Local rallyers take top scalps (From Stroud News and Journal)

Local rallyers take top scalps

THE skill and verve of two local drivers left many other well-known stars in the demanding world of rallying struggling in their wake in a major national event.

And in what was their finest hour, David Stokes, from Dursley, and his Stroud co-driver Ian Oakey achieved a lifetime's ambition by not only finishing the Roger Albert Clark Rally - based around Sheffield and held over the weekend before last - for the very first time - but by also taking a magnificent fourth place against all the odds.

The second running of De Lacy Motor Club's old-style RAC Rally, involving 250 competitive miles over four days with 29 special stages, attracted a quality entry that saw last year's winners, Stig Bromqvist and Ana Goni, in a David Sutton-prepared Escort RS1800, returning in an attempt to defend their title.

Also in the running were the 2005 British champion pair of Mark Higgins and Peter Martin in the Eddie Stobart Escort.

But the majority of aficionados had doubtless come to watch Steve Perez in the Lancia, possibly the greatest-sounding rally car of all time, while others were hoping to catch a glimpse of former multiple British champion Jimmy McRae in a Porsche 911, last year's runner-up Jeremy Easson/Alun Cook, Steve Bannister, Mick Jones or Phil Squire.

Having successfully negotiated two spectator stages at the impressive Don Valley Stadium, Stokes and Oakey enjoyed the best of starts by taking their Escort to joint first place on the first run through an icy Bramham Park.

Rallies, of course, are too often plagued with mechanical gremlins or worse, and our intrepid duo had a wheel ripped off, as well as sustaining a bent axle, in a high-speed 'off' on the final stage of leg three.

The pair had to make emergency repairs before limping back to service in Carlisle where their gallant crew, aided by a borrowed rear axle, managed to repair the car. Disappointingly, the lost time dropped them them down to sixth position overall.

Then came their most severe test on day four with seven of nine stages that were set in rallying's most feared graveyard - the Kielder Forest. It was here, though, that Stokes and Oakey rose majestically to the challenge. By setting competitive times on all these stages, they battled back up to a fourth-place finish.

For Oakey, it meant a double success as his girlfriend, Joanne Lockwood, had guided Martin Freestone's Escort to fifth spot overall and first in class. Oakey remarked, "We had a few problems, but Dave drove superbly - not just in this event but all year. I would also like to thank everyone who has helped us in any way during 2005."