Simpson wins at Lydden Hill as Retro RX heads to Loheac

Gary Simpson claimed his fifth outright obp Motorsport Retro Rallycross Championship victory in a row at Lydden Hill on Bank Holiday Monday (August 26) with his BMW E30, but the final result far from told the whole story of an entertaining final.

It was Lancia Stratos driver John Cross who made the best start from the middle of the front row in the final to take a commanding early lead, while Simpson ran second ahead of Phil Collard, the Renault 5 driver having his best outing of the season, including setting third fastest time in Q3.

But, despite having built a comfortable margin and appearing to be on route to a first Retro RX win, Cross was forced to pull off the circuit on the second lap with the broken driveshaft.

Meanwhile, former Retro RX champion and multiple John Button Memorial Trophy winner Ray Morgan had overcome technical issues with his Ford Escort in qualifying, which included having to change the gearbox, and passed Collard on lap one. He then hunted down Simpson and challenged for the lead until half way through the final lap, when he retired at the Devil’s Elbow with another technical issue. That left Simpson to claim victory, with Collard a delighted second and Brian Hardman coming home third in his Ford Escort.

“I’ve been under pressure all day. John’s pace has increased incredibly, Phil’s got his Renault going fairly sharp now and we’ve been struggling with a misfiring engine,” said Simpson. “We’re over the moon to win, it was a shame to lose John and then Ray there at the end because otherwise I’m not so sure I would have finished where I did, but to finish first, first you have to finish. This track suits the car, I didn’t expect to win today but we’ve been fortunate we managed to deal with the issues we had in front of everybody else. I’m really enjoying Retro Rallycross, it’s just great.”

In his Escort MkI, Simon Hart finished fourth to claim top prize in the up to 1600cc Retro category, in front of the Volkswagen Polo of Paul Smith. Terry Moore was unable to take the start, despite setting a fifth fastest time in Q3.

In the searing heat of a Kent summer day, a number of drivers were forced out in qualifying, including Tony Lynch, with an oil leak problem on his new Toyota MR2 engine, and Steve Cozens, who crashed his Citroen AX in Q3.

Retro RX now heads to Loheac in France, to join the Rallycross Legends Show in supporting the French round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship. In front of an expected 80,000 people, from the Retro RX stable Steve Harris and Pat Doran will drive their Ford RS200s, Rob Gibson and Roger Thomas will pilot their MG Metro 6R4s, David Halford will be in action with his Audi Quattro and John Cross will showcase his Stratos.

“The August Bank Holiday rallycross at Lydden Hill is a showcase event for Retro Rallycross where we invite special guests and enjoy having the opportunity to catch up with those who have been involved in the sport’s history. At this event we were joined by Arthur Debenham who’s presence proved to be very popular as he spent the day promoting his latest book that was released recently. The racing on track was close, with the competition so tight it was exciting to see who would come out on top at the end of the day. With the Phil Collard Renault finally sorted along with a great performance from John Cross in the Lancia Stratos   Championship leader Gary Simpson had to stay on his toes all day to keep on top of the points earned so far this season,” said Retro RX promotor Shirley Gibson. “The 2019 title is in no way decided yet and that’s the way we like it. For me they can take it right to the wire and keep us all guessing. Our next round will see us return to South Wales on September 22, Pembrey is a favorite with Retro Rallycross so we’re already looking forward to that. In the meantime we’re taking a collection of cars to Loheac this weekend where we will join our friends in the Rallycross Legends Show for another great display of period rallycross machinery.”

Find full results and championship standings via the Motorsport UK British Rallycross Championship website here.