2004 Results

John Stone & Lee Carter (6R4), winner's of the 2004 Rockingham Stages receiving The Tony Matthews Memorial Cup from his parents.

An estimated crowd of nearly 1000, twice the expected figure, braved the winter weather to witness the first running of a stage rally at Rockingham today.

Blackpool's John Stone and Lee Carter took the top honours in their class 5 MG Metro 6R4, ahead of Steve Simpson and Mark Booth's ex-Freddie Loix Hyundai Accent WRC, by the narrow margin of just 3 seconds.

Robert Lowe and Stephen Shephard were the first two wheel drive competitors home, taking 5th overall and top honours in Class 3 in their immaculate Ford Escort MKII. The leading Class 4 car was just behind them in 6th place, with Welsh duo David Allmark and J Tate in their Ford Escort MKII.

The leading Class 2 pairing were Tim Seipal and Louise Clark in the MG ZR who finished in a credible 8th overall, 6 places ahead of their nearest rivals, Ian Brooks and Matt Sunderland in their Peugeot 106GTi.

In the smallest engined class, Owen Cule and Jason Mann brought their little Citroen AX Sport home in 33rd overall and 1st in class, four places in front of their nearest rivals.

Late running forced the cancellation of stage 6 but the remaining seven stages ran to time, with 45 of the 75 starters making it to the finish of the rally. The final car to take the chequered flag belonged to Rockingham safety marshal Mike O'Connor and his wife Ellie in their Ford Fiesta MKI.

"It has been a fantastic event, with everyone really enjoying the spectacle of the first ever Rockingham Stages Rally," said Rockingham spokesman Jeff Carter. "The competitors and the organisers have really done a superb job and the feedback we have been getting from them is they want to do this again next year."

Final Results after SS8