The Daily Dispatch Gen 24 - mid res for WEB - Flipbook - Page 3
Day 1: Cheshire Plains, 22 March 2024
Photos: gerardbrown.co.uk
Daniel Bailey and Theo Marden Wasteneys, 1929 Invicta 3 litre
A full entry list meant a full car park at Rally HQ in the
impressive Carden Park Hotel. The 90 cars assembled gave
the sweep crews of Andy Inskip, Charlie Neale, Russ Smith,
Owen Turner, Matt Abrey and Jack Amies plenty to do,
dealing with any minor matters that arose on the way to
the start line. Meanwhile a crack team of MSA scrutineers,
comprising Geoff Doe, Richard Williams and Sue Bateman,
checked the cars for safety and compliance. Just in from
Colorado, Jamie Turner popped by to say hello and, in the
family spirit of the rally, he brought son, Jack, along to
pass him the tools and chauffeur him around the course.
Loren Price, Gill Cotton and Kitty Burdett led the team of
indoor officials tasked with managing the paperwork and
distributing the rally gifts before the crews gathered for a light
lunch and short welcome speech from Rally Director, Fred
Gallagher. At 12.45pm the cars were waved away, down the
driveway for the cross-country lope towards the assembled
marshals of both Knutsford & District and Liverpool Motor
Clubs who, under the guidance of Mike Harrison, had
arranged two Tests at the Oulton Park rally stage. Described
as having a ‘low grip surface’ it required plenty of input from
the drivers to keep to the narrow ribbon of tarmac snaking its
way through the inner circuit.
A Regularity from Manley Common calmed things down,
taking the crews to the afternoon Time Control at the
Willington Hall Hotel where tea, coffee and an excellent
selection of cakes had been laid on for us whilst Andrew
Kellitt and Audrey Rudd took charge of the time cards. A
little bit of backtracking through the lanes led us back to
Oulton Park for the third Test, which artfully blended the
best bits of the previous two into a seemingly endless drift
session, to the delight of the drivers.
The pace slackened again along the route to the Bunbury
Commons Passage Control and onwards to the Norbury
Wendy and Victoria Birch, 1960 Porsche 356 Cabriolet
Bill and Harri Holroyd, 1953 Frazer Nash Sebring
Robert and Olivia Wilkinson, 1965 Aston Martin DB5
Sponsored by:
www.rallytheglobe.com