Yet did not reach the end... Welshpool resident Stuart Jones set the standard on last weekend's Plains Rally, staging a giant domineering performance throughout the event before a damaged steering arm caused him to go off half a mile from the end of the last stage.
Jones,
who is a regular in the Production World Rally Championship in a Silverstone-shod Mitsubishi Evo 9, was contesting his local event with a new co-driver, George Gwynn alongside him. Despite no pre-event testing, the pair set the benchmark on the opening spectator stage, going an incredible 7 seconds faster than anyone else!
To prove his pace was no fluke, Jones set another top three time through the second stage, beaten only by Jon Ingram in a Subaru World Rally Car and Andy Burton, a former winner, in his unique Peugeot Cosworth.
The difference in horsepower between these two cars and Jones' Production class Mitsubishi was evident on the long straights and the young Welshman was happy to drop minimal time to them through the third stage. By now he had opened up an incredible 30-second lead over his nearest class rival!
The first stage after mid-day service saw Stuart take another stage win, level on times with Jon Ingram. With Jones dropping less than a second a mile to Ingram on the other stages, he was still in the thick of the fight heading into the final run of the rally, Gatheiniog 2.
However it all went horribly wrong for the young Welshman when he cut a corner, hit an exposed rock and damaged the steering arm on his Mitsubishi. With limited steering now available he slid wide on the next corner; the car dug into the soft soil and rolled over onto their roof before coming back on to its wheels. With the car stuck in a ditch, there was no way to get out and their strong run was over.
"I am so gutted! Last year I made a minor mistake and I drove this whole event with that in the back of my mind," said Stuart Jones. "I was happy with my pace as we were driving at a comfortable speed all day long. I took a cut on the corner before in the morning and it was fine but obviously a rock or something had been exposed since then. Rallying can be such a cruel mistress at times!"
Jones now has a two-month break before his PWRC campaign resumes with a very busy period: he will contest Rally Ireland and Wales Rally GB, his home event, within the space of two weeks and will be hoping that his fortunes change as the year draws to an end.
Source Geoff Mayes Media
