Battling Bird Claims Second Place On Winter Stages Rally
Rallying made a welcome return to Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire today where a huge crowd witnessed a superb battle for the victory in the Swift Signs and Shirts Winter Stages Rally but for Cumbrian driver Frank Bird, he just missed out on retaining his title.
In their Dom Buckley Motorsport-prepared and Frank Bird Poultry-backed Ford Fiesta Rally 2 with assistance from Hager, Dragon Energy and Mac Tools, Penrith-born Frank and County Durham co-driver Jack Morton ended the eight stages just nine seconds adrift of winners David and Katie Henderson in a similar car.
With mild temperatures but a wet track because of overnight rain, Frank was three seconds down on Henderson on the opening stage but clawed a second back on SS2 and then a further two seconds on the following test meaning they could not be separated after SS3. With the track continuing to dry, Frank dropped four seconds on SS4 going into the lunch halt.
The gap increased to five seconds after SS5, but Bird gallantly set fastest time by a second on SS6 but as darkness fell, Henderson stretched his lead on the final two stages to win by nine seconds with Frank and Jack having to settle for runner-up spot.
Frank Bird: “We didn’t come to finish second but that’s the best we could manage today and well done to David and Katie on their win. I was disappointed not to be able to defend my title, but we struggled a bit in the changeable conditions as the grip levels varied. It was tricky at times, but it was great to see rallying back at Croft and to see the event supported so well. Thanks to my team for another great job, to Jack and to all our sponsors, we’ve had a great year.”
Results
Swift Signs & Shirts Winter Stages Rally
1 David Henderson/Katie Henderson, Ford Fiesta Rally2 - 51:43
2 Frank Bird/ Jack Morton, Ford Fiesta Rally2 - 51:52
3 Joe Cunningham/Joshua Beer, Ford Fiesta - 53:19
4 Kevin Procter/Tom Woodburn, Ford Fiesta - 53:29
5 Daniel Roskell/Sion Cunniff, Ford Fiesta R5 - 54:54
6 Paul Swift/Jessica Swift, Ford Escort Mk2 - 55:54
7 Martin Hodgson/Tony Jones, Ford Escort Mk2 - 56:22
8 Lyndon Barton/Dave France, Ford Fiesta R5 - 56:46
9 Joe McKeand/Charlotte McDowall, Subaru Impreza - 57:12
10 David McMullan/Marc Melhuish, Mitsubishi Evo 6 - 57:13
