Lewana Stages Review
Based around the Town of Balingup and run
through the Grimwade plantation, this year's Lewana Stages rally was again hosted by
the Ascott Motor Club.
The Lewana Stages is traditionally an event
run on fast compacted gravel roads. The twisty stages and crests around the hills and
valleys of the forests makes the event a favourite for many competitors.
With the absence of substantial rain in
the area to help compact the roads, the stages were going to be slightly loose and dusty.
The latter would hamper some competitors as the day progressed.
Wednesday night scrutineering showed who was
contesting the rally. Some competitors had not managed to repair their cars from the
Forest Rally. Alex Stone and Dianna Madlener lined up as car 1 (after replacing the
engine), sweeping the roads for other competitors. Craig Bignell and Joan Percival,
winners of round 1 of WARC were seeded car 2 in their Evo III. John Macara and Glenn
Martinovich in their Evo III were car 3 and Jackie and Dennis Dunlop in their
Immaculate, works looking Evo VII slotted in as car 4. A little further back, Simon
Lowther and Jeremy Coleman in their Subaru Legacy had to withdraw before the rally
had started, with what would seem the simplest of problems. Simon had unfortunately
contracted Chicken Pox. Nick Box made a welcome return to rallying with Todd Payne in
their new Toyota Corolla Levin. On the Clubman side of things, Murray and Jemma Cornish
brought their Quick Datsun 1600 out for a run, Gary Whittle and Troy Mahony also
running a Datsun 1600 lined up. Mark Travers experienced at Autocross, however
relatively new to rallying paired up with David Jenkins and brought out his ex-
Lowther Corolla for a spin.
At the Saturday morning drivers'
briefing a minute's silence was held in memory of a great competitor and friend to
many, George Ellis. George had suffered a long illness and sadly passed away a few
days before the rally. He will be best remembered for his gentle nature and flying antics
in his Daihatsu Charade GTTI.
For state competitors, 11 stages laid ahead
in the Grimwade plantation. Clubman competitors would complete 6. Stage 1 was a quick
blast through the forest with a short section of tarmac at the spectator point. Most
competitors had little trouble with the first stage. The lack of rains had made the
normally compacted roads looser than expected. The first corner of the first stage brought
a couple of competitors unstuck. Cold tyres and cold brakes caused both Karl
Drummond/Trevor Brewer (Mazda Familia) and Kevin Sleep/Alex Kirkhouse(Honda Civic) to
spin in the same place. Derek Reddie and David Leighton ended their rally early on SS1
with mechanical failure. Drummond/Brewer did not end their woes with the spin on SS1. Half
way through the stage the Mazda lost 2nd, 4th and Reverse gears making the first three
stages very slow. The problem could not be rectified until the first service. Matt Green
and Brian D'Arcy (Corolla FX) had a Terratrip failure losing them valuable time. Steve
Oxley and Sally Flintoff (WRX) also retired early with mechanical failure. A hasty
swap of trip computers from Oxley/Flintoff at the first service saw Green/D'Arcy
running at full tilt for the rest of the rally.
As the stages continued, the speeds rose
along with the list of retirments. The fast flowing roads saw the top 5 competitors
swapping times and places. Bignell, Stone, Dunlop, Macara & Anderson all had their
hats in the ring. Lee Mcilroy and Steve Vass didn't fair so well on this year's Lewana,
retiring their WRX after just 2 stages. Shane Eather and David Burton had a huge
moment on SS4. They launched their Subaru Legacy into a large culvert, damaging the
suspension and bending a lower control arm. The arm was speedily changed by their service
crew however not before it had been dragged through SS 4,5 &6. Stone/Madlener had to
bow out at the end of SS6. The car hadn't suffered any troubles, unfortunately Dianna
Madlener fell ill. The Andersons both retired their respective Lancers, Chris
retiring after SS6 and Mike after SS8. A disappointing end to Anderson and
Chudleigh's rally after setting a fastest stage time in SS8.
Box/Payne were setting blitzing stage times
throughout the rally. Having nominated for Clubman points, the pair took the Clubman win
by the points at rally's end and ninth outright in the State. Travers/Jenkins,
entered in the Clubman only section took the Clubman trophy. Toby Heyring & Peter
Turner put in a fantastic effort as novices in their Lantra to finish second in the
Clubman only entrants too.
As the temp cooled and the sun slid behind
the hills, competitors were faced with competition into the night. The last two stages for
the day would require lights and for some be a tough test. Grimwade and Balingup tend
to get rather damp after sunset. Without a breeze and the onset of heavy dew, the dusty
stages were creating a floating curtain of mud in places. With Stone out of the rally,
Bignell was first away after service. SS10 was to be the longest stage of the day at 28km.
It may well have worked to the favour of Bignell/Percival being first on the road. They
set the fastest stage time, clearing the stage 13 seconds quicker than Macara/Martinovich.
From then on the times started to climb. In some places the thick dust was better
tackled with the spotlights off and only the use of low beam. Green/D'Arcy were the
exception. Throwing caution to the wind, the Corolla screamed through the stage, setting
the 11th fastest stage time. A mammoth effort considering their road position.
The last stage was a short sprint to the
finish. Scramble Rd 2 (SS11) was a little over 3 km long with almost a 1 km straight at
the start. Being the second pass over the stage, didn't help most competitors. The thick
dust and the risk of putting a car off the road near the end of the rally kept most
of the times in the three minute bracket. Being first on the road gave Bignell/Percival
the stage win, with Macara/Martinovich nipping at their heels. Drummond/Brewer were
struggling yet again. Half way through SS10 the rear suspension in their Mazda started to
give trouble. Inspection at the start of SS11 revealed a broken rear strut. The crew
managed to get the car to the finish, ending 18th.
Sleep/Kirkhouse (Civic), Anderson/Rowston
(Corolla FX) & Green/D'Arcy had tussled most of the day. They finished the day in
13th, 14th and 17th place respectively.
Despite Eather/Burton's earlier troubles they
finished the rally 6th outright. Doug Tostevin & Alan Cook (Subaru Legacy) finished
5th, Brad Markovic & Jon Mortimer (Subaru WRX) were home in 4th. Equal 2nd
honours went to Dunlop/Dunlop and Macara/Martinovich whilst Bignell/Percival took their
second win in as many rallies.
After 2 rounds, Craig Bignell leads the
state championship on 38 points. Brad Markovic is second with 23 points, Doug Tostevin is
third (21 points), Shane Eather is fourth (17 points) and in equal 5th place are Dennis
Dunlop and John Macara on 15 points.
Round 3 of the state championship is now fast
approaching. The Light Car Club Sotico Safari Rally is due to be conducted on the
Foundation day long weekend, June 6th in and around the town of Boddington.
For results, pictures and video footage of
the Lewana Stages and all other rallies in the WA championships, see the Rally WA Website:
www.rallywa.com
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