RAC Rally
23-25 November 1997
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Network Q RAC Rally 23-25 November 1997 | |
The list of 160 starters, plus reserves, for the 1997 Network Q RAC Rally provides a catalogue of fascinating storylines, a few of which are highlighted below.
A Carlos Sainz or Colin McRae triumph Down Under in this weekend's Rally Australia will make the Network Q RAC Rally, the 14th and final round of this year's World Championship, the 'down to the wire' decider for this year's crown, mirroring the excitement of last weekend's FIA Formula One climax. Reigning World Champion Tommi Makinen currently leads the championship with 52 points, Carlos Sainz has 47 and Colin McRae 42 (the scoring system, as in Formula 1, gives 10 points for a win, then 6-4-3-2-1).
Irrespective of the World Championship situation, this year's Network Q RAC Rally has attracted a huge entry, with no fewer than 220 candidates for a place on the start line such has been the excitement surrounding the event's move to a new southern HQ, after over a decade in the north, plus the introduction of six entirely new first-day special stage venues and the long-awaited return to the Forestry Commission roads of central and southern Wales.
Brothers Colin (1995 World Rally Champion) and Alister (1995 Mobil 1 British Rally Champion) will not be the only generation of McRaes lining up as part of this year's 160-strong field in their respective Subaru Impreza and Volkswagen Golf works entries. Their father, Jimmy (five times British Rally Champion between 1981 and 1988), has made a surprise entry (for his 15th RAC Rally) behind the wheel of a works Hyundai Accent at start number 32. Recent years have seen Jimmy prefer an entry in the Historic Rally, but he has upped the ante on his sons this year, by taking part in the full event - the first time ever that the three rally drivers of the talented Lanarkshire household will all line up together on an RAC Rally start line.
Outside the McRae clan, British interest is focused on a number of likely suspects: the new Mobil 1 British Rally Champion, Mark Higgins, looking to repeat his Sunny form (4th last year) in the new Nissan Almera; Gwyndaf Evans, the Welsh driver who recently relinquished links with Ford's Blue Oval to take flight in his new SEAT; and Oxfordshire's Richard Burns, going all out for victory in his Mitsubishi Carisma GT in front of his home crowd.
From the Mintex National Series, strong challenges come from current champion Brian Lyall in his Subaru Impreza (14th on the Network Q RAC Rally last year) and Marcus Dodd's Ford Escort RS Cosworth, fresh from victory on the Bulldog Midland Rally last weekend.
Enthusiasts will be treated to some great state-of-the-art rally spectating this year, with the first appearance in the UK of the new breed of World Rally Cars, especially the freshly unveiled Toyota Corolla. A record 13 manufacturer teams have entered, underlining the phenomenal level of interest in the 1997 Network Q RAC Rally.
No matter what their badge preference, spectators will find one of their favourites among more than 21 different makes of car competing: Citroen, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Lada, Lancia, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Proton, Renault, Rover, Saab, Seat, Skoda, Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota, Vauxhall and Volkswagen.
As ever, the Network Q RAC Rally entry list reflects the unrivalled appeal of the sport. No fewer than 64 different professions and trades are represented in the line-up from bakers & builders to farmers and firemen, from journalists and jewellers to retailers and restauranteurs almost every job or metier conceivable has produced a driver or co-driver on the event.
No-one personifies the cross-cultural nature of the event more than co-driver Kevin Gormley, whose history of overcoming linguistic barriers (including Peruvian, Dutch, Norwegian and Bulgarian) is second to none, demonstrated most notably by his second place finish last year alongside Masao Kamioka, a non-English-speaking Japanese driver. The same partnership starts this year at number 14.
The geography of entries is equally diverse. The 160 starters come from 24 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Latvia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
The following are available for publication (or the relief of busy switchboards!):
Entries are listed in number order (starting order will be announced during
week ending 7 November)
No ENTRANT (Nat)
Drivers Nats Car
1 MITSUBISHI RALLIART (GB)
Tommi Makinen/Seppo Harjanne FIN/FIN Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
2 MITSUBISHI RALLIART (GB)
Richard Burns/Robert Reid GB/GB Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
3 555 SUBARU WORLD RALLY TEAM (GB)
Colin McRae/Nicky Grist GB/GB Subaru Impreza WRC
4 555 SUBARU WORLD RALLY TEAM (GB)
Kenneth Eriksson/Staffan Parmander S/S Subaru Impreza WRC
5 FORD MOTOR COMPANY (GB)
Carlos Sainz/Luis Moya E/E Ford Escort WRC
6 FORD MOTOR COMPANY (GB)
Juha Kankkunen/Juha Repo FIN/FIN Ford Escort WRC
7 TOYOTA CASTROL TEAM (D)
Didier Auriol/Denis Giraudet F/F Toyota Corolla WRC
8 555 SUBARU WORLD RALLY TEAM (GB)
Piero Liatti/Fabrizia Pons I/I Subaru Impreza WRC
9 TOYOTA CASTROL TEAM (D)
Marcus Gronholm/Timo Rautiainen FIN/FIN Toyota Corolla WRC
10 GAZPROM RALLY TEAM (RUS)
Bruno Thiry/Stephane Prevot B/B Ford Escort WRC
11 MOTORSPORT CONSULTANCY (NL)
Ari Vatanen/Roger Freeman FIN/GB Ford Escort WRC
12 BELGACOM TURBO TEAM (B)
Gregoire De Mevius/Jean Marc Fortin B/B Ford Escort WRC
14 TEAM IMPREZA RECARO FUJITSUBO (J)
Masao Kamioka/Kevin Gormley J/GB Subaru Impreza 555
15 STOMIL OLSZTYN MOBIL 1 RALLY TEAM (PL)
Krzysztof Holowczyc/Maciej Wislawski PL/PL Subaru Impreza 555
16 FORD MOTOR COMPANY (GB)
Angelo Medeghini/Barbara Medeghini I/I Ford Escort WRC
17 SUBARU ALLSTARS (GB)
Yukihiro Sakurai/Ronan Morgan J/IRL Subaru Impreza 555
18 NISSAN MOTORSPORTS EUROPE (NL)
Mark Higgins/Philip Mills GB/GB Nissan Almera GTi
19 SKODA UK (GB)
Stig Blomqvist/Benny Melander S/S Skoda Felicia Kit Car
20 Andrea Navarra/Renzo Casazza I/I Subaru Impreza 555
21 SBG SPORT (GB)
Alister McRae/David Senior GB/GB Volkswagen Golf GTi
22 SEAT CUPRA SPORT (GB)
Gwyndaf Evans/Howard Davies GB/GB Seat Ibiza GTI 16V
23 RENAULT DEALER RALLYING (GB)
Robbie Head/Bryan Thomas GB/GB Renault Maxi Megane
24 SEAT SPORT (E)
Oriol Gomez/Marc Marti E/E Seat Ibiza Kit Car
25 Per Svan/Johan Olsson S/S Opel Astra GSi
27 SEAT SPORT (E)
Harri Rovanpera/Voitto Silander FIN/FIN Seat Ibiza Kit Car
29 MITSUBISHI RALLIART (D)
Luis Climent/Alex Romani E/E Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
30 RENAULT DEALER RALLYING (GB)
Martin Rowe/Nicky Beech GB/GB Renault Maxi Megane
31 SEAT CUPRA SPORT (GB)
David Higgins/Chris Wood GB/GB Seat Ibiza GTI 16V
33 MITSUBISHI RALLIART (D)
Kristopher Rosenberger/C Francois A/F Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
34 EAST BELGIAN RACING TEAM (B)
Bernard Munster/Jean-Francois Elst B/B Skoda Felicia 1.6
35 Reece Jones/Eurig Evans NZ/GB Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
32 HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY (ROK)
Jimmy McRae/? GB/? Hyundai Accent
36 Olli Harkki/Kari Mustalahti FIN/FIN Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
37 Jason Sharpe/Ian Bevan GB/GB Peugeot 306 16S
38 PROTON-PETRONAS EON RACING TEAM (MAL)
Karamjit Singh/Allen Oh MAL/MAL Proton Persona
39 Per Eklund/Johnny Johansson S/S Saab 900 Turbo
40 SEAT CUPRA SPORT (GB)
Barbara Armstrong/Lisa Addy GB/GB Seat Ibiza GTI 16V
41 GAZPROM RALLY TEAM (RUS)
Alexandre Jeloudov/Victor Timkovsky RUS/RUS Ford Escort RS Cosworth
42 Brian Lyall/John Bennie GB/GB Subaru Impreza 555
43 Steve Hill/Julia Rabbett GB/GB Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
45 Marcus Dodd/Stephen McAuley GB/GB Ford Escort RS Cosworth
46 Saku Vierimaa/Duncan McNiven FIN/GB Ford Escort RS Cosworth
47 Kjell Olofsson/Robert Wood S/GB Saab 900 Turbo
48 Roger Duckworth/Mark Broomfield GB/GB Subaru Impreza 555
49 Sandy Dalgarno/Martin Forrest GB/GB Ford Escort RS 2000
50 Jeremy Easson/Alun Cook GB/GB Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
51 Julian Porter/Claire Mole GB/GB Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
52 Geoff Smith/Jim Kitson GB/GB Ford Escort RS 2000
53 NISSAN MOTORSPORTS EUROPE (NL)
Masahiro Takasaki/Hiroaki Hamada J/J Nissan Micra
54 Jeffrey Panton/John De Mercado JA/JA Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD
55 Frederic Dor/Didier Breton CH/F Subaru Impreza 555
56 Hiroshi Nishiyama/Hisashi Yamaguchi J/J Subaru Impreza 555
57 Ian Joel/Graeme Wood GB/GB Ford Escort RS Cosworth
58 Richard Gough/Tony Beddoes GB/GB Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
59 Mike Rimmer/Aled Davies GB/GB Subaru Impreza 555
60 David Humphreys/Mark Lewis GB/GB Ford Escort RS Cosworth
61 Peter Littler/Chris Jones GB/GB Vauxhall Astra GSi
62 Neil Wearden/Trevor Agnew GB/GB Honda Civic 3 Door SiR
63 Glyn Jones/Huw Lewis GB/GB Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
64 Theo Bengry/Les Forsbrook GB/GB Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
65 John Leckie/Graham Lewis GB/GB Ford Sierra Cosworth 4x4
66 Roger Davies/Robert Dyson GB/GB Ford Escort RS Cosworth
67 David Wood/Les Waterfall GB/GB Saab 900 Turbo
68 Nick Foster/Paul Faraday GB/GB Ford Escort RS 2000
69 RALLIART CO-ORDSPORT (IRL)
Richie Holfeld/Ian Grindrod IRL/GB Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
70 HELMIA MOTORSPORT (S)
Pernilla Walfridsson/Linda Walfridsson S/S Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
71 Vince Wetton/Joff Haigh GB/GB Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
72 Simon Redhead/Alan Thomas GB/GB Subaru Impreza 555
73 Gary Smith/Andy Wynn GB/GB Ford Escort RS Cosworth
74 Gavin Cox/Stephen Griffiths GB/GB Vauxhall Calibra Turbo 4x4
75 Paul Dyas/Paul Morris GB/GB Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD
76 Pak Wing Tam/David McShane RC/AUS Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
77 Hamed Al-Wahaibi/? OM/? Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
78 Stuart Egglestone/Steve Egglestone GB/GB Vauxhall Astra GSi
79 John Perrott/Garry Mansell GB/GB Vauxhall Astra GSi
80 Tony Jardine/Bob McKenzie GB/GB Ford Escort RS Cosworth
81 Robert Ceen/Andy Bull GB/GB Ford Escort RS Cosworth
82 Ian Gwynne/Richard Wise GB/GB Subaru Legacy
83 Jane Gunningham/Stella Boyles GB/GB Subaru Impreza 555
84 Paul Snell/Stephen Greenhill GB/GB Ford Escort RS Cosworth
85 Simon Chapman/Peter Foy GB/GB Vauxhall Astra GSi
86 Graham Middleton/John Morgan GB/GB Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9
87 Gary Adam/Gordon Adam GB/GB Ford Escort RS Cosworth
88 Steve Hunt/Paul Arberry GB/GB Ford Sierra Cosworth 4x4
89 Jeff Williams/Stewart Foley GB/GB Ford Escort RS Cosworth
90 Jose Barbara/Pierre Schulz F/F Ford Escort RS Cosworth
91 Don Whitehurst/Terry Atherton GB/GB Vauxhall Corsa GSI
92 Brian Bell/Paul Spooner GB/GB Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
93 Bernt Kollevold/Morten Paulsrud N/N Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
94 Gerolaho Pelli/Stefano Angelino I/I Nissan Sunny GTi
95 Lars Wikman/Lennart Pullander S/S Opel Astra GSi
96 Gary Cooper/Jonathan Belbin GB/GB Ford Sierra Cosworth 4x4
98 Vincent Bristow/Dean Mitchell GB/GB Mazda Familia 4WD (BG8)
99 Andy Rowe/Mark Walker GB/GB Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9
100 ?/Derek Ringer ?/GB Ford Escort WRC
101 John Robson/Kenneth Bowman GB/GB Vauxhall Corsa GSi
102 Phillip Morgan/David Taylor GB/GB Peugeot 306 16S
103 Paul Griffiths/Shaun O'Gorman GB/GB Ford Escort RS 2000
104 Innes Marlow/Alyson Marlow GB/GB Ford Escort RS Cosworth
105 Keith Robathan/? GB/? Subaru Legacy 4WD
106 Mark Jasper/Ned Edwards GB/GB Ford Sierra Cosworth 4x4
107 Karsten Richardt/Ole Frederiksen DK/DK Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
108 SUBARU TEAM LATVIA (LV)
Ivars Caune/Andris Shimkus LV/LV Subaru Impreza 555
109 Ryoji Naka/Yoshio Tanaka J/J Subaru Impreza 555
111 Stephen Wedgbury/Chris Neale GB/GB Honda Civic VTI
112 Bob Bean/Paul Nolan GB/GB Vauxhall Corsa GSi
113 NISSAN MOTORSPORTS EUROPE (NL)
Geoff Jones/Rhydian Welson GB/GB Nissan Micra Kitcar
114 Paul Lockett/Steve Eccleston GB/GB Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9
115 Danny Fois/Mike Wiseman GB/GB Ford Escort RS Cosworth
116 David Hutchinson/Frank McAlister GB/GB Peugeot 306 16S
117 Richard Worts/Robert Liles GB/GB Vauxhall Corsa GSi
118 Colin Barber/Martin Barber GB/GB Vauxhall Astra GSi
119 Guy Anderson/Jez Kemp GB/GB Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9
120 Will Clarke/Craig Burgess GB/GB Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9
121 David Nutt/Richard Crossland GB/GB Vauxhall Astra GSi
122 Peter Walster/Ian Holliday GB/GB Ford Sierra Cosworth 4x4
123 Peter Woodhead/Jim Ward GB/GB Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
124 Martin Healer/Mark Thake GB/GB Ford Escort RS Cosworth
125 Andy Gwynne/Nigel Gardner GB/GB Vauxhall Corsa GSi
126 Emlyn Wynne/Phil Gooch GB/GB Ford Escort RS Cosworth
127 Richard Roberts/Phil King GB/GB Vauxhall Astra GSi
128 Edward Roberts/Dave Tomley GB/GB Ford Escort RS Cosworth
129 Graeme Presswell/Martin Saunders GB/GB Vauxhall Astra GSi
130 Michel Cagnet/Yves Lombard F/F Peugeot 106 XSi
131 Nick Barrow/Paul Cook GB/GB Nissan Micra
132 Chris Tilly/Terry Moore GB/GB Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9
133 Graham Coffey/Jon Atherton GB/GB Ford Escort RS Cosworth
134 Andy Senior/Dave Ellis GB/GB Vauxhall Astra GSi
135 Mark Fisher/Clive Jenkins GB/GB Nissan Micra
136 Olaf Dobberkau/Matthias Dorl D/D Opel Astra GSi
137 Paul Cooper/David Jones GB/GB Honda Civic VTI
138 Debbie Gilliver/Linda Craske GB/GB Honda Civic VTI
139 Paul Thomas/Martin Douglas GB/GB Vauxhall Astra GSi
140 Rod Bennett/Rob Langley GB/GB Lancia Delta HF Integrale
141 Cameron Park/Graham Parker GB/GB Nissan Sunny GTi
142 Tim Hookway/Jayson Brown GB/GB Peugeot 106 Rallye
143 Les Andrew/Graham Whitaker GB/GB Vauxhall Astra GSi
144 Nigel Heath/Jeff Ashfield GB/GB Subaru Impreza 555
145 Tim Ferris/Martin Gardner GB/GB Peugeot 106 Rallye
146 Les Allfrey/Simon Pain GB/GB Peugeot 106 Rallye
147 Peter Beards/John Connor GB/GB Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9
148 Nigel Griffiths/Neil Jones GB/GB Citroen ZX Diesel Volcane
149 Daniel Harper/Leslie Reger GB/GB Rover Mini Cooper 1.3i
150 David Blades/Shaun White GB/GB Peugeot 106 Rallye
151 Tim Green/Rob Smith GB/GB Skoda Favorit 136L
152 Stephen Chamberlain/Martin Payne GB/GB Peugeot 106 Rallye
153 Rupert Hopcraft/Kevin Devine GB/GB Nissan Micra
154 Stephane Gaillard/Jean Claude Eralle F/F Renault Clio 16S
155 Lisa Parish/Jim Perkins GB/GB Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9
156 Philippe Gobert/Jean-Marie Servant F/F Suzuki Swift GTI
157 Pierluigi Comelli/Flavio Candoni I/I Citroen Saxo VTS
158 Jo Brand/John O'Donnell GB/GB Peugeot 106 Rallye
159 Dafydd Larcombe/John James GB/GB Vauxhall Corsa GSI
160 SKODA UK (GB)
Anna Tait/Garett O'Connor GB/GB Skoda Felicia 1.6
161 Mauro Zamparutti/Andrea Monsutti I/I Opel Astra GSi
162 Michael Plant/Robert Plant GB/GB Rover Mini Cooper 1.3i
163 SKODA UK (GB)
Melissa Heijink/Richard Taunt GB/GB Skoda Felicia
RESERVE LIST
------------
164 Trevor Godwin/David Wyer GB/GB Rover Mini Cooper 1.3i
165 Janie Eaton/Pauline Taylor GB/GB Ford Ka
166 Rory McNeile/Paul Johns GB/GB Peugeot 106 Rallye
167 Barry Strong/Claire Bowen GB/GB Proton Satria
168 Peter Gretton/Judie Chidwick GB/GB Skoda Felicia
169 Joachim Muller-Wende/Paul Gosling D/GB Skoda Felicia 1.6
170 Richard & Catherine Phillipson GB/GB Vauxhall Astra GSi
171 Ian Titterton/John Lewis GB/GB Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9
172 Trevor Humphrey/Spencer Edmonds GB/GB Ford Sierra Cosworth 4x4
173 Clive Bailye/Howard Pridmore GB/GB Peugeot 106 Rallye
174 David Johnson/John Flynn GB/GB Proton Persona
175 Steve Nicholls/Alex Game GB/GB Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9
176 Nick Pollitt/Pete Smith GB/GB Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9
177 Avon Cayzer/Ray Holland GB/GB Ford Escort RS 2000
178 Kevin Lee/Pam Lee GB/GB Peugeot 106 Rallye
179 Dave West/Keith Hounslow GB/GB Skoda Felicia
180 Natalie Barratt/Joyce Champion GB/GB Honda Civic VTI
181 Marcus Bond/Jason Austin GB/GB Honda Civic VTI
182 Red Barry/Kenneth Banner GB/GB Suzuki Swift GTI
183 Tim Miller/Peter Moss GB/GB Vauxhall Corsa GSI
184 David Boden/Mark Price GB/GB Mazda 323 4WD Turbo
185 Roy Gravestock/Les Holden GB/GB Vauxhall Corsa GSI
186 Martin Newcombe/Peter Newcombe GB/GB Skoda Felicia
187 Paul Green/Steph Green GB/GB Skoda Felicia
188 George Butler/Will Roberts GB/GB Vauxhall Corsa GSI
189 Martin Shaw/Ian Prout GB/GB Lada 2105 Riva
190 Nigel Worrall/Guy Weaver GB/GB Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9
191 Andy Butler/David Howe GB/GB Vauxhall Nova GSI
192 Anthony Watts/Andrew Ballantyne GB/GB Skoda Favorit 136L
193 Andy Corner/Gill Cotton GB/GB Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9
There have been
visits to the `Network Q RAC Rally' since Tue Sep 23 1997