1965 UAC Winter Rally

This report is reproduced from AUTOSPORT, JANUARY 29, 1965

1965 ULSTER AUTOMOBILE CLUB WINTER RALLY

AS is now usual in U.A.C. rallies, the 1965 Winter Rally was divided into two sections with an easy first stage having its own results and a stiffer second section for those doing the whole rally. This idea has proved to be very popular with competitors and once again the club had a very good entry of 50 for the complete rally and 22 for stage one.

From the start on the Randalstown-Antrim road there was a short run to the first group of three driving tests where Adrian Boyd (Rapier), Robert McBurney (VW 1200), Roger Cree (Mini-Cooper), and Lee Lucas (Grasshopper) all dominated their respective classes and got off to a good start by losing no marks at all. The second group of three driving tests were on the rainswept runways at Toome Airfield where McBurney, Lucas and Boyd (despite hitting a pylon) all repeated their earlier feat of losing zero marks and were joined in this by Ronnie White (Sebring Sprite), Ken Shields (Vauxhall VX4/90) and Ronnie Mullen (Mini).

This concluded the tests part of the rally and the navigation started with a 30-mile Tulip card which wound back and forward on the western shores of Lough Neagh. In fact it was slightly naughty in that the route actually covered the same roads twice on a couple of occasions which, apart from being misleading to novices, could be rather dangerous. This happened again later on in the rally and was the only point of criticism of an otherwise well-run event.

Although this section should have been easily on, a couple of well-placed time points at the ends of rather twisty whites caught out crews who were taking things a little casually and only Ronnie McCartney/Terry Harryman (N.S.U. Prinz 4) returned a clean sheet at the end of the run in Moneymore. This was the end also of stage one and there was a 40-minute break before the keener types ventured forth into the night to first of all tackle eight time points in the Desertmartin area.

This was the best part of the rally with the twisty and rough roads at the foot of the Sperrin Mountains keeping both driver and navigator fully occupied. After that U.A.C. speciality, the shortest route through a series of references which proved fairly easy and cost the loss of few marks, the rally finished with 11 more time points which took the cars through Carnearney and Tardree to Ballyalbanagh.

BEATTY CRAWFORD.

RESULTS

1. R. McBurney/E. Crawford (VW 1200), 2 marks;
2. A. Boyd/D. B. Crawford (Sunbeam Rapier), 3;
3. H. Hagan/D. Turkington (M.G. Midget), 5.6;
4. R. Cree/N. Smith (Mini-Cooper), 17;
5. M. Hutchinson/K. Atkinson (Mini), 18.4;
6. R. McCartney/T. Harryman (N.S.U. Prinz 4), 23.

Stage one only:

1. T. H. Chambers/A. Cunningham (Mini), 8.8;
2. K. Shields/G. Crawford (Vauxhall VX4/90), 14.6;
3. D. Boyd/B. Beattie (Mini-Cooper), 23.4.