The Lombard Rally 2008 Results
November 2008 - The UK's largest motor rally for standard cars, The Lombard Rally, has now come to an end after four days of challenging driving through horrendous weather conditions. The winners of the Historic category were Jack Curran & David Bardwell in their Lancia Coupe Rally - rallying for 30 years, while Nigel Bramall & Roger Close, from Huddersfield and Leeds respectively, won the Endurance Section in their Vauxhall Corsa.
Organised by the Wales Endurance Rally Association, the Lombard Rally lasted four days and covered stages across Yorkshire and Scotland. The endurance event began at the Royal Hall in Harrogate last Thursday and after some challenging day and night stages following the original route of the Lombard RAC Rally, ended back in Harrogate at the Yorkshire Event Centre. The Mayor and Mayoress of Harrogate were there to welcome and congratulate the winners and all of the entrants at the finish line.
Commenting on the success of this year's rally, Ken Owen, from The Wales Endurance Rally Association and Rally Director for The Lombard Rally 2008 said:
"This year's event was fantastic. We had 60 entrants and the route proved to be as challenging as the good old days of the Lombard RAC Rally. One of the highlights was the 'Colin McRae' 'Selectif' at the Forrest Estate near Castle Douglas, Scotland on Saturday morning. Here Jimmy McRae drove an Opel Manta 400 Group 'B' car along a seven-mile designated section of the 'Selectif'. This will honour the memory of one of Britain's all-time rallying icons - Colin McRae, a real ambassador for the sport and recognised around the world. Special mention must also be made of the RAC mechanics led by Jamie Taylor who worked tirelessly throughout the four days, fixing cars and helping to keep the drivers on the road."
The official charity for the Lombard Rally this year was TreeHouse, the national charity for autism education. Their aim is to transform, through education, the lives of children with autism and the lives of their families. The Rally has raised over £1000 for TreeHouse so far with sponsorships still being collected.
-ENDS-
For further information please contact
Nina Diringer, Media Manager
Tel: 0207 427 9186
Email: nina.diringer@rbs.co.uk
Notes to Editors
Top 5 Historic Cars:
- Jack Curran/David Bardwell - Lancia Fulvia Sport
- Graham Dance/Rob Dance - Ford Escort
- Kenny McEwan/John Ingham - Alfa Giulia Super
- Peter Barker/Willy Cave - Morris Mini Cooper 'S'
- Ross Butterworth/Ali Procter - Ford Escort
Top 20 Endurance Cars
- Nigel Bramall/Roger Close - Vauxhall Corsa
- Karl O'Donoghue/Allan Dorman - Rover 200
- Rob Navin/Ian Varney - Nissan Micra
- Mike Dawson/Ben Dawson - Rover 214
- Paul Heal/David Harris - MG ZR
- Steven Sawley/Rob Johnson - MG ZR
- Robin Eyre - Maunsell/Peter Scott - Nissan Micra
- Phillip Boothroyd/Colin Child - Vauxhall Corsa
- Constant Busch/Yasar Jabbar - Daihatsu Sirion
- Tom O'Connor/Vincent Fagan - MG ZR
- Myles O'Donoghue/Frank O'Donoghue - Rover 25
- Peter Bray/Andrew Bray - Vauxhall Corsa
- Paul Bloxidge/James Bloxidge - Nissan Micra Sport
- Rob Evett/Richard Morris - Vauxhall Nova
- Chris Armstrong/Leigh Armstrong - Peugeot 106
- Trevor Skinner/Stephen Harrison - Nissan Micra
- Ian Bankhurst/Colin Marshal - Citroen C2
- Peter Brace/Allan Pettit - Vauxhall Corsa
- Paul Stevens/Alan Smith - Rover 25
- David Leader/Stephen Wright - Rover 25
Lombard is part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, one of the world's leading financial services companies providing a range of retail and corporate banking, financial markets, consumer finance, insurance, and wealth management services. RBS Group operates in over 50 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Middle East serving more than 40 million customers and employing more than 170,000 people. The Group's brands include RBS, NatWest, Ulster Bank, Coutts, Citizens and many other "household name” financial services companies.
TreeHouse (www.treehouse.org.uk) was founded in 1997 by a group of ordinary families whose children were affected by autism. Today, one in 100 school-age children are affected by some form of autism and half a million families are affected in the UK. Yet many do not have access to the right learning opportunities and only a fifth of teachers currently working with children with autism have had any autism training.
Funds raised through the 2008 Lombard Rally will support TreeHouse's new National Centre for Autism Education in North London. This new building will enable TreeHouse to expand its exemplar school, as well as its national services, which include supporting parents and professionals, consultancy and engaging with policymakers to promote best practice in autism education nationally.
