| Rear wheel drive cars dominated the final Clubman rally for 2005, the Light
Car Club Darling 200.
Running a 2L MK 2 Ford Escort, Dave Thomas and Paul Church
set fastest stage times on four of the six special stages to claim their first Clubman
rally win.
Warm, dry and windy conditions greeted competitors and
officials on this year’s Darling. The loose, dusty gravel in the Jarrahdale forests
took it’s toll on some during the day.
Gary Whittle and Sharon Black (Datsun 1600) were at a
disadvantage from the outset being car one on the road, their first stage time was 15th
fastest. Thomas/Church started their run of fastest stage times from SS1. Trevor Chudleigh
paired with Mark Butcher in a Toyota Corolla were second quickest through SS1 and
continued that form for the next three stages. Daniel and Tamara Adams (Celica) were
forced out of the rally early with mechanical problems in SS1 whilst the Youth Team’s
problems were a little more serious. Haydn Green and Krystal Kowalik were on their first
rally. Their Youth Team Daihatsu Charade left the road during SS1 and had a heavy frontal
impact with a tree, spelling early retirement.
Like SS1, SS2 was a relatively short stage. The two front
teams repeated their results, leaving the others battling it out in their wake. Lea
Welch/Justin Smith managed a third fastest time in SS2, although luck was not to be with
the pair on this event. Jon Nannen and Alyson Flood had suspension problems with their
Charade in SS2 and eventually had to retire.
The longer SS3 was claiming a few victims. First to come to
grief was Welch/Smith. On a tight twisty section of the stage, the pair collected several
stumps, spinning their Mk 1 Escort and finally landing the car on it’s side. Both
were uninjured in the crash, however the car will need some serious attention before next
year. David and Tina Gould retired with a broken alternator in their Honda Civic. Neal
Johnson/Richard Harris (Datsun 180B) also had to withdraw after SS3 with clutch problems.
The next few stages seemed to see the list of retirements
plateau. Chudleigh/Butcher shared a stage win in SS5 with husband and wife team Kingsley
and Ros Foster (Toyota Celica). Nigel Anderson/Alex Kirkhouse was second quickest through
SS5 starting what looked like a late charge. It didn’t end well for the duo when a
driveshaft broke in SS6, and the Corolla stopped mid stage.
Surprising some, the VW Golf of Jamie Trainer and John Knox
won SS6 with Steven Davies and David Abetz second in their Corolla.
Duetime were quick to post results. Chard Marshall/Matthew
Richards (Datsun 1600) were tenth, Matt Green/Brian D’Arcy were ninth in their
Corolla and Trainer/Knox were eighth. Whittle/Black recovered on the latter stages and
finished seventh, Ros and Kingsley Foster were sixth, just 11 seconds behind Ben
Searcy/Clint Simmons (Suzuki Swift) in fifth. Julian Wright and Jeff Huggins brought their
Datsun 1200 to fourth place. Davies/Abetz made the podium in third behind
Chudleigh/Butcher in second and Thomas/Church in first.
The Clubman Series had already been decided prior to the
start of the Darling 200. James Anderson and Jon Coney were first with 60 points winning
the series after the Rally Australia Trial Event. The results from the Darling 200 seeing
a tie for second place emerge in the series. Ros/Kinglsey Foster and Steven Davies/David
Abetz were equal second on 40 points and David Thomas/Paul Church third with 35 points.
Karl Drummond
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