National 2 Wheel Drive Championship Win!
By Michael Davies, Rally2Report
When Ashley Trimble took on the envied role of co-driving for Bicester's Simon Mauger, on the ALM Engineering Cheviot Keith Knox Rally, held on Sunday 9th November, on the asphalt surfaced roads of the Northumberland Otterburn Military ranges, he knew that the statistical odds of coming home with an incredible result were against the pairing.
Four wheel drive, World Rally Car type, vehicles filled the entry list and Mauger/Trimble were entered in the Major Motorsport two wheel drive Ford Escort. The slippery damp road surface, set against the awesome scenic backdrop of the Cheviot Hills, suggested that the four wheelers would just disappear into the distance once the rally began.
Trimble is however an internationally recognised co-driver for his ability to organise his pace notes and orally relate those notes, at speed, to the driver of the rally car. The driver, on this occasion, was none other than Simon Mauger a former works rally driver himself. Mauger is regarded as being one of the finest most accomplished drivers of any type of rally car but, more importantly and particularly for this rally, of two wheel drive machinery.
The organisers recognised the potential of the duo and seeded them 3rd in the starting order, with two four wheeled drive cars starting first and second. The 1st seeded entry was Damian Cole, and co-driver James Morgan, who was on a roll of 27 successive wins. It was indeed Cole/Morgan who set the first quickest time, some 15 seconds quicker than second fastest pairing Mauger/Trimble who had beaten 2nd seeded entry, John Stone and Matthew Whattam, also in a four wheel drive, by four seconds. A second in rallying terms is a proverbial mile and this first stage, an 8.37 miler, reflected the suitability and expertise of both car and competitor to the conditions.
After the first four stages, a total distance of 26 miles, Cole/Morgan had stretched out their advantage to just 25 seconds over Mauger/Trimble who were now 35 seconds ahead of Stone/Whattam. The picture for the rally had been set although a temporary cease fire was instigated as all crews, organisers, media and marshals collectively observed the one minute remembrance silence at 1100 hours. The restart, for stage 5, saw Mauger/Trimble out of the blocks quickest and the pair set a time 2 seconds quicker than that of Cole. This situation was not however set to continue as Cole/Morgan’s relentless pursuance of victory saw them achieve a 59 seconds winning margin by the end of the rally.
For Mauger/Trimble however, their second place overall finish and winners of the two wheeled drive vehicle class, was regarded by many as being the performance of the rally, their performance itself being acknowledge by Damian Cole in his winners speech at the awards presentation ceremony at the finish of the rally. To highlight the performance of Mauger/Trimble, the next two wheel drive pairing of Richard Felgate and Mark Mason were 5 minutes 23 seconds behind, in 10th place overall at the finish.
This fantastic result gave Mauger enough points to secure overall honours in the REIS MSA National Asphalt Championship, Millington Two Wheel Drive Challenge!
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When Ashley Trimble took on the envied role of co-driving for Bicester's Simon Mauger, on the ALM Engineering Cheviot Keith Knox Rally, held on Sunday 9th November, on the asphalt surfaced roads of the Northumberland Otterburn Military ranges, he knew that the statistical odds of coming home with an incredible result were against the pairing.
Four wheel drive, World Rally Car type, vehicles filled the entry list and Mauger/Trimble were entered in the Major Motorsport two wheel drive Ford Escort. The slippery damp road surface, set against the awesome scenic backdrop of the Cheviot Hills, suggested that the four wheelers would just disappear into the distance once the rally began.
Trimble is however an internationally recognised co-driver for his ability to organise his pace notes and orally relate those notes, at speed, to the driver of the rally car. The driver, on this occasion, was none other than Simon Mauger a former works rally driver himself. Mauger is regarded as being one of the finest most accomplished drivers of any type of rally car but, more importantly and particularly for this rally, of two wheel drive machinery.
The organisers recognised the potential of the duo and seeded them 3rd in the starting order, with two four wheeled drive cars starting first and second. The 1st seeded entry was Damian Cole, and co-driver James Morgan, who was on a roll of 27 successive wins. It was indeed Cole/Morgan who set the first quickest time, some 15 seconds quicker than second fastest pairing Mauger/Trimble who had beaten 2nd seeded entry, John Stone and Matthew Whattam, also in a four wheel drive, by four seconds. A second in rallying terms is a proverbial mile and this first stage, an 8.37 miler, reflected the suitability and expertise of both car and competitor to the conditions.
After the first four stages, a total distance of 26 miles, Cole/Morgan had stretched out their advantage to just 25 seconds over Mauger/Trimble who were now 35 seconds ahead of Stone/Whattam. The picture for the rally had been set although a temporary cease fire was instigated as all crews, organisers, media and marshals collectively observed the one minute remembrance silence at 1100 hours. The restart, for stage 5, saw Mauger/Trimble out of the blocks quickest and the pair set a time 2 seconds quicker than that of Cole. This situation was not however set to continue as Cole/Morgan’s relentless pursuance of victory saw them achieve a 59 seconds winning margin by the end of the rally.
For Mauger/Trimble however, their second place overall finish and winners of the two wheeled drive vehicle class, was regarded by many as being the performance of the rally, their performance itself being acknowledge by Damian Cole in his winners speech at the awards presentation ceremony at the finish of the rally. To highlight the performance of Mauger/Trimble, the next two wheel drive pairing of Richard Felgate and Mark Mason were 5 minutes 23 seconds behind, in 10th place overall at the finish.
This fantastic result gave Mauger enough points to secure overall honours in the REIS MSA National Asphalt Championship, Millington Two Wheel Drive Challenge!
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