According to what he's posted on a couple of other forums, the MCD Services (as RED was known back then) incarnation of 'DKP' was sold to Mark Spencer. It was apparently reshelled again into a new Gartrac shell after he crashed it on the 1983 Newtown Stages- the MCD shell going to Charles Eveson who used it to reshell his 'LVX942J....'
Spencer later converted the car to a racer with a Terry Hoyle-built turbo BDA and ran it unsuccessfully in a couple of Thundersaloon races. It was then used as a tarmac rally car (still in 400bhp Thundersaloon form...) before being sold on and apparently returning to Thundersaloons

http://www.mark-1-tank.co.uk/jpgs/tt/marks...tures-3192b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3091/325586..._70905e55f4.jpg
http://www.mark-1-tank.co.uk/jpgs/tt/marks...tures-3194b.jpg

Hi Mactaff,
Not quite sure if you are Scottish or Welsh with that call sign???
Yes, my book is all motor sport, and tells the story of the ten years that I represented the British Army International rally team, it does give the name of all the Army, and RAFMSA crews that were competing in those days, and it is crammed with action shots of my Austin 1800s, Mini's, and Land Rovers including the awsome Turbo charged Land Rover prepared by Alan Allard.
I am still having problems posting some pics from the Welsh rallies that I competed in, maybe Sterling or RS2000 will come to my aid again,
Regards from sunny France,
Les.

I will send a private message with the crews I need first names for Les, when do you think your book will be out?

Hi Les, send the photos to my mail box, I will upload for you, no problem

A silly moment years ago when I first needed a name for the forum. In retrospect I should have used my own name, much easier as I have no reason to be anonymous. I'm Welsh but I thought I'd add the first part of a good rally drivers name to the front of it!

Martin Leonard

Hi Martin,
There are a lot of names to send for 1977/78/79/80/81 Army teams on the Welsh, could you send me a Pmail to les.dalton@orange.fr and I will send them direct to you and it will save taking up too much space on this site,
Regards,
Les.

Thank Les, email sent.

Anyone have any pics of Alvin Smith in the Strange Rover???

Hi Martin,
I remember Alvins Strange Rover very well, a TR7 body with Range Rover running gear mounted back to front IE engine at the back.
Alvin had a quite bad accident in the Strange Rover on the 1980 Mintex on a downhill lefthander on sheet ice, this was on one of the Otterburn stages, which nearly caught me out as well, my co-driver call a flat left, but it was very tight, I spun and went backwards downhill for some distance and had to drive back up the hill to turn around again.
Alvin went off the side and down into the river bed during the early morning, from memory, his co-driver was hospitalised.
I have not received your Email yet!!!,
Regards,
Les.

Live in France, you get snail mail! Is it there yet?

Oh well I was half right. Talking of glass fibre kit cars I'm sure I remember seeing a Gilbern on the FRAM Welsh one year- or is that my Brains injury (Welsh readers will understand) playing tricks on me again...

It's the beer goggles Bill

Brains...good
Felin Foel...not

Hence, Feeling Foul!

The only Bond in the 1964 entry list was driven by J.Wilson & L. (Les?) Needham. It carried number 43 and finished the event.

Fred

Thankyou, Fred!


Carles.

Hello Martin. I am Tom Bradley petom@btinternet.com. I competed on the 1981 Welsh International in a Mini 1275GT and I have a load of photos of the car on the event. My Co driver was Peter Allworthy. I would try and put the photos on here but I am a dinosaur.

Thanks Tom, I'm sure even dinosaurs can do it if I can!!

Martin,
My book FLY ARMY is currently with the publishers, not sure how long it will take to hit the shelves???
I have seen somewhere on this site, reference to David Skeffington (of Foster & Skeffington rally photograps) as I have some in the book that were taken by David, I need to find out what action I should take prior to publication, can anyone help me here????
Regards from France,
Les Dalton.

Hello

Just found this, your account of DKP history when i had it, is spot on. I wish i had not sold it

Cheers
Mark.

If you find out, let me know as I have loads! I was told Reinhard Klein had obtained the copyright of F&S photos taken on the RAC Rally but that does not extend to other UK events.

THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THE HELP SO FAR.

I am still looking for results for some Welsh Rallies, I will post a list and if anyone can help it would be very much appreciated.

Bon Jour RS2000,
Re your message above, please send me a Pmail and I will give you David's contact details,
Kind regards,
Les.

Hi Martin,
I MIGHT have learned out to post pics on here, so here goes at some of me on various Welsh rallies. Pictures are from 1977/78 1800, 1979 Turbo Land Rover 1980 normal Land Rover.






















Hope these are of some interest to our readers,
Regards,
Les.

Great photos Les, you have mastered uploading photos, trust me! The land Rovers look frightening, you sat so high up!!!

First photo is Ceri - with a lot of trees on the right having disappeared over a very few years.
I like the Group 6 oil cooler on the 1800 - or is it an aux rad!

It's a very valid point. I even found it dodgy riding off road in a Land Rover last week with the local Countryside Ranger. The first thing I drove on the rough after years of forest rallying in a Mini then an Escort was a development Army DROPS vehicle. I found the height from the ground totally disorientating and took ages to learn not to be scared of the cab moving in a massive arc on the rough.

Hi Keith,
Well, we did get a LITTLE bit of body roll when flat out in the Land Rovers on special stages, I used to lose several pounds of body weight during the Scottish, with the sweat and continual pounding (I could never think of a better way to loose weight, other than riding my enduro motorbike off road for a few hours)
I have attached a pic of my Landy in the 1975 Scottish, showing just a hint of suspension flexing!!!





Regards and did you contact DS?
Les.

Hi Keith,
Yes that was a fabulous stage which you can see in the background, it was flat all the way in the old Landcrab.
It was an oil cooler you can see, after the problem we had with the lubrication system (or lack of it) on the 1976 RAC the lads fitted uprated oil pump, sump baffles, and the oil cooler and we did not get any more trouble with the engine,
Regards,
Les.

Fantastic pics Les, we used lightweight Landrovers in work for years, a petrol tank each to sit on as well!! Dodgy door handles, one of our guys was sitting on his hands one frosty morning, trying to keep warm when the passenger door opened and out he fell!

Hi Martin,
Tell me about it!!!
Our rally land Rover doors were always coming open with the continual pounding of the stages, here is a pic of me on the 1976 Scottish to prove it,
Regards,
Les.

These are the years that we need full results for, if you know anyone who might have any of them we would really appreciate being able to get hold of a copy.

1965 (January) There were 2 that year.
1969
1973
1974
1976
1982
A copy of the book will be supplied to any contributors of results when it is published.

A quick useless fact:

Stig Blomqvist was fastest on the first 15 stages of the 1983 Welsh, one he shared with Brookes before McRae took a better time on Epynt. After that Stig set 5 more fastest times, a second and two thirds!

So he should have been! Who else had a Quattro or 4wd?

Amongst the top-10, there was only another 'quattro': the finnish team of Lasse Lampi & Pentti Kuukkala, who finished 3rd o/a.


Carles.

True, and Russell Brookes suffered quite often because of that!!

I think I have filled a few gaps after Mark visited me on Friday !!!!!!!!!

Hello David
Do you have any photos of an orange coloured mini clubman on the 78 Welsh crewed by Barton/George which came 1st in class. I would also like photos of the car that year on other events that year ie Burmah,Mintex and the Manx. The car was then coloured green/white and competed on the Castrol/Autosport Championship in 1980. I am also looking for photos of a Mini Cooper S, Green/White number JYU 5K crewed by Bradley/Cofield in numerous welsh events on the Castrol Autosport Championships of 1977/78/79.
Tom

Thanks Ted!! Mark has kept me up to date, I'm the stats man at the moment looking for long lost results sheets, it's like a jigsaw puzzle but we're getting there.

I need a good photo of any car on the 1979 Welsh which shows the Phonepower rally sticker.
I'm just restoring Penti's Chevette which was in Busby yellow livery on the event and need to reproduce the sticker.
JW

My car - Renault 12 Gordini took part in the 1978 Welsh Rally - reg PLH 189L. I would like to obtain photos or more information on this part of it's history.

Mike
This is one of the very few cars which my Dad rallied that I do not have a photograph of. I would love it if you could let me have a copy and any details of where and when it was taken for my history files.

Regards

David Cuff

Hi Jwoch,
If you go back to page 2 of this thread and on to the 21st of nov, there are some pictures of me in my Army rally cars on the Welsh, one taken in a ford (a Land Rover actually) is from the 1979 Welsh, and you can see the sponsors decall behind my Turbo land Rover as well as on the door, hope its of some help,
regards from france,
Les Dalton.

Bon Jour again Jwoch,
To save you the trouble, I am attaching a copy of the final results for the 1979 Welsh, you should get the design from this OK,
Regards,
Les.

David, you have pm