Complementing the International entries were two rounds of the Peugeot Super Cup, plus rounds of the Ford Ka and Volkswagen Polo championships, the Army Land Rovers and an event for national crews. The International field also included five teams contesting the newly-formed PBRC Nations Cup.
The very compact event was divided into two legs. Leg one started in Gateshead’s impressive Baltic Square at 5.30 on Friday afternoon, followed by two runs of a centrally-located spectator super-special, then three demanding Kielder stages in the dark, before service and
parc fermé back in Gateshead. Leg two on Saturday started was from Gateshead International Stadium at 7.00am, followed by a further six Kielder stages with central service at the Hexham Auction Mart. The finish was scheduled for 5.20pm back in Baltic Square.
As expected, with a field like that, the action was fast and furious. After the Friday start, the crews drove the short distance to Salt Meadows, where a token spectator stage had been prepared adjacent to the service area and an imaginative Rally Show. It was typical that, after a sunny and warm week, the weather had reverted to type, but the grey skies and persistent rain didn’t seem to deter the crowds. One driver in particular who was cursing the weather was James Thompson. He was committed to testing his BTCC Vauxhall at
Thruxton on Friday, and had a helicopter standing by to get him up to Gateshead in time for his start position, after the organisers had thoughtfully put this back to number 41. Unfortunately, the low cloud-base made helicopter flying out of the question, so he commandeered a fixed-wing from Thruxton airfield and flew into Newcastle airport. There he had a motorcycle courier waiting for him, who gave him the ride of his life to the start ramp, on the back of a Honda Fireblade. Thankfully, it was only when he had arrived that James found out that his courier’s nickname was ‘Damage’!
