Bulldog Rally victory for XS Racing

News from XS Racing (Chesterfield)

The 2010 Dunlop/WONAGO.com MSA British Historic Rally Championship started perfectly for XS Racing with victory for the Sunbeam Tiger of Jonathan Gale and James Whitaker on Saturday's Bulldog Historic Rally in Wales (27 March).
 
With the Tiger running perfectly on its first rally since a major rebuild, Gale and his new co-driver were able to settle in together over the first loop of forest stages. Then, with a change of tyres, they really attacked in the long Gartheiniog stage to take the category one lead from the Porsche 911 of Dessie Nutt and Geraldine McBride.
 
In 12 miles, Gale went half a minute quicker than the Porsche to sweep into a lead he would hold all the way to the finish, despite a spin on the final stage in Dyfnant. At the finish, the Mimecast-backed Tiger was 37s ahead of the Porsche having run faultlessly all day.
 
"We put softer tyres on for the second loop and that made things much better," said Gale. "The spin was our only real problem and it cost us about 10 seconds. It’s been a very good day," said Gale, who jumps straight into the joint lead of the overall championship.
 
The other two cars from the XS Racing also claimed strong class results after more than 50 stage miles on classic gravel forest roads. Peter Smith and Russ Langthorne took a strong second in class C4 with a trouble free run in their Porsche 911, moving ever closer to class pacesetter Tim Mason. After an hour of rallying, the margin was just 45s as the crews returned to the finish at Welshpool. Some recent testing with the car is clearly showing results.
 
Meanwhile, Andrew Siddall and Captain Thompson took second place in class C3 in their Escort Mk1, finishing just a minute behind the class-winning Escort of local ace Tim Jones.
 
Round two of the Dunlop/WONAGO.com MSA British Historic Rally Championship will take the teams to Carlisle for the Pirelli Historic Rally on Saturday 24 April. The XS squad should be boosted by the seasonal debut of former overall champion Steven Smith in his Porsche 911.
 
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.