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Thirsk-based daughter and father crew Amanda and Derek Cornforth had a successful outing on their debut on the Cumbria-based Malcolm Wilson Rally on Saturday (3 March) as they finished 11th overall in the 1400 rally and second in class A5.
 
The 45-mile forest gravel event was round two of the BTRDA (British Trial and Rally Drivers Association) Tesco 99 Octane 1400 Championship, which the Cornforths are contesting this season, and a high rate of attrition in the 1400 rally meant only 18 crews made it to the end.
The pair collected a valuable 20 points as they finished as the first BTRDA registered A5 crew in their 1300cc 6th Gear PR and F & D Cornforth (Agricultural)-supported Ford Ka and now share the joint lead of the class. Amanda is now in ninth place overall in the 1400 drivers’ championship, while Derek is seventh equal in the co-drivers’ standings.
“It’s a really good result for us and it was important to get the points after we failed to finish the first round,” said Amanda, 24, who was also assistant press officer on the rally. “The only stage I really enjoyed was Greystoke as I found all the other ones quite tricky and different to all the other stages I have ever driven, but it’s all practice. After a lot of people dropped out of the rally we thought it more important to get a finish so we backed off a little on the final three stages. The car ran really well and I’d like to thank everyone that has helped get it up to pace.”
Jayne and David Auden, another daughter and father pairing, were also out on the event and returned to the wheel of their more familiar green David Auden and Associates Insurance Brokers Peugeot 106 Rallye to contest the rally.
The Stockport crew finished-up 13th overall in the 1400 event and fourth in class N1 and had a close call early on when they mounted a bank in Greystoke.
Driver Jayne, 25, said: “In the first stage we had a bit of a moment as we hit a bank and were travelling with two wheels on the bank and two wheels on the stage, but I got it corrected and we carried on but it was a bit scary. We had a couple of moments in Grizedale as well as we spun but I really enjoyed the day, the event is one of my favourites.”
The Audens are not contesting a championship this season but are instead opting to compete in selected rallies throughout the year.
The Cornforths will next be in action on round three of the BTRDA 1400 Championship on their local event, the North Humberside Forest Rally, on Saturday 31 March, while the Audens have not yet decided what will be their next outing.
Pictures attached courtesy of Ian Hardy (www.ianhardy.net)
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