AWESOME DISPLAY FROM BIRD
25 February 2006 - Larry Scoop Carter

Despite a major gearbox problem, defending ANCRO Rally Champion Paul Bird got his 2006 season off to a great start by claiming a third place finish on Rallye Sunseeker today.

Along with co driver Ian Windress and driving the Derek McGarrity, Pirelli backed Subaru Impreza WRC S9, the Penrith businessman took his traditional lead on the two Friday night stages before encountering problems 200 metres into today’s first stage of round one of the MSA Gravel Rally Championship based in Bournemouth.

Without fourth gear for 68 of the 70 stage miles, Bird battled on in the face of adversity to emerge in third place after edging out rival Barry Johnson with a determined late charge and in doing so repeated his result of 2005.

“Not bad for a car without fourth gear!” exclaimed Bird. “I reckon I was losing three seconds a mile to the others so third place is a fantastic result for me. This has to be the best car I have ever driven and had it not been for two big spins on the penultimate stage I could well have clinched second” continued Bird, who admitted that he may now decide after all to defend the ANCRO title that he won last year

“I will certainly be giving it some thought about contesting the Border Counties as I know the stages well in Kielder and I’d like to see what I can do when we get a clean run in the car without any problems” concluded the Cumbrian.

Final Results

1. Craig Middleton/Robin Hernaman Hyundai 1:07:33.9

2. Steve Perez/Neil Dashfield Ford Focus 1:08:00.3

3. Paul Bird/Ian Windress Subaru 1:08:08.4

4. Barry Johnson/Stewart Merry Subaru 1:08:18.6

5. Richard Gower/Aled Davies Hyundai 1:11:38.1

6. John Lloyd/Pauline Gullick Subaru 1:12:10.2

7. Steve Hendy/Mark Milton Ford Escort 1:12:37.9

8. Anthony Willmington/Andy White Mitsubishi 1:13:18.8

9. Alistair Tough/Alistair Mackay Subaru 1:13:26.4

10. Michael O’Brien/Steve Smallbone Subaru 1:13:40.0

ANCRO Championship Standings

1. Craig Middleton 25 points

2. Steve Perez 22 points

3. Paul Bird 20 points

4. Barry Johnson 19 points

5. Richard Gower 18 points

6. Anthony Willmington 17 points

www.cartersport.com

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