10:50am Tuesday 10th November 2009
BURTON-in-Kendal driver Steve Jennings scored his maiden National B win after a hard-earned victory on the Westmorland Road Rally.
Jennings and navigator Paul Allen, from Kendal, finished the 140-mile event just one minute 25 seconds ahead of second-placed Malcolm Grisdale and Bob Hargreaves.
Third place went to reigning SD34 champions Terry Martin and Jerry Hettrick a further six seconds behind.
Organised by Eden Vale Motor Club, the rally was the last round of the SD34 Championship, and attracted 24 crews from all over the north-west.
Starting from the M6 Services at Tebay, competitors started the night with a run through Bretherdale Ford, used two weeks ago on the Morecambe Illuminations.
Early leaders were Martin and Hettrick at the first petrol halt, followed by the Mini Cooper of James Tyson and Neil Harrison.
But the Tan Hill section proved the undoing of both. A wrong slot by Martin cost 20 seconds, dropping them to third overall and a flat tyre at the start put Tyson out of contention with eight minutes of penalties.
That paved the way for Jennings and Allen, who had cured early problems with an engine management fault, to claim a popular win "It was an awesome event and a great result for us," said Jennings, who drives a Proton Satria.
"We were lucky to keep the car on the road until the end, the torrential rain made the conditions awful for everyone. All the marshals deserve a medal for standing out there all night."
1:Steve Jennings/Paul Allen (Proton Satria) 8m 15s 2 Malcolm Grisdale/Bob Hargreaves (Ford Escort) 9.40 3: Terry Martin/Jerry Hettrick (Proton) 9.46 4 Andy Richardson/ Glen Paterson (Peugeot 205GTi) 9.54 5 Alex Willan/Ali Proctor (Proton) 10.19 6 Jonathan Brass/ Mark Binney (Nissan Sunny) 11.04 7 James Tyson /Neil Harrison (Mini Cooper) 12.11 8 Tony Harrison/Martyn Taylor (Rover 200) 8.34 9 Andrew Long/Matthew Field (Alfa Romeo 146) 21.23 10: Ian Rooke/Steven Clark (VW Golf) 7.40 1st Non Expert: Paul Brereton/Ron Turner (Peugeot 309) Les Percival Memorial Westmorland 12 Car Rally 2009 - Winners Dave Jones/Mike Croft-White (Peugeot 205GTi)
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