The second round of the 2024 HRCR Mini Cup returned to the popular venue of the Epynt Military Ranges for the Pitstop Garage Dixies Challenge Rally. Nine Crews made the trip to South Wales to do battle on the 10 stages on the western side of the ranges, which this event restricts itself to. And as a rare treat, the sunshine decided to make an appearance!
The action kicked off with 2022 Mini Cup champion Ryan Taylor, partnered with his ever-reliable co-driver, Dan Petrie, blazing the trail. Hot on their heels were the local heroes, Ken Pryce and Don James, determined to make their mark on home soil. Next came the reigning champs, Mini Sport sponsored drivers, Clive King and Anton Bird, eager to defend their title. Eric Davies and Russell Joseph followed closely, with Paul and Jemma Taylor in pursuit. The pack also included Shane Gamble and Julia Perry, Craig King and Kevin Hogan, Harvey Stevens and Craig Hardiman, and rounding off the field, Stuart Hart and Hannah Mitchell.
Stage 1 delivered drama from the get-go. Clive and Anton stamped their authority early, setting the fastest time. Ryan and Dan were right behind, with Ken and Don snapping at their heels. But it wasn’t smooth sailing for everyone—Stuart and Hannah hit trouble after a heavy landing over a jump. The impact ruptured a brake hose, leaving them sidelined for Stages 2, 3, and 4, and racking up maximum penalties for each.
The stage was set for a thrilling battle as the remaining crews pushed hard, each chasing their moment of glory.
Stage 2 saw Ryan and Clive setting exactly the same time which meant at 1st service, Clive and Anton held the lead by 3 seconds. What was very impressive was that we learned that Clive had completed the first two stages with no intercom and suffering from clutch issues. Shane was reporting that he was having gearbox issues and he also felt he was too lowly geared for this venue, and was losing out on the long straights.
On the next loop, Clive and Anton would have a disaster. On stage 4 they suffered a heavy landing after a jump and broke a rotor arm. They managed to fix the issue in stage, but lost 3 minutes in the process, and handed the lead to Ryan and Dan. Ken and Don were now in Second place with Craig and Kevin finding themselves promoted to third after a cautious start (but finding some good pace after the 1st loop of stages).
Over the next set of stages Ryan and Dan would increase their lead over everybody except Clive and Anton who (after fixing their clutch and intercom) were charging hard despite being too far behind to be in contention for victory. Craig and Kevin would have a few drama’s on this loop; first being the car refusing to start in the arrival control for stage 6, although eventually the car did burst into life.
Next, Craig decided to bleed the brakes in service as they had boiled in stage, only for the calliper to break whilst doing it. Luckily there was just enough time to fit a new one. A big thank you must go to Leon Carter (Ryan and Dans service crew) and championship co-ordinator Chris Phillips for their help in changing the calliper and bleeding the system. Eric and Shane were having a tremendous battle for fourth place swapping times throughout the day.
The top three positions held firm for the rest of the day, but the battles further down the leaderboard brought plenty of excitement. Clive and Anton were on fire, dominating the stage times and showing the kind of performance that could have led to victory—if only that pesky rotor arm hadn’t failed. Nevertheless, their determination paid off as they clawed back four positions to finish an impressive fourth.
Eric put in a solid effort to secure fifth, edging out Shane by a razor-thin margin of just one second, leaving him in sixth. Harvey, growing in confidence as the day went on, delivered strong afternoon times to clinch seventh. Paul and Jemma brought their Mini home in eighth, while Stuart and Hannah, hampered by earlier mechanical issues, had to settle for ninth.
The atmosphere was electric, helped along by glorious weather, and it was fantastic to see every Mini cross the finish line. The teams are now looking ahead to the next challenge—the Dunoon Presents Argyle Rally in June, a double-points event promising even more high-stakes action.
Craig King earned the Questmead Award for the best improvement on seeding, while Clive King took home the Snap-on prize draw. Shane Gamble rounded off the awards by winning the Exol Oil prize.