after the first four stages, a minute behind the leaders. He and Jack Morton fought back brilliantly later in the day, setting fastest time on three out of the four stages that ran on Friday night to propel themselves back up to second after Leg 2.
Simon Bowen/Craig Simkiss brushed a wall on Friday and were fortunate to only scuff a wheel rim as they raced to fourth-placed points on Round 2 in their Fiesta S2000T. They had an equally fast run on Saturday, taking home sixth-placed points and moving the Preston pilot up from fifth to third in the overall drivers’ standings.
After a self-confessed and rare “blunder” on the opening stage, Darren Atkinson was thereafter back to his masterful 2WD best – setting an incredible fourth fastest time overall on SS8 on his way to another batch of maximum Protyre Asphalt class B13 points and a very impressive sixth in the overall drivers’ standings.
Further up north Elliot Payne was back at his usual best to win the Border Counties Rally. Leading the event from start to finish, he and co-driver Patrick Walsh won the event by nearly 30 seconds over their nearest rivals Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear.
The defending Welsh Rally Champions couldn’t keep up with the pace of Payne’s fiesta R5 and had to settle a decent second place.
Third was Liam Clarke and Emily Page after a competitive battle for the final podium spot with Ross Thompson and Stephen Link in the Evo 9.
Steve Bannister claimed top honours in the historic class in the MK2 escort and 16th overall.
