11:48am Tuesday 27th October 2009
On paper it should have been no contest.
But James Tyson's 1275cc Mini Cooper was more than a match for John Leckie's 2.5-litre Subaru Impreza.
And the David and Goliath battle between the pair, which lasted almost all night, turned the 2009 Lune Valley Motors Morecambe Illuminations Rally into one of the best in recent years.
Despite clocking the fastest time through Gunnerthwaite Farm, Tyson and navigator Neil Harrison had to cede victory to the North Wales pairing of Leckie and Paul Holmberg, Just 11 seconds in penalties separated the pair at the end of the 180-mile long event, with the Peugeot 106 of Jonty and Nick Bloxham in third place, a further 39 seconds adrift.
Fourth place went to Kirky Lonsdale MC's Alex Willan and Ali Proctor in their Proton Compact.
One of the drives of the rally went to Morecambe CC member Steve Entwistle who finished a fifth overall and top historic - by nine minutes - in his 45-year-old 1071 Morris Cooper S with Bob Hargreaves on the maps.
Winners of the novice class were Paul Brereton and Ron Turner (Peugeot 306) ahead of Adam and Graham Foxcroft who were delighted to get to the finish for the first time!
Clerk-of-the course Paul Mount and his organising team from Morecambe Car Club laid out a demanding and well-recieved route through the classic lanes of North Lancashire and Cumbria.
And they were rewarded with a quality 25-car entry packed with top road rally crews from Wales and Northern England.
Starting and finishing from the Vale of Lune Rugby Club in Lancaster, competitors tackled many favourites, such as Haylots, Littledale, Gunnerthwaite and Greenholme Ford. The organisers also included a section at Docker Park Farm, near Arkholme, which had never been used on a road rally.
RESULTS: 1: John Leckie/Paul Holmberg (Subaru Impreza 2500) 7m 04s 2 : James Tyson/Neil Harrison (Morris Mini Cooper 1275 7:15 3:Jonty Bloxham/Nick Bloxham (Peugeot 106 1580) 7:54 4 Alex Willan/Ali Proctor (Proton Compact 1781) 8.38 5: Steve Entwistle/Bob Hargreaves (Morris Mini Cooper 1071) 10.28 Top Novice: 11: Paul Brereton/Ron Turner (Peugeot 306 1998) 28:44
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