There can only be one Pirelli British Rally Champion (or, more accurately, two, as we must never forget that other often overlooked but vital component of a successful crew - the co-driver), so this weekend it was inevitable that one of the teams fighting neck and neck for the prestigious British title would be ecstatic, and the other thoroughly dejected at the end.
So, by the time the field arrived back at York racecourse on Sunday afternoon after 110 competitive stage miles, it was Yorkshire’s own Jonny Milner and regular Welsh co-driver Nicky Beech who were clearly the ecstatic ones.
Milner and Beech were also the popular overall winners of this final official round of the PBRC, beating Julian Reynolds / Ieuan Thomas (Impreza WRC) into second place by over 44 seconds. In third place were Steve Petch / John Richardson in their Hyundai Accent WRC Evolution 2. Petch and Reynolds had enjoyed a fantastic scrap throughout the event, with Reynolds finally getting ahead on the penultimate stage and winning the battle by just five seconds. Although Steve had admitted early on Saturday morning that ''these stages are too fast for an old b****r like me'', he certainly convinced everyone that there’s still some life, and a fair amount of skill, still left in him.
In the 1600 Category, Gwyndaf Evans / Chris Patterson, giving their usual Ulster-winning MG ZR another outing, took over after Dale’s demise, beating Guy Wilkes / Roger Herron (Ford Puma) into second pace after a typically dogged drive plagued by mechanical problems which included two gearbox changes. Third was the S-Mac crew of Kris Meeke and Glenn Patterson in another Puma, Kris also wrapping up the British Junior Drivers’ Championship after another consistent performance.
