The third round of the
Silverstone Tyres BRC Challenge seemed likely to offer up a third straight victory for series leaders Richard Sykes and Simon Taylor, but by the finish of Saturday the order has been well and truly shaken up.
At the finish ramp of the Rally of the Midlands in Hinckley town centre, there were just two Silverstone-shod runners remaining, with BTRDA prize winner Darren Pinchin and Karen Watts taking the winners champagne.
Taking maximum championship points, however, were David Harrison and Glyn Thomas, who plummeted 20 places in the final three stages despite a valiant effort to maintain their hard-fought lead.
The event began on Friday when Pinchin surprised with an early lead in his Proton, but as he is not registered for points, the championship
status quo appeared to be continuing, with Sykes pulling 14 seconds clear of Harrison on the opening three stages. Harrison responded though, taking a couple back at the first of the
Mallory Park stages, the pair on equal times on the next run.
However, by the close of play on Friday evening, Sykes had a 20-second cushion to Harrison, with nearest championship rivals James Watts and Oliver Ettlinger sidelined on the first stage with a broken gearbox mount. Pinchin's early lead had also gone after a broken driveshaft lost him several minutes.
With Tony Simpson a no-show, next up were Callum Bendall and James Haugh, who were under strict instructions to get to the finish, after destroying last year's championship-winning Ka on the
Jim Clark Rally.
Saturday's change to rain prompted a change in fortunes at the front of the field with young David Harrison taking four straight stage wins. The first two edged him to within 13 seconds of Sykes, but the longest stage of the day saw him stop the clock sixteen seconds quicker to move him three seconds clear.
