Having not rallied for six months, James Hall shook the cobwebs off in fine style by winning the Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt Rally Championship Class 2 trophy after an impressive drive on the East Riding Stages Rally in his immaculate Subaru Impreza N11.
Co-driven by Laura Marshall, the Penrith driver also collected 13th place overall championship points – on his first appearance at the East Yorkshire event.
The result comes as no surprise, especially as James finished 11th on the 2025 Mull Rally (just 25secs away from a top 10) in the same car.
James was even more pleased with the Mull result, as he beat his father Keith’s 12th place finish there in 2004.
In fact, rallying is a big part of the Hall family – and on their local Pendragon Stages Rally last year, not only was James driving, but so too were his dad, mum Helen, brother Jack and uncle Dougi.
James will contest this weekend’s Yorkshire Dales Rally (29 March) next in preparation for the Manx National Rally, where he aims to continue the great Protyre Asphalt start he made on the opening round.
“The East Riding Stages marked our return after six months out of the car, and our first time at the event, so we knew it would take a stage or two to shake off the rust,” said James.
“That definitely showed on the very first corner, where we made a right balls-up of it and did more ploughing than rallying. Not quite the start we had in mind!
“Saturday night started a little too cautiously. With the car set up too stiff and us feeling a bit rusty after the break, we weren’t quite on the pace we knew we had. Even though we were leading our class, it wasn’t the performance we were aiming for.
“Heading into day two, we softened the car off and it made a big difference. The confidence started to return, the rhythm improved, and we were finally able to push on properly and pick up the pace.
“Plans for the rest of the season are to contest the remainder of the Protyre Asphalt Rally Championship – with one very important exception. We’ll be giving the Argyll Rally a miss as it clashes with my partner’s thirtieth birthday, and I don’t believe that’s a battle I’d win!”
James is supported by Hall’s Mechanical Services, Hall Bros Groundworks (Cumbria) Ltd, K&M Hogg Stone Work Contractor and H&K Travel.
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