Press Release

Wyedean Forrest Press Release Round up

The beautiful historic forest town of Coleford will be host to the 2013 Team GMF Wyedean Rally on the 9th February.

The official start arch for the competitive crews will be in the market place and the cars will be flagged away by the lady mayor Sue Merrikin, with help from other local dignitaries.

The first car will arrive at 9.00am and will head off to the forest for the first stage of the day. With up to 180 entries the convoy will be about 3 hours.

The final group leaving will be the high powered cars including many in the WRC class. The event will finish in Chepstow with the first car back expected around mid afternoon.The Forest of Dean Motor Club is grateful for the opportunity to use Coleford town centre giving many the opportunity to see the rally cars in this our 38th year of running the Wyedean.

We would like to thank:-

Councillor Sue Merrikin and the Coleford Town Council

• FOD District Council• FOD Police• County Council Cannop.• Many thanks for the kind assistance from all those above.• The picture was taken by Martin Perry, The Forester Photograph Editor.• Councillor Sue Merrikin Mayor of Coleford• Councillor Patrick Molyneux Forest of Dean District Council Leader (Blue shirt)• Councillor Paul Kay Deputy Mayor of Coleford • Cars provided by Graham Waite (Volvo Amazon), Jason Morgan (Subaru) and Nigel Jenkins

(Vauxhall Nova) Representation from each section of the rally.

http://www.wyedeanrally.com/

PAYNE RELIEF!...

Now with the benefit of hindsight, Charlie Payne’s emphatic victory on the 2012 Team GMF Wyedean Forest Rally last February was to be the highlight of the Yorkshire farmer’s season. With well-known motorsport travel agent Craig Thorley reading the route notes in their Ford Focus WRC, Payne’s winning margin after 45 miles of competition over the snow-covered tracks in the Forest of Dean was a massive 3 minutes 18 seconds. As the first round of the BTRDA Gold Star Rally Championship, this result gave them cautious optimism for the remaining seven events in the series.

However, a retirement in Cumbria on the Malcolm Wilson Rally was followed by a ‘did-not-start’ on the Minehead-based Somerset Stages Rally after the car developed a problem as it was loaded on to the trailer. The only other finish came on the Plains Rally when, after spending three minutes in a Welsh ditch, Charlie & Craig scraped home in 20th place. And that was that! Any chance of a podium finish had disappeared and the pair withdrew gracefully….

THE CAR IN FRONT!...

One of the early entries for the Team GMF Wyedean Forest Rally comes from 2012 BTRDA Rally First Champions Cameron Davies and Alistair Dodd. The Llandovery driver is moving up to an all-out assault on the Millers Oils 1400 Championship this year and has replaced his successful Nissan Micra with a Toyota Aygo. Although they missed last year’s Wyedean Forest Rally, Davies/Dodd went on to take maximum scores on four of the remaining seven rounds of the series on their way to clinching the title.

Contenders for the 1400 Championship run at the front of the field on each of the BTRDA Rally Series rounds and, although the cars may only have small capacity engines, the competition amongst them is always very hot! Former 1400 Champion Darren Pinchin (Cheltenham) and co-driver Kaz Watts, who lives in the Forest of Dean, are another crew to have committed to the event already in their Proton Satria.Those present in the Forest of Dean last February will remember the snow that greeted competitors as they headed out to the special stages and, on a day when power could be viewed as something of an embarrassment, the fantastic performance put up by Julian Wilkes to bring his 1400cc Vauxhall Nova back to the finish in Chepstow in 3rd place overall!

The entry list for the ‘Wyedean’ can – and often does! - cater for 180 cars which, by some events’ standards, is very high. However, when the fact that it has attracted the following Championships & Series to join it is taken into consideration, all of a sudden it becomes clear that entries will be at a premium and prospective competitors are urged to act swiftly!

The 2013 Team GMF Wyedean Forest Rally welcomes contenders from :

* The REIS – Get Connected BTRDA® Rally Series, incorporating the following : • REIS – Get Connected Gold Star® Championship • REIS – Get Connected Silver Star® Championship • Millers Oils BTRDA® 1400 Championship • BTRDA® Rally First Championship • BTRDA Historic Cup • MG ZR Rally Challenge • * MSA English Rally Championship • * Pirelli MSA Welsh National Rally Championship, • * REIS ASWMC Loose Surface Stage Rally Championship • * Cotswold Motor Sport Group Stage Rally Championship in association with BP Motor

Bodybuilders & Engineers • * Brian Dennis Motorsport Welsh Historic Rally Championship

The first car will leave the Chepstow start at 8.00am on 9th February and the route contains seven special stages in the Forest of Dean totalling 45 miles. At the completion of the event, cars will begin arriving back at the finish in Chepstow, mid afternoon.

-Ends- Editor’s Notes

Team GMF Wyedean Forest Rally:

The Team GMF Wyedean Forest Rally Press Office will be situated at Piercefield Park, Chepstow Racecourse.

For more information on Team GMF Wyedean Forest Rally please contact:

Press officerAndrew Haill0121 313 1416andrew.haill@btconnect.com

For more information on Rally Prep please contact:

Neil Yates Rally Prep Ltd07907 234787 website www.rallyprep.co.uk

Rally Prep Ltd -

Rally Prep specialise in the build and preparation of rally, race and high performance vehicles for road and track use. Their services range from full bare shell builds to basic servicing and parts supply. They also are able to supply a range of products which they have developed specifically for rally and race cars, alongside top quality equipment from some of the worlds most respected motorsport parts specialists.

For more media information or imagery on Rally Prep please contact:

Steve LysandrouSilverback Media Solutions Ltd07796 236081 01327220003rallyprep@silverbackmedia.co.uk