Monday, August 30, 2004

THE PORSCHE !

FUNNY JOKES !!!!!! from prankster on Porsche ! Who cares ? I still would love a Cayenne ! Posted by Hello

posted by travel_lingo at Monday, August 30, 2004

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Rallying News - September 1977
WAS THIS THE RACE VINCENT, AH SENg, aNd TEO Were in ?


INTERNATIONAL RALLIES

August and September 1977 had seen the running of the London to Sydney Rally, which started in Covent Garden on 14th August and finished in Sydney on 27th September. Of the 69 starters, 42 made it to the Australian finish. There were three stages in Europe (one in Yugoslavia and two in Greece) before a halt in Athens. Crews then followed a route that took them through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and India, with halts at Tehran and Bombay. Archim Warmbold/Jean Todt led at Tehran but then retired their Mercedes 280E with halfshaft failure just after the restart from the Iranian capital. From Bombay crews moved on to Madras and then down through the Malay Penninsula to Singapore, to the home of the event's sponsors, Singapore Airlines, and the embarkation point for the ship that would take them to the final stages across Australia.

Fifty-one crews were still in the event at Singapore and they were led by the Mercedes 280E of Tony Fowkes/Peter O'Gorman. Unfortunately fatigue caused a number of errors for Fowkes/O'Gorman as they crossed Australia and they had dropped to second by Sydney behind their team mates Andrew Cowan/Colin Malkin/Mike Broad. Paddy Hopkirk was third in a Citroen CX2400.

Meanwhile the World Rally Championship visited Canada for the first time as Fiat and Ford battled it out on the Criterium Du Quebec. Fiat scored a 1-2 finish as Timo Salonen led home Simo Lampinen, however the Italian manufacturer had a problematic start to the event as their three other works entries (Timo Makinen, Walter Rohrl, Markku Alen) all retired in the early stages with engine failures. Ari Vatanen, driving a Ford Escort RS1800, looked to have the rally sewn up when his car suffered ignition failure with only a few hours left. Roger Clark came home third to give Ford enough points to just keep ahead of Fiat in the Championship. American John Buffum finished fourth in his Triumph TR7.

The European Championship visited the Dolomite Mountains in Northern Italy for the San Martino Di Castrozza Rally. Organisational problems meant that there were only ten stages, giving the rally just enough mileage to count as an ECR round. The 230 car entry was led home by the Lancia Stratos of Sandro Munari, he was almost a minute ahead of team mate Pregliasco. Walter Rhorl was fourth in a works Fiat 131 Mirafiori.

Towards the end of the month the 5th International Cyprus Rally was held. Billy Coleman/David Richards were the top seeds in their Chequered Flag Lancia Stratos, but they retired with broken rear suspension. Shekar Mehta/Yvonne Platt were comfortably in the lead in their Datsun Violet when they collided with another crew's chase car which was travelling against rally route. This left local driver Kypros Kyprianon to win in his Avenger.

In New Zealand Rod Millen clinched the four round national championship by winning the final event, the Auckland Rally. The rally had 21 stages amounting to 383km of competitive mileage.



BRITISH STAGE RALLIES

The Belfast Telegraph Ulster Rally opened the month for competitors in the Motor/RAC Championship. There were 250 stage miles, with crews starting at 19.00 on Friday evening and finishing at 15.30 on Saturday afternoon. It was won by Derek Boyd who was driving a near road standard Porsche Carrera. He took control after ten stages and then led to the end with a final winning margin of 3 minutes 11 seconds. Russell Brookes led initially but then suffered a puncture on Stage 8. He then lost further time during the night when a throttle linkage broke. He fought his way back up to second despite gearbox problems. The result gave him an eleven point lead in the Championship over Pentti Airikkala, the Finn finishing third afer being delayed by electrical problems and the lose of fourth gear. Hannu Mikkola had retired his Toyota Celica after it has stripped its crown wheel pinion. Jimmy McRae dominated Group1 in his new Vauxhall Magnum, beating Bertie Fisher and his Escort RS2000 into second place.

Two weeks later the same crews faced more tarmac stages on the Manx International Trophy Rally. Competitors tackled 43 stages between Friday morning and Saturday afternoon. Russell Brookes had a healthy lead when, after twenty stages, his Escort RS1800 blew its engine. Tony Pond had been chasing Brookes hard in his Triumph TR7 when he blew an engine and Hannu Mikkola crashed his Toyota Celica out during the night. Pentti Airikkala therefore inherited a win in his Vauxhall Chevette HS2300, this took him to within one point of Brookes in the Motor/RAC Championship. Brian Culcheth was second in a TR7 and Leyland had more reason to celebrate as Group One was taken by Pat Ryan in his Triumph Dolomite Sprint.

Derek and Terry Evans gave their ex-Chris Sclater Chevette a debut win in the forests of Mid-Wales on the Telford Forestry Stages. Round Six of the Pirelli/CCC Championship started and finished in Newtown and used the forests in the Ceri and Sarnau complexes. The Evans brothers led from Stage One but immediately after the lunch halt it looked as if George Hill in another Chevette would take the win as he set off on a frantic pace, however he went off and lost a minute and any chance of victory. Martin Watson finished sixth to consolidate his lead in the championship.

Derek and Terry Evans' ex-works Chevette on the Telford Stages. It was fitted with the engine from their previous car, a Vauxhall Magnum



NATIONAL ROAD RALLIES

The Motoring News championship sprang back into life with three events in September all on successive weekends. The first was regarded by many as the best round of the championship, the Cilwendeg in West Wales. It was won by the local crew of Eric Davies/David Jones in an RS1800. Bill Gwynne/Steve Fellows had led until an off when they hit a tree put them out of the event. Before this Danny Owens/Andrew Sleeman had also led but their RS2000 broke a half shaft just before the second petrol halt. Despite a misfire in the second half Ron Beecroft/John Millington finished third and took the championship lead. Mick Briant/Dave Kirkham, who had led briefly after Gwynne's demise, finished second. John Bloxham/Richard Harper picked up a wrong approach which dropped them down the field.

Seven days later crews went to the North of England for the Costa Di Plenti Rally which used a 195 mile route in North Yorkshire. The rally was won by Bob Bean/Nigel Raeburn in a Escort RS1700, with Mick Briant/Dave Kirkham second over three minute behind. The result allowed Briant to close the gap on championship leader Ron Beecroft who didn't start the event. Pete Wagstaff/Dave Starr had been challenging for the lead when their RS1700's gearbox failed and Malcolm Byrom was third when he went off at a hairpin.

The R. L. Brown Trophy Rally took crews for a 110 mile route in the Lake District a week later. It was won by the Fiat 131 Mirafiori of John Bloxham/Richard Harper. Bill Gwynne/Terry Thorpe didn't make it to the end of the first section before the head gasket failed on their RS2000. Ron Beecroft/John Millington would have been fourth but got penalised for a jump start at the beginning of the final selective. This dropped them down the field and meant they didn't score any championship points. Bob Bean/Nigel Raeburn followed up their win of the previous weekend with second' however they only inherited this after Pete Edwards/Nigel Hunter blew the head gasket on their RS1800.



WELSH CLUB RALLIES

Y Draig Goch Rally started at the Vauxhall Motors Factory at Ellesmere Port and then took the 89 starters into the North Wales lanes. Roger Powley/Brian Goff, looking for a hat trick of wins in their Porsche 911S, were leading when they went off and hit a rock. This left Mark Booth/Tony Goulding to take the victory in their ex-works Escort. Dennis Pollington/Dave Thomas were second in an RS2000 almost two minutes behind the winners. A week later the Acropolis Rally used a 170 mile route in central Wales. P. Walter/A. Timms in an Avenger won with a two minute advantage over the Escort of A. Edwards/P. Price

The JC Van Hire Golden Dragon Stages offered 40 stage miles in Brechfa but attracted only 35 starters. David Stokes/Lyn Jenkins were the easy winners, being fastest on 11 of the 12 stages. Frank Pierson/Ed Morgan were second in their Escort RS1800 but were over two minutes down on the winner. At Oswestry Welsh Border Car Club organised what was called an 'unofficial practise day' which ran under the title of the Shropshire Star Trophy Rally. The event, held at Park Farm, was won by Les Cotton/Derek Lowe (Ascona), with Jim McCubbin/Geoff Page (RS2000) second and Dave Humphries/Martin Evans (Escort) third.
Copyright © 1997 Ian Mills

2:38 PM  

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