Mid-Derbyshire Motor Club navigator is silver star champion once again

This is the second time Murphy, who is a member of the Mid-Derbyshire Motor Club based near Alfreton has been champion, 2019 being the first.

Andy Davison who Tom navigates for also won the Silver Star Championship for drivers.Heading into the last round, the Cambrian Rally, both had a chance to win their respective championships.

The pair had already won five of the six rounds they had entered this year so all they had to do was finish sixth for each to win their championship. If they didn’t achieve that they would then be relying on the results of other crews who could deprive them of the win. The first stage of the day was one that they said had haunted them in the past.

They had a big accident one year and a major mechanical failure in another year. As a result, they decided that they would adopt a steady approach to the stage without taking any undue risks. They were therefore very surprised to find that they were the fastest car in their class.

However, disaster struck on the next stage, Clocaenog, as a surface change from gravel track to tarmac caught them out. Earlier competitors who had gone through had dragged mud onto the tarmac, and it didn’t give them the grip they expected.

Their Sunbeam VXR slid off and although the car wasn’t fully off the road they were almost in a ditch that was full of water. Nearby spectators came to help but even then they couldn’t get out. They had to wait until all the remaining competitors had gone through the stage and they were then pulled out by the recovery truck. It seemed they might have lost any chance of winning their championships unless the car was still deemed fit to compete.

It would therefore have to be scrutineered again so that they could restart in the afternoon under Super Rally rules. Fortunately, the car was damage free and they were able to restart but having missed two stages the time loss meant they were in ninth place in their class. One of the other championship contenders had retired with engine failure but the other pair were in second and that meant that finishing eighth would be sufficient for Tom and Davo.

The first stage of the afternoon was the one where they had gone off in the morning, so another steady run was planned. Unfortunately, they got a puncture in the first mile and had to stop and change the wheel and tyre.

Without another spare they had to run at a slightly reduced pace to ensure they got to the finish. Clearly this wasn’t what they needed when they had to make up time. They did succeed in getting to the end and then had to await the results. Another crew in their class had retired and this meant that they finished eighth.

Davison was therefore definitely champion but because another navigator had scored points on an earlier event with a driver that wasn’t registered for the championship, Tom had fewer points than Davison and was now tying on points with another navigator. The rules of the championship then required a count back on wins during the year and fortunately this sealed the championship for Tom.