Local Boy Done Good

There was a fairy tale ending to Saturday’s Pirelli Carlisle Rally when a hard fought day in the daunting Kielder Forest saw victory go to Peter Taylor from Smithfield, the young Border caravans backed driver taking his Ford Fiesta led the rally from the start and even an engine misfire on the final stage couldn’t prevent him taking his most significant win to date on the high profile event which saw the tough Kielder stages take there toll with many cars ending up in the many deep ditches that line the forest tracks. Taylor was comfortably the pacesetter all day, straight from the off he took the lead and was quickest on 5 of the rallies 6 stages, only the blip with the cars engine on the final one preventing him from making a clean sweep of the fastest times. For Taylor’s co-driver, Andrew Roughead, the result was the realisation of a boyhood dream for as a small boy, his rallying Father, Ron, used to take him up to the forests to watch the Pirelli backed event and he was smitten by the speed and spectacle of the competing cars. “ From those early days, I always had an ambition to compete in the Pirelli rally, Andrew said at the finish of the event, “But I never dreamed I would end up winning it. This is just  a dream come true”. And just to make Andrew’s day complete, his Dad, Ron, was on hand to see his victory, he was competing in the rally himself, finishing 44^th. The Pirelli Carlisle Rally, organised by Carlisle based Cumberland Sporting Car Club, was a round of the Mintex MSA British Historic Rally Championship and the West Wales Rally Spares R.A.C. Rally Championship. This was the 40th running of the event and the event received a visit from Vic Horsley from Beckermet, organiser of the first rally back in 1975.