CRANAGE Hall played host to the first round of the Historic Rally Car Register (HRCR) Clubmans Championship.
The Tour of Cheshire event was a day-long navigational rally for historic cars and, true to form, 2006 HRCR champions Paul Hernaman and Ray 'Crow' Crowther won the round and took the lead in this year's championship.
Top performers on the regularities and fourth on the special tests gave their Porsche 911 a 28-second advantage over the second-placed Triumph GT6 of Neil Dowie and David Taylor.
Robin Shackleton and Ralph Lodge took third in their Sunbeam Rapier H120 as the competitors arrived back at the hall, near Holmes Chapel.
A spokesman for Knutsford and District Motor Club, which organised the event, said: 'We were delighted the event was so well received. Thank you to everyone who contributed -
competitors, marshals, supporters, officials, venue owners and residents on the route. You helped raise over £1,768 for the North West Air Ambulance - it's much appreciated.'
Throughout the day, the competitors negotiated a number of tests involving speed, accuracy and intelligence. The route sent the crews on a circuit of Cheshire, taking in places such as Capesthorne Hall at Siddington, Beeston and other scenic locations.
Onlookers saw competitors from all over the UK in a whole host of beautifully prepared machines take on the Cheshire countryside.
Many of the usual top crews fell foul of secret passage checks and wrong test penalties, while the steady and accurate approach paid dividends for others in the 68-strong field of starters.
