After a stellar start on Friday night, it looked as though David Crossen was on course to make it three BHRC victories on the bounce.
The Northern Irishman, partnered by Ben Teggart, edged out Will Rowlands by just one second over two passes of the packed Dunoon Town Centre Stage before heading into the treacherous lanes of the Cowal Peninsula under cover of darkness.
Despite the fading light and increasingly technical roads, Crossen was a force to be reckoned with, winning four of the five night stages to build a commanding 25-second advantage heading into Saturday. The Escort MKII driver looked untouchable, even with the Scottish lanes providing little margin for error.
Rowlands, though, was quietly regaining his rhythm. Contesting only his second BHRC event of the season, the Welshman was easing back into the groove with Emyr Hall alongside, and by Saturday morning, he was fired up.
Right from the first stage of the day, Rowlands went on the offensive, slashing eight seconds off Crossen’s lead on the opening test and continuing to chip away over the next four stages.
By the penultimate stage before service, Rowlands had brought the gap down to just four seconds, setting up a thrilling climax between the two Escort MKIIs.
Sadly, the duel would end not on the stages, but beside them. Crossen was heartbreakingly forced to retire before the start of the Whistlefield stage with mechanical issues, ending his charge and handing the advantage to Rowlands.
From there, Rowlands managed the remainder of the event to claim his first-ever BHRC overall and Category 3 [cars registered between 1975 and 1981] win, a well-earned reward on his comeback season.
Paul Thompson and Josh Davison kept out of trouble in their Escort MKII to secure a fine second place overall and in Category 3, despite Thompson’s lack of recent asphalt mileage. Third went to Nick Kitching and Josh Carr, who enjoyed a strong Scottish run to round out the podium.
In Category 4 [cars registered between 1982 and 1990], it was a weekend to remember for newcomers John Marshall and Craig Wallace, who guided their eye-catching BMW M3 to their maiden class win.
