Harrold scores emphatic Silverstone victory on Retro Rallycross Championship return

After an absence of two years, James Harrold returned to the Retro Rallycross Championship with his popular Volkswagen Beetle for the opening round of the 2018 season at Silverstone (March 17), and scored an emphatic victory.

Fastest in all three qualifying races, setting progressively quicker times on a circuit that changed from wet and slippery conditions early in the day to dry in the afternoon, despite falling snow, Harrold took the lead of the final at the first corner with his 600 horsepower, rear-wheel drive Beetle and led throughout to win.

Second at the Intermediate Classification, newcomer Steve Cozens started from the middle of the front row in the final, but lost out in the run to turn one to former Retro Rallycross Champion Ray Morgan, driving his familiar Ford Escort, as Cozens’ Citroen AX slotted into third.

Following a stunning Q3 drive, where he pushed Harrold all the way in his much smaller capacity Mini Clubman, Stewart Bowes dropped to fifth on lap one of the final, behind Gary Dixon’s Vauxhall Astra.

At the start of the second lap, in a battle for second place, Morgan spun at turn one and retired, Cozens’ taking up the chase for the lead. The AX racer pressuring the leader’s Beetle for the rest of the race and finished second, just over half a second behind.

“The day couldn’t really have been any better for us. The main aim was to leave Silverstone with a car we could take to Lydden Hill in two weeks. We all agreed we weren’t too worried about how competitive it was at this stage and after walking the circuit on Friday we knew it wasn’t going to suit our car at all,” said Harrold. “To come away with a win was very unexpected, we would’ve considered finishing practice as a result. I must say a huge thank you to the team and everyone who came to support us, Dave Rowe from EPS who was on hand to keep the engine in good shape and team manager Paul Harrold who makes it all possible.”

Dixon finished third, while Bowes dropped behind another newcomer, Steve Bowie, racing a Vauxhall Chevette, and Mini Clubman driver Ian Biagi. Bowes fought back in the latter stages of the race to finish fourth, second in the Retro sub-category for under 1600cc machines (behind Cozens), while Bowie concluded his first event in fifth. Biagi was sixth and Toyota MR2 driver Paul Easterbrook was the seventh and final driver to conclude the four-lap race. Despite setting a seventh fastest time in Q1, Ford Escort driver Simon Hart just missed out on a place in the final. He was ninth in the Intermediate Classification.

“I can’t ever remember a rallycross event that has been as cold as it was at Silverstone, but happily the freezing temperatures didn’t dampen the spirits of the Retro drivers, who arrived at Silverstone looking forward to getting the 2018 Championship underway and racing on the new track,” said Retro Rallycross Championship Manager, Shirley Gibson. “It was such a good day for us, the weather was the only negative. It was great to have James back with us he clearly didn’t lose any of his driving skills during his time away and it was a popular win with everyone. It was nice to be able to welcome two of our newest recruits and both Steve Cozens and Steve Bowie enjoyed themselves. As we move forward to round two at Lydden Hill on Easter Monday we have more new faces to introduce to our fans. Hopefully the weather will be a little kinder to us there.”

2018 Retro Rallycross Championship: Round One, Final Result:

1 James Harrold          Volkswagen Beetle (Super Retro)
2 Steve Cozens            Citroen AX (Retro)
3 Gary Dixon               Vauxhall Astra (Super Retro)
4 Stewart Bowes         Mini Clubman (Retro)
5 Steve Bowie             Vauxhall Chevette (Retro)
6 Ian Biagi                   Mini Clubman (Retro)
7 Paul Easterbrook      Toyota MR2 (Super Retro)
8 Ray Morgan             Ford Escort (Super Retro)
9 Simon Hart               Ford Escort (Retro)

Round two of the 2018 Retro Rallycross Championship takes place at Lydden Hill on April 2.