Cruttenden’s rally season back on track

Joe Cruttenden and Matt Griffin in the VW Lupo

Joe Cruttenden’s rally season got back on track at the weekend with a class win on the Malcolm Wilson Rally, the second round of the BTRDA 1400L Rally Championship.

Joe, from Newhey was co-driving again for Blackburn-based Matt Griffin. The pair were back in the VW Lupo they were unable to use on the first round.

“We were much happier in the Lupo,” said Cruttenden, “It’s a car we have used for the last two years and we know what it can do.”

The rally started from the Ford Rally Team’s headquarters in Cockermouth, before heading out to cover seven stages through the picturesque forests of the Lake District. After the first stage, Cruttenden and Griffin had already pulled out an 18 second lead and by the end of the third stage, a tricky run through the forest using roads used to test the Ford World Rally Championship cars, the pair had extended lead in the class to 44 seconds.

“At the service, with the lead we had built up we agreed not to push any harder and take it steady through the remaining four stages,” Cruttenden commented.

“We had a clean run on the morning stages, and got into a good rhythm. Once we had our lead we decided to back off and preserve our lead. We won every stage which is a brilliant confidence boost for us.”

The class win moves them into first place in the class championship and Joe into first place in the Junior Co-driver championship.


The duo’s next event is the Somerset stages in April, but Joe will be celebrating his 21st birthday this weekend co-driving for Calvin Beattie, a 15-year-old driver coming over from Ireland to enter the Kick Energy Pirelli Junior 1000 Rally Championship.

“I have been involved in junior rallying since its conception 8 years ago and am really looking forward to competing with Calvin against other young drivers," said Cruttenden.