Sammy Cumberbatch (right) in his BMW-powered Ford Escort took group honours in F4, F3 and F1 merged. He placed 4th overall, while Sean Gill in the Suzuki Ignis was second in the group and 6th overall. Owen Cumberbatch sharing the BMW E36 with his father St.Elmo Cumberbatch finished 3rd in the group and 7th overall. The final 3 positions in that group went to Jonathan Still (BMW M3), St.Elmo Cumberbatch (BMW E36) and Calvin Briggs (Ford Escort). They placed 9th, 10th and 15th respectively. Ronald Gilkes in his Ford Escort Cosworth received a DNF.

In Group A4 and A3 merged, Andrew Jones driving a Ford Escort took group honours while placing 11th overall. Adrian Linton behind the wheel of his Vauxhall Astra GTE was second in the group and 12th overall. Final positions went to Gregory Catwell in his Nissan and Nicholas Gill driving his Mazda Lantis. Barry Ward received a DNF.

Action on the stage was incredible with some spectacular moments. All the drivers drove aggressively, with some eye-popping moments. Andrew Jones (right) was spectacularly sideways as usual, offsetting his Escort at will. Screams and cheers of approval erupted from the crowd as Jones approached the hairpin and slid his car through the bend with ease. Trevor Manning was one who thrilled the crowd with his clean sliding. However, on one of his runs, he was caught out and stalled his Evo. This proved to be to his detriment as a result of the cumulative timing system being used, and having one bad run can significantly reduce your chances for winning or placing in the top positions in an event. Micey returned on his final run and slid the Evo cleanly through the bend, putting the previous run behind him. Barry Ward wasn't as lucky, however. In the same section where Micey spun and stalled his Evo, Ward hit his rear right wheel, reportedly damaging the rear axle (right). This caused him to retire from the event. One thing is sure though, Ward is a competent driver with a well prepared car, and is one to watch in upcoming events.

There was a marked difference in the driving of Roger Hill. "The Ninja" was quite quick and clean, even giving the crowd a scandi on his way to a 3rd placed finish. Owen Cumberbatch also impressed the numerous onlookers, seemingly taming the powerful BMW E36, which he shared with St.Elmo Cumberbatch. "The Sheriff" was flying indeed, his Cosworth was working well. One can only imagine what this car will do after the engine returns from the UK later on this year. Rumour has it that the engine will be modified in order to extract more horsepower and to provide more talk. Is the Sheriff gearing up for the All Stage Rally? It seems so to me.

All in all, it was a well attended and well organised event, which once again lacked nothing at all. Excitement was the order of the day and one can only wait and see what takes place at the coming events. Once again, congratulations are in order for Paul "The Surfer" Bourne on another triumph. He seems to be getting into his machine quite well, and he is sending quite a warning to all comers. Thanks are also extended to all marshalls, the Rally Timing crew and all others concerned who made this event a success.