Crews in the Motorsport UK British Cross Country Championship (BXCC) will head to Penybont in Wales next weekend for the third instalment of what is proving to be an exciting season.
The Penybont venue has never been used in the championship before and it promises to offer a very challenging course for the competitors.
Championship Manager Jon Aston is looking forward to another great battle after closely fought rounds at Pickering and Ceri.
“After only two rounds the BXCC is hotting up, I’ve had several conversations with competitors discussing their strategy, working out what events they think they will excel at and whether to enter the Yorkshire Hill Rally in September to have a stab at some more points. Round three will be a leveller with it being the first time the championship has used the site. We’ve organised what should be a great course with gravel tracks, woods, big hills, grass and quarries making up an almost 7 miles route.”
After the first two rounds it’s a Par Home Racing 1-2 at the top of the championship leaderboard with Paul Rowlands on 162 points ahead of son Jason on 156. After his first ever BXCC win at Ceri Aston Cox is a further point behind in third. However, problems with his car mean that it is unlikely he’ll be at Penybont.
“After a great result last time out we did a bit of testing and broke the gearbox again,” said Cox. “Unfortunately this time it’s terminal and can’t be fixed. We are still looking at options but nothing is looking likely in the timescale so it looks like I will be missing round three. This is a great shame as it was looking like a good championship battle with the Rowlands’ crews. Gutted isn’t the word. After car issues at Ceri my dad Martin’s car is all ready to go so he should be there.”
Mike Faulkner and Peter Foy were one of several BXCC crews who appeared in the offroad arena at the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed and they lie fifth in the championship after good results at the first two rounds.
“It was a great privilege to support the Goodwood Festival of Speed and get some much needed seat time,” commented Faulkner. “We continue to learn the Fouquet, understanding the capabilities of the car and how to adapt my driving style for the different terrain.”
“We are looking forward to racing at Penybont, it looks like a great venue with a mix of surfaces. We’ll be aiming to continue to improve and build on the progress we made at Pickering and Ceri.”
Richard Green will have son Owen navigating for him again as he continues to put miles on the new engine in his Bowler.
“The new engine went well at Ceri so we’re hoping that continues at Penybont,” said Green. “We’ve changed a wheel bearing since the event and have a bit of work to do to find and cure a water leak but we’re really looking forward to competing at round three.”
In the Trophy championship Ben Cundy heads the leaderboard with 172 points ahead of Jesus Henriquez Navarro and Steve Hill. Hill wasn’t sure if he’d be racing at round three after issues with his car at Goodwood but those have been sorted so he should be on the start line.
Rick Mann and Rebecca Clarkson have entered round three as a “weekender” and, after winning the event when the BXCC raced at Sweet Lamb in 2019, they could be one of the leading crews at Penybont. Toby Jefferson and Neil Hartley will be also be one of the weekender crews, having also raced at the first two rounds in their GSR 206.
Jefferson commented: “The terrain at Penybont looks to be quite different from Ceri so we’ve done some work on the suspension settings. Neil is giddy to race again and he’s also showing an interest in the Yorkshire Hill rally in September so let’s hope round three is kind to us and the car.”
The BXCC is supported by Par Homes, Voxcloud, Roodsafe, Roadflash, Gregg Motorsport, Fairview Farm Machinery, Fairview Farm Log Cabin and Holiday Accommodation, Aspire Park and Leisure Homes, Johnnie Drysdale, Whitecliff 4×4, Dynatech, NickyGrist.com, Whitchurch MOT Centre, Staffordshire Signs, PD Extinguishers and OR Tyres.
For more information on the championship please visit crosscountryuk.org.
