Miles Cartwright (Pegg, 1964-72) had one of his most successful years in 2018 when he competed in the British Historic Rally Championship, co-driving for rally legend Bob Bean, who is 80 years old, in a 1963 Lotus Cortina.
The championship takes in events in Wales, the Lake District, Kielder forest with the final round in the Yorkshire forests in the Pickering area. They competed in Category 1 which is for cars built before 1967; opposition came from other Cortinas, Porsches, Minis, Anglias and Hillman Imps.
The year started well with a win on Rally North Wales, but the following few events were not without difficulties – engine problems and brake failure (which is not conducive to calm nerves when heading towards a 300 ft drop at 80 mph) meaning another win was not on the cards, but placings kept the team in the hunt for honours.
As the season headed towards the final event, the championship was between the Porsche of Rikki Proffitt, the Anglia of Malcolm Rich and Bob and Miles in the Lotus Cortina.
A crash on the military ranges in the Brecon Beacons in torrential rain did nothing for their chances, and with the cancellation of the Manx rally everything rested on the final event. With the Porsche not entering, they needed to beat the Anglia to win the Championship.
The last event started with a blast through Dalby forest in the dark; their plan was to hopefully finish the first night with a 10 second lead, and attack hard the following day. They emerged with a 37 second cushion over their nearest rival. Saturday saw an increase in their lead; with the Anglia retiring, they carried on to win the Category and the Championship by one point. They also won the newly introduced BHRC2 for cars up to 1600cc by one point.
Miles said, “With a combined car/crew age of 199 years, this was an exceptional season for us. After 48 years in the sport, I am hoping to reach 50 years before finally hanging up my helmet, and although this year will be somewhat quieter, I am still looking forward, with enthusiasm, to 2019.”
