The event took in six special stages, with two runs each through the Langdale, Gale Rigg and Cropton forests of North Yorkshire.

My only other visit to the land north of the Humber Bridge to take in some gravel action had been in February, when I spent the day covering the Riponian Rally. The weather had on that day significantly curtailed my opportunities to take in some photography, with heavy, biblical rainfall falling for a large part of the day.

Fortunately, the weather this time was better for spectating with relatively dry conditions both overhead and underfoot, but unfortunately it was very overcast, with a heavy cloud blanket and mist hanging over the tree tops, making photography very challenging.

Cropton Forest was our chosen spot for the day. It is undoubtedly the most accessible and spectator friendly of the three stages, with a relatively compact route and some careful pre-event planning, providing lots of different places to both view and snap the action within a relatively small area, all within reasonable walking distance of the car park.



The two-wheel classes featured lots of Ford Escorts (no surprise there), but scattered amongst the 71 runners were a number of other marques, including a Ford Puma, a Hillman Avenger and even a Porsche.

Amongst the Historic classes were a number of crews, including Ben Friend and Cliffy Simmons. They took victory in the penultimate round of the FUCHS Lubricants British Historic Championship held only last month at the Trackrod Rally Yorkshire, which was run in the same forests.

Up against them were regular British historic runners Dan Mennell and John Roberts who led home local crew Matthew Robinson and Hannah Davison in their class on the day.

A number of other significant pairings including Paul Thompson / Josh Davidson and Irish crew Adrian Hetherington / Ronan O’Neill. Currently lying 5^th overall in the British Historic Championship they were giving their cars a final competitive run-out prior to the last double-header round of the championship, the inaugural Anglo-Caledonian Rally, which will take place at the end of November.  

The event, as its name suggests, will include stages in the notorious Kielder Forest and Southern Scotland.

Leading a small 4 - wheel drive 19 car field was local star driver Elliot Payne, in his Fiesta. With co-driver Patrick Walsh alongside him Payne claimed his second consecutive BTRDA Gold Star Championship only last weekend as a result of a brilliant top ten finish in the final round of the British Rally Championship in North Wales (Cambrian Rally).

The local pair proved unbeatable in the North Yorkshire classic forests, recording fastest times on all six stages, winning the 44-mile event by 31 seconds.

Despite careful planning rallying can sometimes provide some surprises for photographers, as the forest changes even within a short period of time. Trees have a habit of growing, reducing opportunities for good shots from spots which have previously provided the best action shots and blocked out nice scenery, but equally new opportunities can become available due to the felling of trees.



Consequently, I took along three lenses, two telephoto options and a wide-angle example should the opportunity of some new shots present themselves, although the lack of light was a limiting factor in the type of shot available.

Although there was no dust to worry about, as I always do when covering a gravel rally I made sure a filter was in place should a car throw up a stone. Whilst I appreciate filters are not cheap, particularly for larger lenses such as my 150-600mm telephoto, it’s a lot cheaper to replace a filter than it is a lens. 

Whilst the on-track action kept an enthusiastic group of spectators entertained the poor light curtailed photography very early in the day.

On reflection, although not as accessible, the open moorland through which the Gale Rigg stage passes would have been a better option, with very few trees.



Nonetheless, I’m pleased to say, my daughter, after experiencing her first gravel rally outing, is keen to return to the forests.

Hopefully, the sun will make an appearance too.

You can see more of our rally reports by clicking the image below.

Thanks to David Gowshall for this report which you can share with your friends on Social Media using these links.

You can see more of :DEEGEE: Motorsport Photography by clicking his website picture.