RALLY: Taunt secures a top-ten finish in the Trackrod Rally (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

RALLY: Taunt secures a top-ten finish in the Trackrod Rally

5:00pm Wednesday 3rd October 2012 in Sport

LOCAL rally driver Shelly Taunt happily secured a top-ten result last weekend when she and co-driver Julie Murphy finished a creditable ninth overall on the high profile Trackrod Rally Yorkshire Clubman event.

The Highworth duo faced strong opposition on the North Yorkshire based event but after a clean and tidy run the pair were soon running just inside the top ten.

The OCM Capital Markets, Swindon Karting F1, Guest & Fiore Bricklayers, Combined Scaffolding Ltd, ASF Sign Factory & Jim Griffiths Car & Body Repairs backed Subaru Impreza ran faultless all day, placing Taunt and Murphy in a good position.

Taunt said: "We didn't know what to expect despite having competed on the event a few times. The weather had been horrendous the week of the event and heavy rain caused flooding in many areas of North Yorkshire, but to our surprise the stages were dry and even dusty in places."

The girls praised their team of mechanics for their continuing hard work on preparing the car. Murphy said: "The car ran fantastically all weekend; it didn't miss a beat."

The pair knew that a top-ten result would be a hard task with four World Rally Cars running in front of them and a handful of other more powerful machinery. But they held their own over the 45-mile gravel stage event and, with Taunt on a full charge, saw them secure their ninth overall position.

The event was won by Peter Stephenson in his Ford Focus World Rally Car. Taunt and Murphy's next outing will be the Aldershot-based Tempest Rally in early November.