Guernsey Press

‘Close finish shows we got the right mix’ – Marshall

THE exceedingly close finish of the top three cars proved testament to the quality of this year’s Resolution IT Guernsey Rally.

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Kevin Rumens and co-driver Kay Taylor push hard on a wet bend after a heavy shower. (Picture by Andrew Le Poidevin, 27325660)

That is the view of dedicated head organiser Karl Marshall, who is celebrating the success of edition three with one eye on the next, as praise continues to pour in for the smooth-running event.

Guernsey driver Dale Crowsley took third overall behind Jersey’s Ross Le Noa and Jeremy Baudains and yet it certainly went right down to the wire.

‘It was the right format and it had everything,’ said Guernsey Kart and Motor Club president Marshall.

‘Dale drove really well and it’s his local rally, so he has got the knowledge of the roads, but I think we got the right mix.

‘He was down on power to the [Ford] Escorts and it was only won by one second, with Dale another [eight] behind. How close can you get a rally?

‘World rallies can be won by a minute-and-a-half, and so to get 10sec. between three drivers is how you do a rally. I think we got it perfect.’

Marshall also confirmed that the reduction from two days to one had followed guidance from Motorsport UK, which felt that last year’s starting ‘night stages’ had not been appropriate this time around.

‘We will see what kind of rally we can put on next year with the stages we’ve got,’ he added.

In the meantime, Marshall and co. will be planting trees to offset the carbon footprint of the rally and address concerns from environmentalists.

But it was another event superbly organised and one delighted figure was Chris Torode, a front-wheel drive class winner who took fourth overall, just under two minutes off the top three.

‘The event went really, really well,’ said Torode while wishing Peter Jory a quick recovery after the sole significant crash of the day.

‘From a personal perspective, I never thought we would see a rally in Guernsey,’ he said.

‘That was the third Guernsey Rally and I am looking forward to maybe celebrating the 25th, if I’m still alive.’

Fellow class-winner Kevin Rumens, a highly-experienced driver, had a trouble-free day competing in the ‘C’.

‘Very smoothly organised. I have competed all over Britain and Ireland and the smoothness of the running of the event, it’s up there with the best of them,’ said Rumens.

‘For such a small event and such a new event, it’s superb and I cannot praise the organisers enough. And I’m not part of the committee,’ he added.