BIRD CLAIMS SECOND PLACE IN GRIZEDALE
05 December 2005 - Eddie Stobart

Newly crowned ANCRO National Rally Champion Paul Bird couldn’t quite round off a successful season in the manner he’d have liked

With no outright victory, instead he had to settle for second place in Coppermines Grizedale Stages Rally based in his native Lake District.

After selling his own championship winning car earlier in the week, Bird had to resort to the ex Mark Higgins Stobart Motorsport Ford Focus WRC to contest the event under strict instructions not to damage the car which is also up for sale!

A steady run through the opening two Grizedale stages saw Bird from Penrith, and Northallerton co-driver Ian Windress, arrive at first service just over half a minute down on rally leader Guy Wilks (Hyundai Accent WRC) but the pair upped the pace on the short stages of Dunnerdale to consolidate second place going into the final twenty miles.

A time consuming spin and an overshoot scuppered any chances of Bird going all out for victory on the last pair of tests and as a result, had to settle for runner up placing for the second time in as many years.

“I’m happy enough with second place under the circumstances as I found it hard to adjust to the car and finishing second to a World Championship quality driver like Guy Wilks is nothing to be ashamed of. I was under strict orders to bring the car home without any problems and that’s what we did without too many dramas. I’d also like to take this opportunity to say a special thank you to Andrew and William at Stobart Motorsport and everyone at Dom Buckley Motorsport for providing me with such a memorable and superb season” said the Cumbrian who made it eleven successive rally finishes with his success.

Results

1 Guy Wilks/Phil Pugh Hyundai Accent WRC 46:44

2 Paul Bird/Ian Windress Ford Focus WRC 48:11

3 Jon Ingram/Ian Allsop Ford Focus WRC 48:35

4 Steve Petch/John Richardson Hyundai Accent WRC 50:47

5 David Shuttleworth/Simon Megaw Mitsubishi Lancer 50:47

6 David Wright/Shelley Rogerson Subaru Impreza 51:04

7 Gary Adam/Gordon Adam Subaru Impreza 51:09

8 Tristan Pye/Andrew Roughead Subaru Impreza 51:41

9 Barry Groundwater/Jude Wylie Mitsubishi Lancer 51.59

10 Stephen Petch/Michael Wilkinson Subaru Impreza 52:03

Picture attached (courtesy of Ian Hardy – www.ianhardy.net) Paul Bird and Ian Windress in action on The Coppermines Grizedale Stages Rally today.

www.eddiestobart.co.uk

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