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Posted 18th November 2008
Wilson Takes 'Unfinished Business' Win
Following
his untimely retirement from the inaugural Roger Albert Clark Rally
in 2004, Malcolm Wilson posted a warning for the rest of the field when
he said that he had 'unfinished business' on the event. On Monday
afternoon, he laid the spectre of that non-finish in spectacular fashion
when he led the field home with a winning lead of over six minutes.
Meanwhile, at the Carlisle Racecourse prize giving, one of the biggest
cheers of the night was reserved for Bob Bean who at seventy years of
age brought his venerable MK1 Cortina home in ninth place overall.
Final Results Roger Albert Clark Rally
Speaking prior to this year's event, 'Roger
Albert' stalwart Dave Hemingway said that
he hoped to improve on the two fourths and a third overall that he had
already achieved in
the Roger Albert Clark Open Rally and this year he certainly did that!
Coming home almost nine
minutes
ahead of his nearest rival Dave gave a convincing performance at the
head of the Open Rally field. Convincing for us but maybe not
convincing enough for Dave who is rumoured to have been slowed down by
his navigator Simon Ashton in the latter stages of the event when he was
still trying to build up a 'cushion' between him and the next car.
I think Simon told him that over eight minutes was a big enough
cushion...
ITV
Border television transmitted a live interview with Roger Albert
Clark Rally winner Malcolm Wilson and Rally Manager Colin
Heppenstall from the Prize Giving at Carlisle Racecourse Monday
Evening. The interviews were interspersed with clips from the rally
filmed in the Heathall stage. If you did not see the
transmission, the clip will remain available for viewing on the ITV
Local Borders website for the next few days. You can watch it
here.
In order to capture the essence of the Roger
Albert Clark Rally, Britishrally.co.uk the UK premier rally forum
has teamed up with the Roger Albert Clark Rally andDeLacy
Motor Club to run a photographic competition
based on this years event. For more details go to the
'News' section above or click
here.
Over three days in November, one of the biggest
events in British rallying will bring spectacle, excitement and, most
important of all, significant revenue to northern England and the
Scottish borders as crews from all over Great Britain compete in the
Roger Albert Clark Rally.
At a time in mid-November when hotels, B&Bs and restaurants are battling
the after effects of the poor summer weather and the overall economic
slow-down, the rally will offer them a share of more than a million
pounds of revenue as teams, drivers and fans enjoy the rally.
The rally starts in Leeds on Friday 14 November and then spends Saturday
15 November in North Yorkshire before crossing the Pennines for an
overnight halt in Carlisle. Sunday 16 November is spent in the Scottish
borders and the Dumfries area, before another night halt in Carlisle.
The final day of the rally, Monday 17 November, takes crews into the
daunting Kielder forest complex in Northumberland before a mid-afternoon
finish in Carlisle city centre for the champagne spraying ceremony.
An independent assessment of the economic value of the rally reveals
that people involved in the Roger Albert Clark Rally will spend
over £1,000,000 during the course of the event. In addition, national
media and TV exposure will provide a further boost by bringing the
natural beauty of the region to a wide audience.
Rally manager Colin Heppenstall, from DeLacy Motor Club, is proud
that the rally will be making a significant contribution to tourism
related businesses as a traditionally quiet time of the year.
"Mid-November is inevitably a slow time for tourism. The Roger Albert
Clark Rally will fill around 15,000 hotel beds across the region,
while restaurants and other regional businesses will also benefit."
The rally is named in honour of the late Roger Clark, one of the
greatest British rally drivers in the history of the sport and the first
man to win Britain's round of the World Rally Championship back in 1972.