Image courtesy of Geoff Mayes

July 2006
Swansea makes it number 4

23-year-old Scottish driver Chris Reid and his co-driver Lee Burgess continued their domination of the Quaife PSOOC Rally Challenge with his 4th rally win of 2006 taking victory by 51 seconds after a daylong battle with their AB Motorsport team-mates Stefan Davis and Patrick Cooper who were driving an identical 1.9 Peugeot 205s. Reid had already won 3 rounds and this result places him in an almost insurmountable points lead!

After 2 stages Reid held a small lead of 13 seconds over newcomer Frazer Stannard with Stefan Davis just 1 second further back. Stage 3, Walters Arena, was going well until a very tight chicane near the end of the stage caused Reid to stall his car and lose 10 seconds to a flying Davis, reducing his lead to just 4 seconds.

With stage 4, Rheloa being cancelled the rally was to be decided in the last Resolven stage. Everyone expected the final 15.8 mile Resolven stage to be a major part of the event, but with 3 drivers all close enough to take the victory, Reid was under immense pressure to deliver a cool-headed drive to ensure a safe run and secure more points to maintain his lead of the championship.

Reid’s plan of staying cool took a turn for the worse when he spun his 205 early in the stage loosing over 30 seconds. He was infuriated by this mistake and opted to attack the remaining twelve miles at full speed. Unbeknown to Reid, Davis was also having problems with his 205’s rear brakes, forcing him to limp to the finish. Reid’s final pace through the Resolven stage netted him an incredible twelfth fastest overall in the Clubman’s Rally and a stage time 44 seconds faster than his closest 205 rival.

The next round of the championship is the Mewla rally held over the Epynt military ranges in mid Wales, on the 26th August. Chris would like to thank his Navigator Lee for doing a superb job, and the whole ABmotorsport team for doing a faultless job in preparing the car.

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