Evans ends year on a high

Gwyndaf Evans completed his first season of historic rallying with an emphatic victory on the Roger Albert Clark Rally. Evans and co-driver John Millington, in a Ford Escort Mk2 run by Phil Mills’ Viking Motorsport team, emerged from four days of forest rallying with a margin of more than four minutes.

Evans (left) battled early on with Martin McCormack and Steve Bannister, also in Escorts, but McCormack suffered a blown engine and Bannister lost time in a ditch in Kielder. Evans set a searing pace and was a commanding winner when the crews arrived at the Carlisle finish. “I’m very happy for the team; they built a beautiful car,” he said.

Jeremy Easson, partnered by Alun Cook, maintained his superb record on the event with second, while Paul Griffiths/Sam Collis took third. Further back, Le Mans winner Guy Smith completed only his third rally in his Escort MkI.