THE tandem of James Labey and Robbie Hannah claimed victory in the 2023 Roberts Garages Jersey Rally with a dominant display.
The pair belied their pre-race seeding of 12th to demolish the competition, finishing almost three-and-a-half minutes quicker than Stevie Leonard and Sion Humphreys in second place.
Labey’s impressive handling was on display from the off, and the pair led throughout and made the second day of racing on Saturday a procession.
The win was all the more impressive given that Hannah was a late replacement as co-driver.
Labey said: “It’s brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. In the first few stages I didn’t think I was anywhere really, but then after the first two we had a sizeable gap and led into the night and [we were] dominating – we led all the way from the start, so yeah, couldn’t be happier.
“The Augerez night stage is really good in the wet – that was absolutely mental – 120 miles an hour in fifth gear flat out.”
Labey added he was thankful to Hannah for stepping in at short notice and that he was “so happy” to have him alongside.
Hannah said that it was an easy decision to join Labey and was full of praise for his driver.He said: “I got a phone call on Tuesday night saying ‘could I step in?’.
“And I was like, ‘yeah, of course’,” Hannah said.
“I was blown away after the first stage. I looked at the stage times and I just had to double check, triple check.
“He’s so smooth, he did not put a foot wrong the whole way and he listened and I felt so comfortable and safe in there.”
The 2021 winners Ross Le Noa and Dom Volante completed the podium, holding off Sam Touzel and Aaron Nicole, who finished fourth.
