The 2026 Bovington Stage once again delivered a full day of competitive rallying at the Bovington military ranges, with crews tackling a demanding series of stages across the venue.
Taking overall victory were Damian Cole and Ian Allsop in their Citroën C3 Rally2, setting a winning time of 53:23 after a closely fought battle throughout the event. Finishing just behind in second place were Darryl Morris and Steve Gully in a Škoda Fabia R5, matching the winning time but losing out on tie-break “first fastest”. Rounding out the overall podium were Josh Payton and Jamie Vaughan in their Ford Escort Mk2, finishing with a time of 54:32.
There were also some strong results from BDCC members, with Geoff Bennett and Tim Chapman taking 1st in Class 3, Dan Gibson and Andy Tomlinson finishing 2nd in Class 3, Robert Hayter and Alistair Crossley securing 1st in Class 2, and Aaron Brimblecombe with Scott Weller taking 3rd in Class 7.
Peter Self and Mike Gray endured a frustrating start to their weekend when an engine problem on the Subaru Impreza forced them to retire on SS1. Undeterred, the crew returned the car to Oxford, where it was repaired overnight so they could re-join the action the following day on the Trophy Rally. Their determination paid off as they completed all of Sunday’s stages, taking the Trophy Rally win by default. More importantly, their commitment and perseverance were recognised with the Spirit of the Rally Award, a well-deserved accolade for a crew who refused to give up.
This year’s event also hosted a round of the Mini Rally Challenge, bringing a strong field of Minis to Bovington. We hope all the crews competing in the championship enjoyed the event and the unique challenge that Bovington provides, we’re looking forward to having them back!
Once again we were delighted to welcome a bumper contingent of competitors from Jersey, continuing to strengthen the ties between our two clubs and adding to the great atmosphere of the event.
BDCC Members Awards
Congratulations to the following BDCC crews who achieved class awards on the event:
-
Geoff Bennett / Tim Chapman – 1st in Class 3 – Ford Escort
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Dan Gibson / Andy Tomlinson – 2nd in Class 3 – Darrian T90
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Robert Hayter / Alistair Crossley – 1st in Class 2 – Mitsubishi Evo IV
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Aaron Brimblecombe / Scott Weller – 3rd in Class 7 – Citroën C2
The club would like to extend a huge thank you to all marshals, officials, landowners and sponsors whose support made the event possible, as well as to the crews who travelled to compete.
Full results below:
Finishers:
| Car | Cls | Crew | Car | Total Penalty |
Cls Pos |
O/A Pos |
Diff from Leader |
Diff from car ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Damian Cole/ Ian Allsop | Citroen C3 Rally2 | 53:23 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 1 | Darryl Morris / Steve Gully | Skoda Fabia R5 | 53:23 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 3 | 5 | Josh Payton/ Jamie Vaughan | Ford Escort Mk2 | 54:32 | 1 | 3 | +1:09 | +1:09 |
| 7 | 3 | Geoff Bennett/ Tim Chapman | Ford Escort | 55:19 | 1 | 4 | +1:56 | +0:47 |
| 8 | 5 | Jamie McBain/ Jordine Crooks | Peugeot 205 Maxi | 55:30 | 2 | 5 | +2:07 | +0:11 |
| 6 | 3 | Dan Gibson/ Andy Tomlinson | Darrian T90 | 55:32 | 2 | 6 | +2:09 | +0:02 |
| 5 | 1 | Mr George Heighway/ Tommi Henderson | VW Polo R5 | 56:10 | 3 | 7 | +2:47 | +0:38 |
| 4 | 2 | Mr Robert Hayter/ Alistair Crossley | Mitsubushi EVO IV EVO IV | 57:10 | 1 | 8 | +3:47 | +1:00 |
| 15 | 3 | Robert De St Paer/ Mollie Meacham | Ford Escort Mk2 | 57:27 | 3 | 9 | +4:04 | +0:17 |
| 42 | 5 | Harry Torpy/ James Renouf | Ford Fiesta | 57:31 | 3 | 10 | +4:08 | +0:04 |
| 20 | 5 | Tim Alderson/ Goretie Luis | Ford Escort | 57:36 | 4 | 11 | +4:13 | +0:05 |
| 26 | 3 | Richard Manning / Matt Vautier | Ford Escort MK1 | 57:49 | 4 | 12 | +4:26 | +0:13 |
| 35 | 3 | Alastair Flack/ Rob Smith | Triumph TR7V8 GP4 | 59:16 | 5 | 13 | +5:53 | +1:27 |
| 41 | 5 | Mark Young/ Jo Young | Peugeot 205 GTi | 59:24 | 5 | 14 | +6:01 | +0:08 |
| 17 | 7 | Lee Vivian/ Will Rutherford | Citreon C2 Super 1600 | 59:51 | 1 | 15 | +6:28 | +0:27 |
| 30 | 7 | Cameron Barclay/ Alex Waterman | Ford Fiesta R2 | 59:55 | 2 | 16 | +6:32 | +0:04 |
| 32 | 5 | Ash Mullane / Stu Howard | Ford Escort | 59:56 | 6 | 17 | +6:33 | +0:01 |
| 31 | 5 | Kevin Boyle/ Nick Starkey | Ford Escort | 1:00:29 | 7 | 18 | +7:06 | +0:33 |
| 63 | 5 | Brian Stevens / Ben Perrett | Honda Civic | 1:00:30 | 8 | 19 | +7:07 | +0:01 |
| 33 | 3 | Sam Perring / Adam Male | BMW E36 Compact | 1:00:36 | 6 | 20 | +7:13 | +0:06 |
| 25 | 5 | Shaun King / Henry Sunderland | Ford Escort | 1:00:37 | 9 | 21 | +7:14 | +0:01 |
| 36 | 5 | Paul Richardson/ Fiona Scarrett | Ford Escort Mk II | 1:00:38 | 10 | 22 | +7:15 | +0:01 |
| 90 | 5 | Matthew Renouf / Lee Morley | Citroen C2 | 1:00:44 | 11 | 23 | +7:21 | +0:06 |
| 84 | 7 | Aaron Brimblecombe / Scott Weller | Citroën C2 | 1:01:08 | 3 | 24 | +7:45 | +0:24 |
| 43 | 3 | Simon Verstraeten / Matthew Verstraeten | Talbolt Sunbeam | 1:01:29 | 7 | 25 | +8:06 | +0:21 |
| 61 | 3 | Jason Jones/ Simon Le Rougetel | BMW Compact | 1:01:30 | 8 | 26 | +8:07 | +0:01 |
| 59 | 5 | Tom Pearce/ Charlie Frost | BMW E36 compact 318ti | 1:01:31 | 12 | 27 | +8:08 | +0:01 |
| 78 | 3 | David Burden/ Stephen Moyses | Mini Cooper s | 1:01:56 | 9 | 28 | +8:33 | +0:25 |
| 40 | 3 | John Day/ Emma Cooper | Mini Cooper S R53 | 1:01:58 | 10 | 29 | +8:35 | +0:02 |
| 49 | 5 | Alf Chanter/ Harrison Shaw | Honda Civic Type R | 1:02:24 | 13 | 30 | +9:01 | +0:26 |
| 53 | 7 | Roger Ray/ Cameron Ray | Ford Fiesta Mk1 XR2 | 1:02:50 | 4 | 31 | +9:27 | +0:26 |
| 60 | 7 | Vincent Bristow/ Harvey Hutchison | Ford Escort Mexico | 1:03:11 | 5 | 32 | +9:48 | +0:21 |
| 16 | 5 | Dave Truscott/ Andy Simpson | Ford Escort mk1 | 1:03:31 | 14 | 33 | +10:08 | +0:20 |
| 54 | 9 | Kevin Belcher/ Kieran Belcher | Peugeot 205 Rallye | 1:03:51 | 1 | 34 | +10:28 | +0:20 |
| 47 | 5 | Ross Baudains/ Evie Lebail | BMW E30 | 1:03:57 | 15 | 35 | +10:34 | +0:06 |
| 64 | 3 | Glenn Godfrey/ Sam Galvin | BMW 325ti | 1:04:33 | 11 | 36 | +11:10 | +0:36 |
| 38 | 3 | Sven Grube/ Alfie Element | Mini Cooper S | 1:04:42 | 12 | 37 | +11:19 | +0:09 |
| 55 | 9 | Jonathan Bray/ Will Bray | MG ZR Trophy | 1:04:50 | 2 | 38 | +11:27 | +0:08 |
| 73 | 5 | Stuart Hook/ Paul Gates | Peugeot 205 gti | 1:04:54 | 16 | 39 | +11:31 | +0:04 |
| 45 | 9 | Alex Roscoe/ Stephen Roscoe | Nissan Micra | 1:05:02 | 3 | 40 | +11:39 | +0:08 |
| 79 | 3 | Daniel Jose/ Chris Chapman | BMW Mini Cooper S R53 | 1:05:13 | 13 | 41 | +11:50 | +0:11 |
| 66 | 10 | Tom Grant/ Josh Marden | Renault Clio | 1:06:07 | 1 | 42 | +12:44 | +0:54 |
| 86 | 5 | Paul Carre/ Zak Simpson | BMW 1 series | 1:06:07 | 17 | 43 | +12:44 | |
| 77 | 10 | Thomas Marriott/ Kelan Watkins | Mini Cooper | 1:06:17 | 2 | 44 | +12:54 | +0:10 |
| 85 | 7 | Evan Barker/ Ina Drewitz | Mini R50 | 1:06:31 | 6 | 45 | +13:08 | +0:14 |
| 87 | 3 | John Nicholson/ Ian Graham | Mini Cooper S | 1:06:44 | 14 | 46 | +13:21 | +0:13 |
| 67 | 7 | Sammy Green / Paul Green | Mini Cooper | 1:07:09 | 7 | 47 | +13:46 | +0:25 |
| 44 | 5 | Jim Boxall/ Paul Boxall | Peugeot 205 | 1:07:19 | 18 | 48 | +13:56 | +0:10 |
| 88 | 9 | Martyn Smith/ Nicholas Jackson | Ford Ka | 1:07:50 | 4 | 49 | +14:27 | +0:31 |
| 51 | 5 | Ian Broadfoot/ David Stuart Rowley | Ford Escort Mk4 | 1:08:20 | 19 | 50 | +14:57 | +0:30 |
| 52 | 3 | Mick Smith/ Archie Christopher | BMW 325 Compact | 1:08:27 | 15 | 51 | +15:04 | +0:07 |
| 74 | 5 | Peter Depla/ Martin Bristow | Volswagen Golf Mk 4 | 1:08:38 | 20 | 52 | +15:15 | +0:11 |
| 76 | 3 | John Mills / Sharon Mills | BMW Mini R53 | 1:09:50 | 16 | 53 | +16:27 | +1:12 |
| 69 | 3 | Andrew Otto/ Cal McElhinney | Mini R53 | 1:11:00 | 17 | 54 | +17:37 | +1:10 |
| 82 | 3 | Joshua Torpy/ Dan “The Man” Morefield | BMW 1 Series | 1:13:10 | 18 | 55 | +19:47 | +2:10 |
| 96 | 5 | Jared Rogerson/ Ashlee Owen | Renault Clio RS197 | 1:13:20 | 21 | 56 | +19:57 | +0:10 |
| 71 | 7 | Catherine Bell/ Andrew Side | Mini Cooper | 1:13:46 | 8 | 57 | +20:23 | +0:26 |
| 89 | 7 | Kevin Ablitt/ Tarna Ablitt | BMW Mini Cooper | 1:13:57 | 9 | 58 | +20:34 | +0:11 |
| 91 | 2 | George Martin/ Christopher Webb | Landrover Defender Wolf XD | 1:14:56 | 2 | 59 | +21:33 | +0:59 |
| 93 | 2 | Patrick Amey/ Stanley Richardson | Landrover Defender Wolf XD | 1:15:32 | 3 | 60 | +22:09 | +0:36 |
| 80 | 9 | Sarah Gates/ Martin Gates | Vauxhall Corsa | 1:15:42 | 5 | 61 | +22:19 | +0:10 |
| 81 | 3 | Chery Spencer / Barry Spencer | BMW Compact | 1:18:01 | 19 | 62 | +24:38 | +2:19 |
| 97 | 7 | Jody Bevington/ Aaron Bevington | Mini Cooper | 1:19:41 | 10 | 63 | +26:18 | +1:40 |
| 94 | 2 | Ashley Wilcock/ George Pappas-Lord | Land Rover Defender wolf XD | 1:20:45 | 4 | 64 | +27:22 | +1:04 |
| 92 | 2 | Josephine Harris/ Callum Leaf | Land Rover Defender Wolf XD | 1:21:58 | 5 | 65 | +28:35 | +1:13 |
| 98 | 7 | Paul Seels/ Stephen Davey | Peugeot 205 | 1:28:49 | 11 | 66 | +35:26 | +6:51 |
| 72 | 3 | Mark Norwood/ Bob Wiggins | Mini Cooper S | 1:29:29 | 20 | 67 | +36:06 | +0:40 |
| 34 | 2 | Thomas White/ Michael Milner | Subaru Impreza | 1:30:49 | 6 | 68 | +37:26 | +1:20 |
Retirements:
| Car | Cls | Crew | Total Saturday |
7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Penalty | Total | Cls Pos |
O/A Pos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 2 | Peter Self/ Mike Gray | 3:45 | 12:38 | 7:16 | 7:03 | 4:38 | 4:34 | 3:51 | Retired | |||
| 83 | 3 | Jeremy Hobbs/ Josie Wilson-Smith | 29:44 | 7:11 | 6:40 | 6:27 | 4:23 | Engine mount | |||||
| 58 | 3 | Alan Kitson/ Paul Stringer | 30:35 | 6:59 | 6:54 | 12:38 | Retired | ||||||
| 24 | 3 | Gary Parker/ Kevin Moyses | 27:22 | 6:18 | 6:11 | Driveshaft | |||||||
| 28 | 5 | Andrew Wishart/ Archie Wishart | 28:16 | 6:54 | Tree 1: Car 0 | ||||||||
| 19 | 3 | Richard Seal/ Sam Fordham | 26:28 | 6:38 | Gearbox | ||||||||
| 65 | 5 | Ryan Harris / Kevin Harris | 31:04 | Exhaust | |||||||||
| 46 | 3 | Harry Morgan/ Mark Palmer | 30:31 | Retired | |||||||||
| 22 | 5 | Stephen Le Brun/ Matthew Le Brun | 27:51 | Retired | |||||||||
| 70 | 3 | Mark Turner/ Dave Simmons | 23:34 | Retired | |||||||||
| 50 | 7 | Martin Dover/ Mitchell Stanfield | 17:42 | Fire | |||||||||
| 37 | 3 | David Moynes/ Jonathan Kerr | 21:54 | Misfire | |||||||||
| 21 | 7 | Paul DeBono/ Paul Rumary | 11:45 | Head gasket | |||||||||
| 14 | 2 | Stephen Luscombe/ Andrew Joll | 11:40 | Clutch | |||||||||
| 11 | 3 | Lewis Arkison/ Brad Arkison | 11:11 | Retired | |||||||||
| 23 | 2 | Guy Anderson/ Terry Martin | 12:24 | Turbo | |||||||||
| 57 | 5 | Gordon Higgins/ Paul baker | 8:38 | Gearbox | |||||||||
| 48 | 5 | Jeff Denford/ Brian Sandford | 8:28 | Axle | |||||||||
| 9 | 5 | Dean Thomas / Paul Lane | 8:18 | Retired | |||||||||
| 39 | 5 | Rex Ireland/ Jake Scannell | 8:16 | Engine | |||||||||
| 29 | 5 | Mike Webb/ Steve Noble | 8:13 | Engine | |||||||||
| 10 | 3 | Peter Hedges/ James Hedges | 7:41 | Retired | |||||||||
| 18 | 3 | Matt Lloyd/ Rhys Edwards | 3:24 | Engine | |||||||||
| 95 | 7 | Timothy Edwards/ Jack Parke | Non Starter | ||||||||||
| 62 | 7 | Derek Adams/ Tania Emery | Non Starter | ||||||||||
| 68 | 3 | Stephen Burles/ Rob Thompson | Supercharger blown | ||||||||||
| 75 | 7 | Chris Shield/ Neil MacDonald | Cam dizzy | ||||||||||
Awards:
| Award | No | Crew | Car |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Overall | 1 | Damian Cole / Ian Allsop | Citroen C3 Rally2 |
| 2nd Overall | 2 | Darryl Morris / Steve Gully | Skoda Fabia R5 |
| 3rd Overall | 3 | Josh Payton / Jamie Vaughan | Ford Escort Mk2 |
| 1st Class 2 | 4 | Mr Robert Hayter / Alistair Crossley | Mitsubushi EVO IV EVO IV |
| 2nd Class 2 | 91 | George Martin / Christopher Webb | Landrover Defender Wolf XD |
| 3rd Class 2 | 93 | Patrick Amey / Stanley Richardson | Landrover Defender Wolf XD |
| 1st Class 3 | 7 | Geoff Bennett / Tim Chapman | Ford Escort |
| 2nd Class 3 | 6 | Dan Gibson / Andy Tomlinson | Darrian T90 |
| 3rd Class 3 | 15 | Robert De St Paer / Mollie Meacham | Ford Escort Mk2 |
| 1st Class 5 | 8 | Jamie McBain / Jordine Crooks | Peugeot 205 Maxi |
| 2nd Class 5 | 42 | Harry Torpy / James Renouf | Ford Fiesta |
| 3rd Class 5 | 20 | Tim Alderson / Goretie Luis | Ford Escort |
| 1st Class 7 | 17 | Lee Vivian / Will Rutherford | Citreon C2 Super 1600 |
| 2nd Class 7 | 30 | Cameron Barclay / Alex Waterman | Ford Fiesta R2 |
| 3rd Class 7 | 84 | Aaron Brimblecombe / Scott Weller | Citroën C2 |
| 1st Class 9 | 54 | Kevin Belcher / Kieran Belcher | Peugeot 205 Rallye |
| Best Channel Island Crew | 26 | Richard Manning / Matt Vautier | Ford Escort MK1 |
| Best Armed Forces Crew | 94 | Ashley Wilcock / George Pappas-Lord | Land Rover Defender wolf XD |
| Best BDCC Crew | 63 | Brian Stevens / Ben Perrett | Honda Civic |