Podium finish for Morgan on rally return

Bangor on Dee rally driver Harry Morgan enjoyed a hugely successful return to competition last weekend when he finished third in class on Rally North Wales. Morgan had not contested a rally since 2011, having taken time out to extensively upgrade his Nissan Micra.

Conditions were not ideal as heavy rain made the forest rally stages treacherous but Morgan made a good start, finishing the opening Gartheiniog stage fourth in class. Morgan continued to show place in stages two and three, maintaining his fourth place.

“Stage one went very well considering the driver was rather rusty and the co-driver had not used pacenotes before,” said Morgan.  “We had a few slides but I was very pleased to be in fourth and within 10 seconds of the class leader.”

“The second stage, Big Ray, was another good stage. I started to get to grips with the power of the new engine – I replaced the previous 1.0 engine with a much more powerful 1.4 version. We had one mishap in the stage, or rather just after it! We crossed the finish line at speed and immediately put the car into a ditch. Fortunately the car had no major damage and, as we’d already crossed the line, it didn’t cost us any stage time although it meant we were very tight on time on the road section.”

“After the drama at the end of stage two we took stage three a bit easier and made it back to service.”

Stage four, a second run through Gartheiniog, almost saw Morgan’s event end as a timber-lined bend caught him out, sending the Micra into a ditch. Fortunately he escaped with the loss of a small amount of time and his rear bumper. Stages five and six went more smoothly and Morgan had moved up to third in class at the event finish.

“We were lucky to not lose more in the stage four incident. We managed to really get into the swing of things in stages five and six, the car ran really well and we put in some good times.”

“I’m delighted to have finished third in class, I’ve put a lot of work into upgrading the car and I’ve been itching to get out in it and seeing how the new engine performs. Thanks to my service crew of Dad and Steve and all our family and friends that supported us on the event. Thanks also to the organisers and marshals on the rally, it was a great event and I’ll make sure I’m back for next year!”

Image courtesy Dave Johnson

Harry to make rally return in 2015

Harry Morgan and his distinctive Nissan Micra will return to rallying in 2015. Stay tuned for more news very soon!

Clutch failure ends Harry's rally season on Cambrian rally

Bangor on Dee rally driver Harry Morgan had a disappointing end to his 2011 season when for the second event running he retired due to clutch failure.

Morgan was contesting the Llandudno-based event for the second time and he had been aiming to finish his season in style after retiring on the previous BTRDA championship round in September.

The rally started with two stages in Penmachno forest and on the first one Morgan was third in class despite being held up by a slower car. The chances of a good result ended though after his Nissan Micra landed in a ditch on the second stage with the clutch being severely damaged when trying to get the car back on the road.

“The first stage was very rough,” said Morgan, “I was pleased to be third in class after being slowed by another car.”

“Stage two was going well, we were setting a good place but then we came across a stranded car again which held us up. Unfortunately we got lost in the pacenotes, I was going too quickly for a tight hairpin and we went straight on into a ditch. Thanks to some friendly marshals and spectators we were able to get the car out but the clutch was wrecked. We managed to get a little further on in the stage but then it failed completely.”

With his season finished Morgan now plans to upgrade his car for 2012 with a better clutch and possibly a 1300cc engine to replace the current 1000cc unit.

“I do not have the budget to do a full championship season next year so my plan is to do a few selected events throughout 2012. I want to put something back into the sport also by marshalling on some events and getting involved with rally organisation.”

Please visit www.harryrally.co.uk for more information on Harry Morgan’s rallying.

Harry hoping for end of season success

Bangor on Dee rally driver Harry Morgan will complete his first full season of rallying next weekend when he takes part in the final round of the BTRDA championship, the Cambrian rally.

After a disappointing retirement on the previous round in September Morgan is hoping for a good run on the Cambrian to end his season in style and he’ll be putting the experience gained from competing on the event last year to good use.

“I enjoyed the rally last year, the stages in North Wales were great and I think having previous knowledge will be an advantage for me”, commented Morgan.

“The event this year will have two stages around the Great Orme tarmac road which was not run last year so that will be a new and interesting experience. My only other competition experience on tarmac was the Porlock stage on this year’s Somerset Stages.”

“I’ve been very busy working on the car since the last round, the broken clutch has been replaced and there have been various other maintenance jobs to do but we’re all ready to go and I’ll be aiming for a strong finish in my class.”

Morgan will once again be partnered by co-driver James Ford for the event. Ford faces a busy week as he will head straight from the Cambrian to the Isle of Mull where he will swap seats to drive on the Mull Rally.

The Cambrian rally starts from Llandudno with most of the competitive action taking part in the forests of Penmachno, Clocaenog and Alwen before the crews head back to Llandudno for the final stages around the Great Orme.

Please visit www.harryrally.co.uk for all the latest news and photographs.