ANCRO presents Samuels with award

Samuels wins Media Award.

CSS Television Motor Sport Producer Caroline Samuels was the surprised recipient of the Dennis Hopwood Trophy on Saturday evening at the ANCRO National Awards dinner, one of rallying's biggest social occasions.

The Trophy is awarded annually to the person who has made the greatest media contribution to the British national rallying scene. Caroline has produced the Rally Fever programme which, over its 20 episodes in 2003 has covered the Kumho National Rally Championship and the New Pig Scottish Rally Championship. The programme has aired on Sky Sports with extracts also shown Internationally on the Rally Report programme that is distributed in Europe.

Presenting Caroline with the cut glass trophy Rick Smith, the organiser of the Rallye Sunseker said, "Caroline has worked extremely hard to ensure that our series has had great exposure and coverage. Its been about so much more than just the top six or seven drivers. She has really got inside the sport of rallying and now she is even trying her hand at co-driving."

In fact Samuels recently competed in her first event co-driving for regular Kumho series competitor Nigel Giffiths in the Global Fuels Subaru Impreza Group N car. Despite her lack of experience the South African born Samuels finished in second place on the Bill Gwynne Motorsport Stages Rally in Mid Wales.

By winning the Hopwood Award, named after one of the motor industry's most fabled PR Managers, Samuels follows in a strong tradition. Former winners include Andrew Marriott, CSS Television's Executive Producer and former CSS TV Producer Gaye Grinstead, who won the award five years ago when working for the Covent Garden based company.

In 2004 CSS Television will be absorbed into Target Entertainment, the new TV distribution and production wing of the AIM quoted sports and entertainment company CSS Stellar plc. Sky Sports have already confirmed a new series of Rally Fever for 2004.

-www.kumhorally.info