1995 Bullnose Rally

Crossborder Rally 1995

With the route stretching from map 98 in the west to map 100 in the east, there were plenty of opportunities to contrast the high open fell roads with the more technical lowland lanes. Mist in the valleys gave way to dense fog on the higher roads, in places crews were reduced to walking pace as the visibility plummeted. Accurate map reading was the order of the day with missed slots proving to be very costly.

Despite the fog most crews were able to clean the first standard section which took in the white along side the river at Bolton-on-Swale. The route first headed east, passing south of Northallerton to SS7 at the top of Sutton Bank.

The route then took in some old time classic sections including the enormous ford at Caydale Mill, and the very much not as map descent of White Horse Bank. Despite these, three crews managed to remain clean at petrol, Kingsley/PRAR, Lewis/Burns, and Hoyles/Tullie, more a testimony to accurate navigation rather than outright speed in the fog. With the fog making things hard for the drivers, the navigators were relieved to receive straight forward hand-outs (the usual tulips and herringbones etc. with some unmarked triangles to be traversed).

With their usual Nova crying off the Pashleys found themselves stuck. A scratch pairing between Ian Phillips/Richard Pashley was arranged at short notice, but this was not to work out. They were last seen examining the engine of Phillips' Firenza, reportedly having lost some oil. They were just one of the four crews to retire in the first half.

The first section out from petrol was to put the cat amongst the pigeons. The navigation was a bit tough, given the conditions, and as a result the penalties mounted. Hoyles/Tullie posted the best time at the end of the section, a whopping nine minutes late on a five minute section. No other crew were able to get into single figures, although Kingsley/PRAR and Lewis/Burns tied for second place with 10. Hoyles/Tullie extended their lead by cleaning the next section, with both Kingsley/PRAR and Lewis/Burns dropping a minute.

The section just south of Aysgarth was to prove decisive. Taking in the traditional whites at Flanders Hall and Thorlaby the short section was uncleanable, with Lewis/Burns proving fastest only dropping two minutes. Kingsley/PRAR had slight wrong slot which dropped them an additional minute. Fairing slightly worse Hoyles/Tullie missed the loop at Flanders Hall. Going back for the codeboard cost them an extra 4 minutes and demoted them to third on the road.

With the next section regularity taking in the long Redmire white most crews only dropped a few minutes and there was no change to the order. The final section was to include some of the roads around the well known Downholme stage, west of Catterick, however a closed gate lead to the times being discarded and the rally was over.

Only at the finish did the adverse judge of fact report become apparent. This handed the win to Kingsley/PRAR, leaving Hoyles/Tullie to curse their indiscretion at Aysgarth. They did have some consolation in a good haul of ANCC championship points, allowing them to close up on the Pashleys.

PRAR

Final Results: