BURTON WINS AS PEREZ TAKES IT TO THE MAX...
Local ace Andy Burton may have taken overall victory on today's Bulldog Rally at his fifteenth attempt but it was ex ANCRO Champion Steve Perez who claimed maximum points on the final round of the 2007 Hankook MSA Gravel Rally Championship.

Driving his awesome Peugeot Cosworth, Burton and co-driver Shelley Rogerson finished 19.2 seconds ahead of Chesterfield driver Perez who took his second win of the season in the series with new co-driver Howard Davies.

Perez set the pace on the opening stage in his Ford Focus WRC before an incorrect tyre choice saw him relegated down the order as both Burton and 2007 ANCRO Champions Marcus Dodd and Andrew Bargery upped the pace at half distance. Dodd, from Poole, bowed out on stage four after rolling the Hyundai Accent WRC whilst lying in second overall but having secured the crown last month in Killarney, the result didn't matter although it wasn't the way the triple champion would have wanted to end the season.

Jon Ingram and Ian Allsop finished third overall in their Subaru Impreza WRC after earlier suffering a puncture as well as problems with a differential but were quickest over stage five. Group N was won by Erroll Clarke and Neil Ewing in their Mitsubishi Evo 9 as Daniel Barry and Mark Bowers took the spoils in the Mitsubishi Evo Challenge.

Subaru Trophy champions Jock Armstrong and Kirsty Riddick had their first DNF of the season as they went off on SS2 and rolled their Subaru Impreza but despite not getting a result, the Scottish pair still finished third overall in the 2007 championship as Riddick also took the Production Cup co-drivers' title.

John Lloyd and Pauline Gullick finished sixth in their Ford Focus WRC after having a spin in stage three in which they knocked off the front left corner, whilst Nik Elsmore and Patrick Walsh came home seventh in their Mitsubishi Evo 9 with Walsh claiming the overall co-drivers title in the Mistubishi Evo Challenge.

Irish crew Frank Kelly and Liam Brennan were eighth in their Mk2 Ford Escort followed by Geoff Underhill and Adrian Grinstead in their Mitsubishi Evo 8 as Simon Harraway and Rachel Brockington rounded-off the top 10.

The Production Cup drivers' title was won by Phillip Morrow, who was not competing this weekend.

Several crews suffered as the 65-mile Oswestry-based event had a high rate of attrition. Sebastian Ling and Aled Rees were the earliest casualties as the turbo blew on their Mitsubishi Evo 9. They missed stage two but managed to fix the problem to continue, without scoring a result. Stephen Petch and Michael Wilkinson also retired with an electrical problem on stage three whilst Icelanders Daniel Sigurdarson and Asta Sigurdardottir also failed to finish after an accident on stage four in their Mitsubishi.

Rod Bennett and Henry Richardson were first in the Two Wheel Drive Challenge in their Fiat Stilo and took the HPM Motorsport Two Wheel Drive Challenge honours.

Neither Mark Gamble and Stephen Link nor Kevin Wills and Lorna Hill made it to the finish in the VK 1400 Challenge as Wills and Hill were winners of the VK 1400 Challenge title.

In the Bulldog Clubman's Rally, Gordon Cunningham and Stuart McManus won in their Mitsubishi Evo 9 as Jonny Greer and Jonny Hart were first in the Hankook Forest Rally Challenge and the Ford Fiesta Sporting Trophy. Tom Walster and Tim Sturla were second in their Ford Fiesta ST and fifth overall with Elfyn Evans and Richard Edwards third and sixth overall also in their Ford Fiesta ST. The final round of the series takes place with the Malton Stages Rally on November 4th.

The MSA Gravel Rally Championship returns in 2008 on the opening round the Rallye Sunseeker on 22-23 February.

Results
1 Andrew Burton/Shelley Rogerson Peugeot Cosworth 1:06:12.6
2 Steve Perez/Howard Davies Ford Focus WRC 1:06:31.8
3 Jon Ingram/Ian Allsop Subaru Impreza WRC 1:07:53.2
4 Erroll Clarke/Neil Ewing Mitsubishi Lancer 1:09:30.0
5 Daniel Barry/Mark Bowens Mitsubishi Lancer 1:10:21.6
6 John Lloyd/Pauline Gullick Ford Focus WRC 1:11:26.2
7 Nik Elsmore/Patrick Walsh Mitsubishi Lancer 1:11:26.3
8 Frank Kelly/Liam Brennan Ford Escort Mk II 1:11:53.3
9 Geoff Underhill/Adrian Grinstead Mitsubishi Lancer 1:12:28.7
10 Simon Harraway/Rachel Brockington Impreza 1:12:32.9

2007 MSA Gravel Rally Championship Final Standings:
Marcus Dodd 122
Steve Perez 116
Jock Armstrong 88
Philip Morrow 86
John Lloyd 75
Nik Elsmore 74

The MSA Gravel Rally Championship returns in 2008 on the opening round the Rallye Sunseeker on 22-23 February.

Further information, including championship positions can be found at www.gravelrally.co.uk or the official event website: www.bulldog-rally.co.uk