With the 2009 Series having been won by David Wright in a Class B13 Mitsubishi Lancer, speculation was rife at the beginning of this year as to whether, in the face of stern WRC competition, the feat could be repeated in 2010, particularly as Steve Perez had entered the Championship for the first time in his Focus WRC 07.

The new season kicked off at Chepstow where crews assembled for the GMF Factors Wyedean Rally on a cold but bright and sunny day, which was a welcome change from the heavy snow which fell two days before last year's rally.

Despite the presence of local Dean expert and last year's winner Nik Elsmore, it was perhaps inevitable that Steve Perez staked an early claim to the BTRDA® title. All his efforts proved to be in vain however due to a decal violation which robbed him of any BTRDA® points. Hugh Hunter, with Andy Marchbank alongside, took the WRC points, but maximum points went to 2005 Gold Star Champion Roger Chilman who was making a welcome return to the Series in his Subaru Impreza. Just two seconds behind Chilman at the finish was 2006 Champion, Shaun Gardener in what he describes as an Evo 5.9. Damian Cole's steady drive in his Hyundai Accent WRC brought him to within a second of Gardener at the finish, so it was all very tight at the top as crews returned to the finish at Chepstow Race Course. Reigning Champion David Wright had a bad start to the defence of his title in his Evo 9, having to call it a day with an oil leak after stage 2. All this left Chilman leading the BTRDA® Gold Star table followed by Hunter, Gardener and Cole. Three former Champions in the top three places, what a cracking start to the year.

The Silver Star category was won by Irishman Adrian Hetherington in his Escort Mk II who took 18th overall, 22 seconds ahead of Jon Ballinger in his ever faithful Manta. Matt Beebe in his MG ZR claimed the points for third from Robert Dennis in another Escort and fifth Silver Star finisher was Tom Watson in his Fiesta ST.

Maximum points in the Millers Oils 1400 Championship were taken by 2008 1400 Champion Darren Pinchin with Karen Watts, daughter of Wyedean Clerk of the Course in the hot seat. No advantage there then! Matt Edwards, having given up on four wheel drive, had acquired Callum Black's MG ZR from the previous season and expressed his delight at the extra excitement afforded by his new acquisition and was just 3 seconds adrift of Pinchin at the finish. He even beat Black into second, despite having 20hp less. Last years Rally First Champion, Dave Bennett moved up to the 1400 Championship for 2010 and was delighted to come home in fourth spot.

The Rally First category is in its third year but unfortunately the financial recession may have hit this category harder than the others with only 8 crews taking the start. With Dave Bennett having won the series in its first two years and now stepping up to the Millers Oils 1400 Championsip the way is open for a totally new champion to be crowned at the end of the year. Matt Griffin in a VW Lupo made his Championship intentions clear by coming home in top spot, over a minute ahead of Karl O'Donoghue in a Rover 200. Mick Smith and Stephen Brown followed, both in 1.0 litre Micras. Hopefully more crews will be out on the Somerset as it would be a shame if this series loses the momentum and excellent following it had achieved in a relatively short time.

The second round of the BTRDA® Series took competitors to the Lake District for the Malcolm Wilson Rally, based in the splendid headquarters of the Ford World Rally Team at M Sport. The ferocious storms which hammered the area towards the end of last year had taken their toll but the Malcolm Wilson organisers are a tenacious bunch and with the help of the local community and a few necessary changes it was business as usual.

The remains of the previous month's snow had turned to solid ice on some of the stages and caused some head scratching at the start, with many crews pondering what tyres to use. Undeterred by his problems on the Wyedean, Steve Perez returned to make his mark on the Championship and had fitted tyres so narrow they looked as if they had come off an Austin A35! Damian Cole had chosen similarly, but wise heads were claiming that if it's ice, it makes no difference what you're on as long as they're black and round. Although not BTRDA registered, Paul Bird had entered in his Focus WRC 07 in an attempt to claim his fourth win on the event. Add 2008 BTRDA Champion Hugh Hunter, Cole and former Champions Chilman and David Wright, plus conditions in which too much power could be an embarrassment, an intriguing battle for the win was in prospect.

Bird was the early pace setter, particularly after it all seemed to go wrong for Perez when he went off the road on Stage 2. Perez got going again but had lost almost a minute in the process and having dropped to fifth, any thought of victory appeared to have gone out of the window. Damian Cole's bad luck on BTRDA events struck again when his engine expired after the first stage and Hugh Hunter joined the list of retirements when he made an unscheduled visit into the scenery on stage 2, costing him 2 minutes. John Lloyd in his Focus WRC was also another retirement after stage 2. After a slow start, reigning Champion David Wright picked up his pace posting a time only 2 seconds slower than Bird on stage 3. Thereafter he seemed to gain more confidence and climbed up the leader board to eventually come home in fifth. While this was going on Bird had struck trouble with a two punctures on stage 6, dropping almost 9 minutes - it was game over, so he decided to call it a day and went home. Perez went on to take the win and claim maximum BTRDA Gold Star points. Meanwhile Roger Chilman had quietly gone about his day, keeping the leaders in sight and was able to bring his car home in third spot which, due to the bonus point system, gave him another haul of maximum points. He now stands firmly at the top of the Gold Star table, ten points clear of Gary Cooper who came home in eighth place, equal on points with Tristan Bailey. Both Steve Perez and Hugh Hunter have now got a non scoring event each so will need nothing less than wins if they are to mount a serious challenge for the title.

The entry in the Silver Star category was very disappointing with only eight registered crews having entered. Series leader after the Wyedean, Adrian Hetherington hadn't entered so the popular money for the day was on Jon Ballinger. Not a good choice as it turned out. Jon had a torrid time, a spin costing him 3 minutes and he eventually lost out to Tom Watson in his Fiesta ST by 26 seconds. Still, it could have been worse so Jon probably considers himself fortunate to be leading the Silver Star category by a single point from Tom. A steady run by Owen Le Roy in his Astra saw him finish third, which gave him the same spot in the championship table, six points adrift of "JB."

In the Miller Oils 1400 Championship Matt Edwards had given notice of his pace on the Wyedean and he revelled in the tricky conditions the Lake District presented. Using the scenery and a couple of gate posts to great effect, a bent door panel being evidence to that, he won the category easily, Darren Pinchin following him home, 51 seconds in arrears. Edwards' effort had netted him 16th overall, a brilliant effort in a 1400 car. Pinchin had tried to match Edwards and as if to prove a point had taken fastest time on stage 6, but by then it was too late as excursions into the scenery on the first and fifth stages had lost him valuable time. Matt Edwards' team mate, Callum Black, had an eventful day too, hitting a pot hole causing a front puncture and damaging a rear wheel, but he was able to continue and brought his 586 Motorsport MG ZR home in third. Edwards' win took him to alongside Pinchin at the head of the 1400 table with Black keeping a watchful eye on the pair just 4 points adrift.

After what seemed a lengthy break of 7 weeks, competitors reassembled at the end of April in Minehead for the Betta Somerset Stages. Steve Perez was looking to make it 3 BTRDA wins on the bounce and Andy Burton was in equally determined mood, as he was keen to add to his tally of 8 Somerset wins. In the dusty conditions the pair traded fastest stage times all day long, with Burton edging 6 to Perez's 5. Each had their own problems, Perez with a fly-by-wire problem in the morning, causing him to lose time to Burton who then, over the closing stages, saw a return of the over heating problems that caused his demise on the Sunseeker which allowed Perez to close the gap. However, it was Burton that emerged from the dust cloud beating Perez by just 10 seconds. Following two non finishes, David Wright came home in third place after a rather slow start due to a poor tyre choice. He'd had an event long battle with Gold Star Championship leader Roger Chilman, but got the better of him as Chilman finished 4th admitting that he was unable to match his rival for speed and deciding to settle for a good points haul to maintain his place at the head of the Championship table. Tristan Bailey maintained his bid for the Championship by coming home in seventh just behind Andrew Barnes who posted his best finish in his Focus WRC 02. Barnes' Team mate John Lloyd in an identical Focus finished eighth. Although the Championship is not quite at the half way point, Chilman appears to have a healthy lead, however, the consistency and overall speed of Steve Perez cannot be discounted, David Wright has at last opened his account and Shaun Gardener is lurking in the background. With the Plains running almost in his back yard plus 2 more events in Wales and his local event the Woodpecker to come, he cannot be discounted from repeating his late charge of 2006 which saw him take maximum points on the final 4 rounds to take the Gold Star title.

In the Silver Star category Andy Burnell had a superb run in his Skoda Felicia to come home in 14th place overall and top 2wd crew. He hadn't entered the previous events so to open his account with a maximum score was a great way to get off the mark. Also opening his points account was Pete Elkins in his Mk2 Escort, finishing in 15th just six seconds adrift of Burnell. The Somerset is one of series leader Jon Ballinger's favourite events but despite fitting a new clutch to the ageing Manta immediately prior to the event, the replacement cried enough after stage 6. So a non finish for Jon, whilst not causing him to relinquish the top spot has tightened things up a bit with just 7 points separating the top 5. Jon was perhaps a little lucky that his nearest rival Tom Watson chose to do the Pirelli so couldn't capitalise on Jon's misfortune. However, Tom retired on the Pirelli too, so it was a poor call for Tom but fortunate for him that Jon didn't take advantage of his absence. A good run by Dale Owen in his Peugeot 206 XSi moves him up to fifth in the table, equal on points with Owen Le-Roy who hadn't entered and one point behind John Taylor in his Escort.

In the Miller Oils 1400 Championship it's still nip and tuck at the top as Darren Pinchin regained top spot from Matt Edwards as he took full advantage of running first on the road, creating the dust for the others to battle through. Edwards for his pains was 22 seconds adrift of Pinchin at the finish, having had to fight with a lack of power steering for the final few stages. The pair have opened up a healthy lead at the top of the table from Roy Gravestock in third with the pursuing pack tightly bunched with just 10 points separating Gary Wright in fourth from Paul Knapp in eighth. Callum Black has dropped a couple of places as he was committed to the Pirelli Challenge Rally so couldn't add to his total. Whilst it might look as if it is becoming a two horse race it is far from over as a non finish for the top two would open the door for the others to come rushing through.

Rally First was not a part of the Malcolm Wilson Rally so battle resumed on the Betta Somerset Stages Rally. Championship leader following the Wyedean was Matt Griffin in his VW Lupo but he failed to come out of stage nine and the resulting non-finish dropped him to fifth in the table. Taking over at the top is Joe Evett in his Vauxhall Nova although he is equal on points with Mick Smith, the pair just two points ahead of Stephen Brown who finished 2 seconds behind Smith on the Somerset - just how costly the mishap for Brown on the final stage proves to be remains to be seen.... An excellent drive by Ashley Slights on his first multi-stage event was rewarded by third in class and puts him seventh in the table. With five new crews making their debuts on the Somerset and dropped scores to count later in the year competition in the series is beginning to heat up nicely.

For more information about the Silverstone Tyres BTRDA® Rally Series such as on event results, championship tables, competitor profiles, and action photos go to: www.btrdarally.com

© Copyright Norman Robertson - April 2010

The new Code has been incorporated into the 2009 Blue Book on page 75, under paragraph 49 of the National Sporting Code and the governing body is now urging all competitors and officials to acquaint themselves with the wording before the season begins. The MSA is also warning those that do not adhere to the spirit of the Code that they will be dealt with as severely as possible by the authorities.

Colin Hilton, MSA Chief Executive: "We have been seeing a rise in anecdotal reports of bad behaviour at events and that is clearly not acceptable. The MSA has a duty to protect everyone involved in motor sport, so we are making it clear to everyone what is expected of them. This applies not only to licence holders, but also to teams, supporters and of course MSA officials. Motor sport events will always be competitive environments, but it should be possible to compete hard and retain respect for others at the same time."

MSA Code of Conduct
The Motor Sports Association expects you, and your associates, at all times to:

Abuse The Motor Sports Association will not tolerate any form of abuse or aggression towards officials, marshals, spectators and competitors. The Motor Sports Association and the National Court will impose the most stringent sanction against any transgression.