2014 Owen Turner & Matt Fowle [MG ZR]
Sunshine, smiles and smooth selectifs…
Well, after 18 months of planning and one or two late nights, the Bullnose came and went almost without a hitch. 35 competitors set out from the start near Bicester to tackle 40 selectifs and nearly 30 miles of regularity in the May sunshine. Most of them arrived at the finish with smiles on their faces and war stories to tell. A close fight between the eventual winners, Owen Turner and Matt Fowle, and Paul Sharp and Gruff Parry ended when Paul and Gruff’s gearbox cried enough just before dinner halt. However, all down the field it was a close run thing right up to the end. A few competitors fell foul of the regularity sections with a tricky not-as-map triangle on the evening leg catching out plenty before a final blast through several tests in the dark brought the crews back to the finish. Thank you to everyone that competed and well done to all that finished, especially Owen and Matt.
From the feedback we’ve had, it looks as though the event was well received and we’re already thinking about a few tweaks for next time around. The landowners all seem happy, so there’s no reason to think we won’t be doing it all over again next year.
Full list of award winners
- Overall winners: Owen Turner/Matt Fowle – MG ZR
- Class 1: 1st – Ben Smith/Simon Harris – MG ZR | 2nd – Mathew Tordoff/Tim Tordoff – MG ZR | 3rd – Oli Wakeman/Ross Whittock – Rover 214
- Class 2: 1st – Mike Saywell/Nick Clarke – Peugeot 106
- Class 4: 1st – Paul Freeth/Chris Head – Rover 214 | 2nd – Will Rutherford/Bob Rutherford – MG ZR
- Class 5: 1st – Dave Axford/David Thorpe – Vauxhall Nova | 2nd – Keith Lane/Richard Baker – Ford Ka
- Class 7: 1st – Justin Smith/Jon Bray – MG ZR | 2nd – Michael Harper/Andrew Harper – Mercedes A140
- Clubmans: 1st – Clive Baty/Gordon McCree – Toyota Yaris
The final count up is underway…
The event has been raising money for Help For Heroes this year and we received over £500 in donations from competitors alone. A few landowners have also made donations and the club will be donating from the event profits too. We’re just doing a final count-up and will announce a final donation figure as soon as we can.
A BIG thank you…
We had over 240 officials and marshals out on the event. The selectifs were absolutely packed with tabards and happy faces. A massive, massive THANK YOU to everyone who turned out to marshal on the day – we couldn’t have run the rally without you!
More action shots
The photographs featured on this page are courtesy of (and copyright of) the official event photographer, Andy Manston: www.mandh-photography.co.uk
