Cars That Go Fast: Wylie wins for XS Racing in Kielder

Wylie wins for XS Racing in Kielder
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Elton on 27 April, 2009 12:22:00
 
Drew Wylie and XS Racing took a hard-earned  victory in one of the most
competitive classes in the championship during round  two of the Dunlop/Gambia
MSA British Historic Rally Championship, the Pirelli  Historic Rally in Kielder
forest on Friday and Saturday (17/18  April).
Wylie and co-driver Howard Pridmore were competing in class  C3 in their Ford
Escort Mk1 and turned in a mighty performance to beat first  round winners Tim
Jones and Don James. Meanwhile, Andrew Siddall and Captain  Thompson brought
their Escort Mk1 into third place in the same class after  another strong
performance.
The rally started with two challenging  stages on Friday evening and Wylie
headed the class at the overnight halt by  just a tenth of a second from Russell
Morgan/Martin Kenyon. After the first of  four stages on Saturday morning, the
times were absolutely level, but an engine  problem then sidelined Morgan as
Wylie swept ahead to a fine  victory.
"I'm well pleased with that result," said Wylie back at  the finish in Carlisle
at lunchtime on Saturday. "I was very pleased with the  company we were
keeping," he added. Such was their pace that they also finished  second overall
in category two, only 14s behind the Porsche 911 of Tim Mason and  ahead of all
the more powerful BDA-powered Escorts in class  C5.
Like Wylie, Siddall had a trouble free rally to claim third in  class. "We had
a good run," reported Siddall of the event that included four  long stages in
the main Kielder forest complex.
The tough  conditions on Friday evening caught out the Sunbeam Tiger of
Jonathan and Graham  Gale, winners of category one on the opening event of the
season. Running first  on the road, they had the toughest challenge in dealing
with loose gravel in the  Glen Dhu stage, but were ahead of their rivals at a
mid-point split time.  Unfortunately, towards the end of the stage they slid off
into a ditch and,  though the car was undamaged, it could not be retrieved in 
time.
The Gales later continued on Saturday morning under Super  Rally regulations
and used the remaining stages as a successful test session as  they continue to
acclimatise to their new car.
The fourth car in  the XS Racing squad was the Porsche 911RS of Peter Smith and
Russ Langthorne.  Although they finished the rally, time lost to a clutch
problem, probably caused  by a stone in the clutch linkage, left them out of
contention.
"It  was a great result for Drew and Andrew in particular," said team boss John
 Cropper. "We haven't had any real issues at all with the four cars. Jonathan
got  some more mileage in the car and Peter drove perfectly once the clutch
problem  was resolved."
Now, XS Racing is looking ahead to round three of  the championship, the Severn
Valley Historic Rally on 30 May. Philip Wylie will  rejoin the line-up for this
event, so the five-car XS team will head back to  Wales looking for more
success.
XS Racing specialises in all types  of historic rally preparation and parts
supply across a wide range of cars. XS  Racing can be contacted on 01246 233777.