Easter rallycross 1990, British RX goes north and south


British Rallycross Championship Easter 1990

by Rallycross World |

British motor sport is good at using every available day for events, and likes nothing better than a public holiday for racing. Easter, with four possible race days, is often the point of the year at which serious championship action gets going, but obviously not this year. Back in 1990 the British Rallycross Championship had got an early start, round one at Brands Hatch in February and by the time Easter came around it had already completed four events, a second visit to Brands Hatch plus the Irish double-header weekend that comprised a Saturday event at Nutts Corner in Northern Ireland and Sunday at Mondello Park in the Irish Republic. But why waste a holiday weekend? In 1990 the British RX players were called to action twice at Easter and raced at Croft on Good Friday before venturing south for the traditional Easter Monday bunfight at Lydden Hill. Two more events and a 500km run between Croft and Lydden to complete in this holiday weekend.

Rallycross World | British RX, Will Gollop_Metro 6R4 BiTurbo_Palmer_Croft (GBR) 13.04
Will Gollop leads Steve Palmer at Croft. © RallycrossWorld.com
Rallycross World | British RX, Steve Palmer_Metro 6R4_Croft_(GBR) Croft (GBR) 13.04
Steve Palmer, Croft. © RallycrossWorld.com
Rallycross World | British RX, Denis Biggerstaff_Metro 6R4_Trevor Hopkins_Ford RS200_Croft (GBR) 13.04
Denis Biggerstaff and Trevor Hopkins, Croft. © RallycrossWorld.com
Rallycross World | British RX, Barry Squibb_Ford Esxort MkIII 4x4 Xtrac Escort_Croft (GBR) 13.04
Barry Squibb, Croft. © RallycrossWorld.com

Will Gollop drove in the early season British RX events, using them to develop and learn about his BiTurbo MG Metro 6R4. British events still had a Superfinal to determine the overall winner and Gollop won this at Croft, his third consecutive victory of the year. At Lydden on the Monday it was Palmer who won the event, Gollop out of the running with gearbox problems and Palmer splashing home first in the rain with his 3.8-litre Metro 6R4. Mark Flaherty had a great run at Lydden, taking his best British finish with third in the Superfinal behind John Welch’s Vauxhall Astra. Welch had also been second at Croft, where Trevor Hopkins claimed third in his Ford RS200. 

Rallycross World | British RX, Flaherty_Welch_Hopkins_Lydden Hill (GBR) 16.04
Mark Flaherty leads John Welch and Trevor Hopkins at Lydden. © RallycrossWorld.com
Rallycross World | British RX, Mark Flaherty_Metro 6R4_John Welch_Vauxhall Astra_Lydden Hill (GBR) 16.04
Mark Flaherty and John Welch, Lydden. © RallycrossWorld.com
Rallycross World | British RX, John Welch_Vauxhall Astra 4x4_Lydden_(GBR) 16.04
John Welch, Lydden. © RallycrossWorld.com
Rallycross World | British RX, Gary Baker_Ford RS200_Vic Moyce_Metro 6R4_Lydden_(GBR) 16.04
Gary Baker and Vic Moyce, Lydden. © RallycrossWorld.com
Rallycross World | British RX, Richard Hutton_Metro 6R4_Barry Squibb_Xtrac Escort_Lydden_(GBR) 16.04
Richard Hutton and Barry Squibb, Lydden. © RallycrossWorld.com
 Rallycross-World-British-RX-Steve-Palmer_Denis-Biggerstaff_Metro-6R4_Lydden_GBR-16.04.jpg
Steve Palmer, Lydden. © RallycrossWorld.com
Rallycross World | British RX, Steve Palmer_Metro 6R4_Will Gollop_Metro 6R4 BiTurbo_Lydden_(GBR) 16.04
Steve Palmer leads Will Gollop at Lydden. © RallycrossWorld.com
Rallycross World | British RX, Steve Palmer_Metro 6R4_Lydden Hill (GBR) 16.04
Palmer leads in the rain at Lydden. © RallycrossWorld.com
Rallycross World | British RX, Vic Moyce_Metro 6R4_Lydden_(GBR) 16.04
The day ended upsidedown for Vic Moyce. © RallycrossWorld.com

Tony Bardy took a brace of Formula B (over 1600cc two-wheel drive) victories with his Vauxhall Astra 16v, duelling with Brian Betteridge (Escort rwd) to win at Croft. Betteridge ran second again at Lydden but the treacherous conditions caught him out in the last lap and Mike Mantel (Escort MkII) took the place.

Rallycross World | British RX, Brian Betteridge_Ford Escort MkIV rwd_Croft_(GBR) 13.04
Brian Betteridge was in the Formula B battle at Croft and Lydden. © RallycrossWorld.com
Rallycross World | British RX, Tony Proctor_Ford Sierra_Lydden Hill (GBR) 16.04
Tony Proctor in good form at Lydden. © RallycrossWorld.com

Formula C (up to 1600cc two-wheel drive) had some new winners as class leader Jonny Milner suffered engine failure in his Peugeot 205 at Croft and relied on a less powerful rally engine for the Monday event at Lydden. Mark Proctor (Vauxhall Nova) won at Croft and Alan Coates (Metro) made the most of the wet conditions to win at Lydden. In the one-make Vauxhall Nova Challenge series there were two wins for Ian Evans who dominated the inaugural season.

Rallycross World | British RX, ?_Formula C_Croft (GBR) 13.04
A Formula C pack tracked by helicopter at Croft. © RallycrossWorld.com
Rallycross World | British RX, Jonny Milner_Peugeot 205_Lydden Hill (GBR) 16.04
Jonny Milner leads in Formula C but did not win. © RallycrossWorld.com
Rallycross World | British RX, Ian Evans_Nova Challenge_Croft_(GBR) 13.04
Ian Evans dominated the Nova Challenge races. © RallycrossWorld.com
Rallycross World | British RX, Barry McGuigan_Nova Challenge_Lydden Hill (GBR) 16.04
Boxer Barry McGuigan was a guest driver in the Nova Challenge. © RallycrossWorld.com
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