1994 British Rallycross Championship
For the British Rallycross Championship, 1994 was a year of change. Not only was it taken under the wing of the BRSCC, it also brought together direct competition between the European Rallycross Championship-legal supercars and the redundant Group B rally cars. Finally it produced the first ever winner from outside the UK in Irishman Dermot Carnegie.
The two main players in the British series for 1994 were from Ireland, Dermot Carnegie and Denis Biggerstaff, both driving
MG Metro 6R4's. Carnegie almost made the crown in 1993 but this year he got it right.
Carnegie won the opening round at Brands Hatch despite the efforts of Biggerstaff and defending champion Mike Turpin but come Croft in April Denis was dominant in his P&O Ferries Metro. The next two rounds were across the pond at Nutts Corner and Mondello Park in Ireland, it was Biggerstaff scoring the high points, despite a roll in the first heat at Mondello, with Turpin claiming 2nd places just as he had done at Croft. However, the Ulsterman's luck ran out at Lydden for round five when his crankshaft broke in the third heat and he was forced to sit out the final and watch
Will Gollop take a maiden win with his new Peugeot 306. While Gary Baker and Trevor Hopkins finished behind Gollop, Carnegie was quietly collecting more points at every round.
With three rounds to run, Pembrey saw Carnegie take pole for the 'A' final but lose out to Biggerstaff at the flag. Despite broken suspension, Denis still hauled the Metro to the flag in 1st place in the Superfinal too, just winning from Dermot and fellow Irishman John Maloney in another Metro 6R4. So it was up to Anglesey and Ty Cross, where the Superfinal was abandoned following a first corner pile-up which eliminated most of the field! Consequently a result was declared from the starting positions, giving overall victory to modified 1600 runner Mick Bird, in a Corsa! Although Turpin took his first 'A' Final win of the year, a result in the Superfinal was needed to keep his title hopes alive.
Going into the final round at Croft, Carnegie was just one point ahead of Biggerstaff and whoever finished higher would win the title but, unbelievably, at the end of the day neither driver scored in the Superfinal. Carnegie spun on the first lap of the 'A' Final and then broke the suspension after clashing with Nick Jones, while Biggerstaff was delayed by Rob Gibson and wasn't quick enough to qualify for the Superfinal. The score therefore stood at 90 points in Carnegie's favour to Biggerstaff's 89, with Turpin collecting 3rd place with 78, it couldn't have been closer!
The Showroom class was all about 22-year-old Nick Jones in the new STP Escort Cosworth, the Hereford driver taking back-to-back titles after winning five straight events. Despite losing out to Bill Skermer at Pembrey when he lost second and third gears, he had done enough for the crown. Skermer finished 2nd from Tony Bardy (Nissan Sunny GTi-R), Tony Bell (Toyota Celica Turbo) and Rob Coates (Nissan Sunny GTi-R).
Ulster resident Kevin Sherry (Suzuki Swift) took the 1400cc Showroom category just ahead of main opponent Ian Brooks (Citroen AX Sport) and a long way clear of Sohrab Padidar-Nazar in a similar Citroen and Cecil Haffey (Suzuki Swift), who was runner-up in the final three rounds.
The two modified titles were settled in the final round, Yorkshireman Kevin Pease and Richard Watts collecting the respective spoils. Pease (Renault R5 16v) was pushed hard by Mike Manning (Fiesta 16v), although Clive Richardson (Astra 16v) was a very real threat, winning three rounds on the trot. It was not the best of years for four times champion Roger Newbould (Renault 5 16v), whose best placing was a 2nd at Nutts corner in Ireland.
In the Modified 1600 class, Richard Watts (in the ex-John Haffey Vauxhall Nova) repeated the form of the car's previous owner and with four victories took the title for the first time. Dave Ward (MG Metro) was next from Mike Howlin (Fiesta) and Mike Bird (Vauxhall Corsa 16v), all of whom won at least one round each, as did Paul Conet (Vauxhall Nova) during one of his infrequent outings.Tags:
Rallycross
For the British Rallycross Championship, 1994 was a year of change. Not only was it taken under the wing of the BRSCC, it also brought together direct competition between the European Rallycross Championship-legal supercars and the redundant Group B rally cars. Finally it produced the first ever winner from outside the UK in Irishman Dermot Carnegie.
The two main players in the British series for 1994 were from Ireland, Dermot Carnegie and Denis Biggerstaff, both driving MG Metro 6R4's. Carnegie almost made the crown in 1993 but this year he got it right.
Carnegie won the opening round at Brands Hatch despite the efforts of Biggerstaff and defending champion Mike Turpin but come Croft in April Denis was dominant in his P&O Ferries Metro. The next two rounds were across the pond at Nutts Corner and Mondello Park in Ireland, it was Biggerstaff scoring the high points, despite a roll in the first heat at Mondello, with Turpin claiming 2nd places just as he had done at Croft. However, the Ulsterman's luck ran out at Lydden for round five when his crankshaft broke in the third heat and he was forced to sit out the final and watch Will Gollop take a maiden win with his new Peugeot 306. While Gary Baker and Trevor Hopkins finished behind Gollop, Carnegie was quietly collecting more points at every round.
With three rounds to run, Pembrey saw Carnegie take pole for the 'A' final but lose out to Biggerstaff at the flag. Despite broken suspension, Denis still hauled the Metro to the flag in 1st place in the Superfinal too, just winning from Dermot and fellow Irishman John Maloney in another Metro 6R4. So it was up to Anglesey and Ty Cross, where the Superfinal was abandoned following a first corner pile-up which eliminated most of the field! Consequently a result was declared from the starting positions, giving overall victory to modified 1600 runner Mick Bird, in a Corsa! Although Turpin took his first 'A' Final win of the year, a result in the Superfinal was needed to keep his title hopes alive.
Going into the final round at Croft, Carnegie was just one point ahead of Biggerstaff and whoever finished higher would win the title but, unbelievably, at the end of the day neither driver scored in the Superfinal. Carnegie spun on the first lap of the 'A' Final and then broke the suspension after clashing with Nick Jones, while Biggerstaff was delayed by Rob Gibson and wasn't quick enough to qualify for the Superfinal. The score therefore stood at 90 points in Carnegie's favour to Biggerstaff's 89, with Turpin collecting 3rd place with 78, it couldn't have been closer!
The Showroom class was all about 22-year-old Nick Jones in the new STP Escort Cosworth, the Hereford driver taking back-to-back titles after winning five straight events. Despite losing out to Bill Skermer at Pembrey when he lost second and third gears, he had done enough for the crown. Skermer finished 2nd from Tony Bardy (Nissan Sunny GTi-R), Tony Bell (Toyota Celica Turbo) and Rob Coates (Nissan Sunny GTi-R).
Ulster resident Kevin Sherry (Suzuki Swift) took the 1400cc Showroom category just ahead of main opponent Ian Brooks (Citroen AX Sport) and a long way clear of Sohrab Padidar-Nazar in a similar Citroen and Cecil Haffey (Suzuki Swift), who was runner-up in the final three rounds.
The two modified titles were settled in the final round, Yorkshireman Kevin Pease and Richard Watts collecting the respective spoils. Pease (Renault R5 16v) was pushed hard by Mike Manning (Fiesta 16v), although Clive Richardson (Astra 16v) was a very real threat, winning three rounds on the trot. It was not the best of years for four times champion Roger Newbould (Renault 5 16v), whose best placing was a 2nd at Nutts corner in Ireland.
In the Modified 1600 class, Richard Watts (in the ex-John Haffey Vauxhall Nova) repeated the form of the car's previous owner and with four victories took the title for the first time. Dave Ward (MG Metro) was next from Mike Howlin (Fiesta) and Mike Bird (Vauxhall Corsa 16v), all of whom won at least one round each, as did Paul Conet (Vauxhall Nova) during one of his infrequent outings.Tags:Rallycross