Craig Middleton wins Severn Valley National Rally

Matador Tyres backed rally driver Craig Middleton bounced back from his fiery exit on the RBS International Manx Rally with a superb victory on the Severn Valley National Rally this weekend.  With the Hyundai Accent WRC repaired after it ignited on the Isle of Man, the 26 year old Welshman from Llandrindod Wells took a hard earned victory in hot and sunny conditions.  The win keeps Craig's chances of winning the MSA National Gravel Rally Championship alive after a year of mixed fortune so far.
 
Partnered by Royston's Robin Hernaman, Craig suffered a troubled day with the former works Hyundai.  A boost pressure problem with the turbo meant that the Accent WRC was down on power during the opening loop of stages near to the rally base in Builth Wells.  Try as he might, Middleton had no answer to the pace of leading drivers Marcus Dodd and Barry Johnson as they traded fastest times at the front of the field.  The frustrated Middleton was pushing hard in the dusty conditions, but the lack of power hampered his progress significantly.
 
At service, the Matador Tyre Sport team rectified the problem, and Craig was able to get back into the swing of things as the rally headed out to the Brechfa forest complex.  Middleton's attempt at Wales Rally GB last year would prove useful as the Welshman had good experience of the little used forestry plantation in West Wales.  The two stages held within the complex were to turn the rally on its head.  First, Johnson rolled his Subaru after hitting a bank on the first stage.  Middleton was now up to second as a result, but as he left the second stage in Brechfa, Craig was leading the event by a substantial margin.  Dodd had suffered terminal engine problems, and Craig was over a minute ahead of the chasing pack, led by Roger Duckworth and his Subaru Impreza WRC.

 
Try as he might, Duckworth could not close the gap on Craig.  Using the Matador SM-3 gravel tyre to full effect on the hard gravel stages, Middleton was able to increase his lead, before having a scare on the last stage of the event.  Exiting a third gear corner, Middleton changed up to fourth, but the Hyundai had broken the gear.  Craig had to carefully nurse the gearbox through the last remaining miles, hoping the problem would not get any worse.  It was fingers crossed all the way back to Builth Wells and the Royal Welsh Showground for the finish, but Craig and Robin held their nerves and duly celebrated in fine style with the champagne spraying.
 
After winning the Rallye Sunseeker but retiring from the following two rounds, Craig was delighted that fortune had favoured him for a change:
 
'Obviously I have sympathy for Marcus and Barry, as they were both pushing very hard and were unlucky' said Craig, who also won the event in 2004.  'I've got to say I was very disappointed to retire from the Border Counties and Manx events, so winning my home event has really made up for it.  It was a frustrating day in many ways.  The turbo boost just wasn't quite there this morning, but we were able to cure that at service.  From there I was able to get more on the pace, and obviously with the retirements we were able to take the lead and then increase it.  Losing fourth gear on the final stage was a real scare, and Robin also thought we were on fire again at one point, but fortunately it was just dust!  The Matador Tyres performed brilliantly today as well.  Even in the high temperatures and with the abrasive surface, the tyre gave me plenty of grip at all times - I was delighted.'
 
Craig's next outing will be the Swansea Bay Rally on July 22nd.  With the championship still wide open at this stage of the season, Middleton will no doubt be keen to make it victory number three of 2006 if possible.
 
Further information on MATADOR Rally and Commercial Tyres is available at: http://www.matadorpneusport.com