XS Racing continued it's victorious start to the 2010 Dunlop/WONAGO.com MSA British Historic Rally Championship when Peter Smith and Russ Langthorne took category two victory on round two, the Pirelli Historic Rally (24 April).
 
It was a remarkable day for Smith and Langthorne as they steered their Porsche 911 through the drama of Kielder forest to win the category for the first time. Meanwhile, the Sunbeam Tiger of Jonathan Gale and James Whitaker headed category one for much of the day with a measured drive, but they slipped to second on the final stage of the rally.
 
For Smith and Langthorne it was a memorable result as it marked Smith's first victory since returning to rallying after a break of more than 25 years. "That’s my first win since I came back into rallying and we didn’t have a problem all day," said Smith, as the 911 ran like clockwork. Importantly, he had traded times during the day with class C4 pacesetter Tim Mason, a noted Kielder expert in his Porsche 911.
 
Gale led category one despite a drama on the third stage, taking a measured approach once he knew that chief rival Dessie Nutt had lost a lot of time by going off early in the rally. "We clipped the logs at the flying finish on stage three and I drove as hard as I could on the last stage," he said. "I was on the limit and couldn’t do any more," he added. But it was still not quite enough as the Volvo of Graham Waite flew through the final Bewshaugh stage to snatch victory from the Tiger.
 
"Both cars ran faultlessly all day," said John Cropper of XS Racing. "That was a great result for Peter in particular, as his times were really good and he was right in there. We've really worked hard with the car and it has paid off."
 
After two of the eight rallies, Gale has the overall BHRC lead while Smith is close behind in third place and leading category two. The BHRC now has a break before round three, the Severn Valley Stages on 5 June.
 
However, the XS Racing team will be busy during the break as work continues on the Chevrolet-powered Vauxhall Firenza of Mick Strafford. The car will compete at Blyton this weekend (1/2 May) on a single-venue rally with Cropper co-driving as they do more suspension and geometry work on the newly prepared car. The Firenza is then due to be at the Chatsworth Rally Show in early June and will tackle the Abingdon Carnival Stages Rally on 13 June. It is hoped that former multiple British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae will drive the car Chatsworth.
 
XS Racing specialises in all types of historic rally preparation and parts supply across a wide range of cars. XS Racing can be contacted on 01246 233777.