Thirty-six years after winning the Asphalt Rally Championship, Geoff Kitney climbed back behind the wheel of a Darrian T90 at the recent Welsh Motorsport & Supercar Festival – and said that “the thrill and excitement of driving a Darrian at Pembrey again was fantastic.”
The 1990 champion drove a modern version of the car that took him to the title, rekindling memories of one of the most memorable seasons in British asphalt rallying.
Geoff was the pioneering Darrian rally driver who gave the famous mid-engined sports car its first rally victory in 1986.
Darrian cars are still designed and built in the same workshop just outside Lampeter by Tim Duffee and his son Rhodri, both of whom were at Pembrey Circuit to oversee the return of one of the marque’s greatest ambassadors.
Co-driven by Alan McCann, Geoff became Asphalt champion after a remarkable 1990 season, finishing on the podium on all seven rounds – including the K&N Filters Rally at Pembrey.
He won three events, finished second once and scored three third-place finishes in his Darrian T90 to lift the title – having finished third the year before in a Darrian T9.
The 1990 title was won with victory on the Wexford Rally – beating John Price/Mike Bowen (Metro 6R4) by 14 seconds after 2 hours of competition!
The Bridgend driver continued rallying after that, scoring a number of podium finishes in a Mitsubishi Evo before finally hanging up his helmet at the end of 2017.
The demonstration run at Pembrey was the first time Geoff had driven a Darrian since 1990, with the former champion returning to the cockpit in Tony Rees’ Darrian T90 GTR+.
Powered by a Millington Series 2+ engine, Tony’s car features several developments that weren’t around in Geoff’s heyday, including a paddle-shift gearbox.
“The last time I drove a Darrian was 36 years ago, back in 1990 when I won the Asphalt Rally Championship – and getting to drive one again after all those years was thrilling,” said Geoff.
“I had a lot of trepidation beforehand, but as soon as I sat in the seat and went through a systems check – bearing in mind there are a lot of modern things in the car now that weren’t there when I competed in a Darrian – I felt quite at ease. I couldn’t believe how relaxed I felt.
“There was a fair bit of adrenaline pumping when I was out on track. The thrill and excitement of driving a Darrian at Pembrey again was fantastic.
“You can really fly down the back straight and around the final corner, and the brakes are phenomenal as you slow down for the hairpin. It really was a wonderful experience and thank you so much to everyone who was involved in making it happen.”
“Fair play to Geoff, he took to the new car really well,” said Rhodri.
“I guess, as they say, it’s like riding a bicycle – although there has been quite a lot of development to that bicycle in the last 36 years!”
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