Hat Trick on the Rally of the Tests

After three days and one night, 800 miles from Darlington to Windermere, to compete in 34 tests and 24 regularities, Dan Willan and Niall Frost scored an incredible third consecutive RAC Rally of the Tests overall victory, the first crew to achieve that since the inaugural RAC Rally of 1932.

If you add on the time control sections over three days in a major change of surfaces and conditions, you start to understand the scale of the feat in their Volvo PV544, as the crew and the car gelled to beat the opposition by four minutes. Afterwards, Dan was quick to praise his fellow competitors for unselfishly giving them components to help keep them in the race, but just to ensure the duo got the ‘full house’ of results, Dan won the Test Pilot Award for fastest driver over all the tests, and Niall won the Clockwatchers Award for best navigator.

Young, 18-year-old, navigator Oli Waldock earned praise from RoTT Triple Crown winner Frost, who rated Oli’s performance as ‘superb.’ Together with driver John King, the pair were third on the road and won their class in their Toyota MR2, despite a misfire and bodywork damage after a close encounter with a cowshed on a regularity. The car is ineligible for the overall positions, but the crew put it up there ahead of many of the top runners. John was quick to put that down to Oli’s navigational skills, “He was always on the money!” Photos Will Broadhead

Paul Crosby and Ali Procter were a battling second in their Mini Cooper S, equalling their best ever RoTT finish and holding off a late challenge from Paul Dyas and Martyn Taylor, who came in third.

Running behind the main rally was the RAC Rally of the Tests Lite, taking in the bulk of the schedule but not all the tests and regularities into the night. This was keenly contested and won by Dick and Harry Baines in their Austin Mini Cooper S on their first attempt. Second was Malcolm Dunderdale and Anita Wickins in their Mercedes 190. David Ward, who normally rallies a Ferrari, placed third in his Lancia Fulvia navigated by Tim Sawyer, despite their car’s rear suspension being held together by wood blocks and chains. Having broken their leaf suspension and achieving the podium despite the damage, the pair earned the ‘Against the Odds’ Trophy!