Pirelli International Rally - Carlisle Cumbria - 18-19 Apr 08

BHRC report, round two: Pirelli Historic Rally

Posted: April 21, 2008 1:24 PM

The Kielder region proved up to its daunting reputation on round two of the 2008 Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship, the Pirelli Historic Rally on 18/19 April.
While the unforgiving ditches caught out some of the leading contenders and mechanical dramas accounted for others, a tremendous performance from Darren Moon and John McNichol (Escort Mk2) netted category three spoils. Unfortunately, a major accident befell Jimmy McRae/Andy Richardson (Porsche 911RS) on the penultimate stage when battling for the category.
In category one, Patrick Watts and Elgan Davies set a scorching pace in the Sunbeam Tiger to win the category and set times that put them up with the top six category two and three crews.
Meanwhile, in category two, a fine run for Rupert Lomax/David Alcock (Escort Mk2) brought them a first BHRC victory on their debut event in the region. Overall, the event was well received by the 65-strong historic entry, with everyone enjoying the stages in the main Kielder complex. Only the poor state of the opening two stages detracted from the rally.

Category 1
With a big attack on the opening stage, Watts/Davies went immediately 20 seconds clear of the category one field and were able to maintain their pace through the following six stages to score a commanding win.
By the time they emerged from the final nine miles in Pundershaw, Watts was 1m20s clear of the Porsche 911 of John Keatley/Maurice Beckett, although there was a late scare for the Tiger crew. "We hit a bridge with a back wheel, but got away with it," said Watts. "But we didn’t go loony today," he added.
The battle for second was between the Porsches of Keatley and Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride and it was Keatley who grabbed the upperhand on Friday evening. Despite an attack on Saturday's stages, Nutt could not catch his countryman and the eight-second gap even grew a little.
Bob Bean and Malcolm Smithson were one of the casualties of conditions in SS1 and a large pothole threw their Lotus Cortina off the road. Instead, Neil Calvert and Arlene Cookson had a trouble free run to B4 spoils. "It was a steady run; we did what we came to do," reported Calvert at the finish.
The B2 contest never really got going as the Mini Cooper S of Terry Cree/Richard Shores suffered badly on the opening leg with a cracked sump and a time consuming off. Meanwhile, James Stait/Gill Cotton had a good run in the MG Midget to go well clear, which was fortunate as they had an off of their own on Saturday and spent three minutes on a tree stump, but still took the class by a minute. "Those stages were much better," said Cree on the second leg.
B1 honours went to the Sunbeam Imp Sport of Geoff Taylor/Steve Greenhill, with their result aided when the Singer Chamois of Gary and Jane Edgington shed a wheel on Friday evening.

Category 2
It didn't take long for the drama to start in category two, with David Stokes/Guy Weaver (Escort Mk1) hobbled by an electrical gremlin thought to a dodgy master switch. Then, early leaders Steven Smith/John Nichols slid the Porsche 911RS into a ditch just before the end of the opening leg, all of which boosted Lomax/Alcock into a well-earned category lead overnight. "We go well on the twisty stuff," said Lomax after a very impressive run on his first attempt at these stages.
Leading the chase was the Escort of Ernie Graham/Robin Kellard and they were 25s down overnight after dropping time on stages three and four with badly worn tyres.
It was nip and tuck stuff on Saturday, but with the second of three stages cancelled, Graham didn’t have enough time to attack and the gap was still 18s at the finish. "It's gone to plan," said Lomax after a first BHRC victory.
As well as chasing Lomax, Graham had to watch for the pursuing Ken Forster/John Stanger-Leathes (Escort Mk1) in the leading class C3 car. First time out with Pinto power, Forster was flying along and finished just three seconds behind Graham after a tremendous run. "We had a slow first stage with the new car, but after that it was brilliant," said Forster, who also paid tribute to his co-driver's contribution. "John's notes were faultless," he added.
Chasing Forster in the hugely competitive class C3 were the Escort Mk1s of Tim Jones/Don James and Russell Morgan/Martin Kenyon. Morgan was left to rue a slow start on Friday evening, but was closing in on Jones at the finish.
C2 delivered a very welcome class win for Kevin Broadhurst/Andrew Turner, as Broadhurst finished a BHRC event for the first time since 2004. He didn't think much of the Friday stages, but picked up pace on Saturday and was elated just to finish, let alone win the class by 25s from Neil Rudd/Brian Hodgson (Escort Mk1).
The contest for C4 was a topsy-turvy affair and it was Tim Mason/Graham Wild who took the class in their Porsche 911. "I love the Kielder stages," said Tim, but after some tremendous times they lost six minutes when the centre pulled out of a wheel. However, with Andrew Haddon/Mark Crisp hobbled by a gearbox stuck in second, Mason pressed on and stunned everyone by being overall fastest through Pundershaw. Without the delay they could well have won category two.

Category 3
McRae was surprised to be leading at the end of Friday after having the Porsche's fan belt come off twice. They carried on through the stages, but watching the gauges hurt their pace. "We backed off a bit and maybe that was a good thing," said Jimmy.
However, others had bigger problems including Richard Hill/Patrick Cooper who parked their Escort M2 with a radiator problem at the end of stage two. A Kershope ditch claimed Simon Tysoe/Rob Dyson (Escort Mk2), while a similar fate befell Frank Cunningham/Ryland James.
Meanwhile, Moon/McNichol dropped time on the last stage of Friday evening. "We did nine miles on wrecked tyres," said Moon at the end of the leg. They lost 24s to drop 11s behind McRae and set up a big battle for Saturday. They were virtually level on the first of Saturday's stages, The Shanks, but it all went wrong for McRae when the Porsche plunged off the road near the end of Archie's Rigg.
That left Moon taking a 23s lead into the final stage in Pundershaw, but it wasn't over as Jason Lepley/Howard Pridmore were still charging along in their Escort Mk2, despite being unsettled after stopping at the scene of McRae's accident. "We'd planned to change tyres for the last stage," said Jason, but there was no chance to do it.
Nevertheless, they were just 10s behind Moon at the finish having clawed back 13s in nine miles.
A splendid third went to Dick Slaughter/Geoff Dearing (Escort Mk2). "Fairly uneventful, but a good run," reported Slaughter at the finish.
Next up in category three and taking a fine D3 victory were Will Onions and Tim Hobbs in their Escort RS2000, after a straightforward rally. They had 1m20s in hand over Richard Lane/Frank Richer.

Ford Fiesta SportingTrophy UK - Fisher reels in the Pirelli

Posted: April 21, 2008 1:19 PM

Seventeen registered Ford Fiesta ST crews were entered for the Pirelli National Rally last weekend on the second round of the VK Ford Fiesta SportingTrophy UK. The rally based at Carlisle Airport took in over fifty competitive stage miles in the Kershope and Kielder forest complexes. At the end of the seven stages the winner would be last year’s FST Ireland champion, 19-year-old Alastair Fisher from Enniskillen, who was again partnered by the experienced Paul Morris.

Competitors who arrived at the event start on Saturday morning faced dry but cold and windy conditions. The drivers would have four stages totalling 28 miles with minimum road mileage before the first service halt of the day, therefore crews would need to perform from the word go. However, Alick Kerr (19) from Lanark with co-driver Drew Sturrock where unable to start the event as a fault was diagnosed in their newly rebuilt engine and there was not enough time to repair it.

SS1 - 5.09 miles, Chamot Hill. Fisher would end the stage setting the fastest time, followed by the new pairing to the series of Meilyr Evans (18) from Machynlleth, co-driven by Andrew Edwards who were only 0.7 seconds of the young Irishman. Team-mate to Meilyr, Elfyn Evans (19) would be third on the stage, with James Everard (22) from Hull rounding out the top four. Stage one would have drama for the regulars of Richard Archer and Matthew Whattam. A puncture only two miles into the first stage, which resulted in the car falling off the jack lost the crew valuable time.

SS2, Arthur’s Seat at 5.11 miles was the next test. Meilyr Evans would come out of the stage with the fastest time, his first of the in the FST series with Fisher second quickest, Elfyn Evans and Barry Greer (20) from Carryduff rounding out the top four. It would be a competitive time for Greer whose pace is increasing as the series progresses. Both Meilyr and Elfyn Evans reported punctures during the stage but both crews still managed to set very competitive times. Round one winner Stevie Brown (20) from Peterhead also picked up a puncture dropping them down the order. A number of crews were reporting rough conditions in the stage and it looked as though careful picking of lines through the day would be key to avoiding big time losses.

SS3 - 8.48 miles, The Valley. Elfyn Evans would come out of the stage second quickest, 3.9 seconds behind Fisher. Third quickest would be Everard, followed by local driver Kris Hall (18) from Appleby, who was partnered in this event by Seb Marshall. The two MSA rally academy members were having a steady run but a puncture on Stage two had dropped them lower down the order than they would have liked to of been at this stage of the event, also in trouble was Meilyr Evans who sustained two punctures in the stage, and with not enough spares would have to start the next stage with a slow puncture already on the car.

The final stage of the morning before first service, SS4 was the 9.25 miles of Glen Dhu. Fisher would emerge with the quickest stage time meaning three out of four stage wins in the morning, an impressive performance in the tough conditions. Fisher’s final stage time of the morning would be the second quickest time in the national rally. Elfyn Evans and Everard would come out of the stage second and third respectively. Liam Regan (20) from Belfast was reporting a lack of power but was still setting some quick stage times, fellow Irishman Barry Greer (20) from Carryduff ended the stage in fifth behind Regan.

Going into service Fisher had a lead of 9.3 seconds over the current FST Ireland championship leader Elfyn Evans. Everard was third with Regan and Greer close behind. A number of crews had small problems during the service - including championship leader Brown who had broken suspension, but with some great work from service crews all the ST’s would leave the service area ready to tackle the final three stages.

SS5 - 7.32 miles, The Shanks. Fisher set the fastest time of the national rally, beating a selection of more powerful cars, the time was a real demonstration of the performance of the car and drivers of the FST UK series. This time would have put Fisher fastest 2WD in the International Rally - 13th overall. Elfyn and Meilyr Evans came in second and third with Greer rounding out the top four. Crews were all reporting that they were thoroughly enjoying the fifth stage with its fast flowing bends.

SS6 - 8.16 miles, Archies Rigg was the penultimate stage of the day and Fisher would again come out with the fastest time. Elfyn Evans, Hall and Meilyr Evans would round out the top four. Kyle Orr (18) from Dromore had a mechanical problem and lost precious time. Eventually this would see him retire from the rally.

Away from the leading group, other competitors were having some tough times, Max Utting (22) suffered four punctures during the day and Clive Hilton from Nottingham would unfortunately not make it to the end of the event after crashing out shortly after catching and passing another car on stage. Luke Francis (18) from Denbigh with co-driver Chris Jones would finish his first ever event, a great achievement for a newcomer.

The final stage of the day, SS7 was Pundershaw at 8.8 miles, the stage would see some drama with Stevie Brown going off and rolling his car ending his chances of a second win in the UK series. However Fisher would come out with another stage win and take the overall victory from Elfyn Evans and James Everard.

With six stage wins out of seven Fisher had done enough to claim the Castrol Hard Charger award, whilst local driver John Lloyd climbed an impressive twenty places from his seeded position to claim the MIS Insurance Most Improved Driver of the day.

Winner Alastair Fisher said:
“I am delighted with the win, it has been a tough rally with some tough stage conditions but we have come out with the result we were so desperately after. It has been a tough start to both the UK and Irish Series and we really needed a win to get our championship hopes back on track. Our next aim is to keep up this result and get another win on the Severn Valley National Rally.”

Final Results
Pos Driver / Co-Driver Overall Time Points Prize Money
1 Alastair Fisher / Paul Morris 54.16.0 30 £750
2 Elfyn Evans / Gareth Roberts 54.44.9 25 £600
3 James Everard / Sam Collis 55.50.0 22 £450
4 Liam Regan / Neil Dashfield 56.08.8 20 £375
5 Barry Greer / John Lemon 56.35.6 18 £300
6 Kris Hall / Seb Marshall 56.54.6 16 £225
7 John Lloyd / Steve Egglestone 56.59.2 14 £150
8 Max Utting / Jemma Bellingham 58.10.8 13 £75

BRC - Post Event Report

Posted: April 21, 2008 12:58 PM

As the cars in the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship made the final run back to the finish inCarlisle, the winners of the opening round, the Pirelli International were Guy Wilks and Phil Pugh for the second year in a row.

The Mitsubishi pair took the event by the scruff of the neck as they had in 2007, setting fastest times on all but one stage. Wilks’ march to the top step of the podium was unhampered by anything more serious than acting as road sweeper to the following pack.

Fins Juho Hänninen/Mikko Markkula did not disgrace themselves though, taking a fine second in their debut on the Pirelli International Rally in their Subaru. They finished with a flourish on the final test, their stage time only 2.9 seconds adrift of Wilks’.

In a brand new N14 Subaru and third was David Higgins/ Ieuan Thomas, who were delighted to be on the pace again after swapping to the new car. They spent the rally fine tuning the car setup and were consistently close to the pace.

TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP
Mitsubishi Motors UK took the lead in the Teams’ Championship by virtue of Wilks’ win and a fourth place. In that position was team debutant Phillip Morrow who even set a fastest time, beating his Champion team-mate in his first outing in a left hand drive car and just missing the podium by 7.5 seconds. Team TQ.com was second, David Higgins third place making the lion’s share of points while team Principal Hugh Evans dropped to 18th after a frustrating off meant he had to use Super Rally to restart. Atlas TEG Sport’s Patrik Flodin and Wyn Humphreys took fifth and ninth place respectively and ended the event third, a single tantalisingly point adrift of second. Fourth is the Revolution Wheels Rally Team with just Rob Swann scoring points in eleventh. He had a frustrating event but team mate Karl Simmons retired with transmission problems.

PIRELLI STAR DRIVER AWARD
Juho Hänninen was also deemed to be the most impressive in the conditions by the Pirelli Star Driver judges. He took the “yellow jersey” at the finish in Carlisle by virtue of his performance against drivers with much better knowledge of the demanding Kielder stages. He is the first to be put forward to the end of season shoot-out, the eventual winner taking a fully funded drive in the 2009 British Rally Championship.

Reigning Pirelli Star Driver Darren Gass made a sensible start to his prize season, but a rare pace note error, left the Mitsubishi stranded in a ditch. The pair used Super Rally to gain mileage on Saturday, top ten times recovering them to 14th overall at the finish.

CLASSES
Rally 3/Diesel Cup
In the battle for Rally 3, Irishman Brian O’Mahony returned with an awesome sounding Renault Clio, climbing to 13th overall before a rear suspension component failed, leaving him unable to complete the event. He still took points though, classified as a finisher under Super Rally rules. Stefan Davis’ event was fraught with problems from the start, his Puma succumbing to a mystery transmission problem by the end of the first stage.

In the Rally 3 diesels, Fin McCaul not only won the category from Steve Graham, but he took outright R3 victory as well; absolutely delighted with the improvements to his rear wheel drive BMW over the winter break. Astra diesel pilot Graham put up a fight, but a broken transmission joint ended their event, another scoring by virtue of Super Rally.

Rally 2/Citroën C2R2 Cup
Rally 2 is always a hotly contested class, the Pirelli being no exception; Swede Andreas Sjolander being chased by youngster Adam Gould early on. Gould’s Clio challenge faded though, when he clipped a bridge and lost a wheel, but it was fellow Swedish Fiesta Championship runner Joakim Nyman who took victory, when Sjolander disappeared in unlucky stage thirteen, reportedly off the road.

Andrew Hockridge took second in R2 and won the Citroën C2R2 Cup in his debut BRC outing, delighted to take the win on his fist foray into a major rally championship. 2007 runner-up Martin Roberts drove well within himself to take third spot despite punctures, while Martin McCormack used Super Rally to take third in the C2s after his early lead was lost with gearbox trouble.

Rally 1/Suzuki Swift Sport Cup
The Rally 1 battle was all about the inaugural Suzuki Swift Sport Cup from where all the five entries came. The competition was close early on, seconds separating the identical specification cars, but the conditions meant that several runners suffered, not least early leader Danish Niki Bjerg.

The lead changed several times former BRC Stars driver Mark Gamble eking a lead ahead of Bjerg, before falling by the wayside with mechanical problems. Gordon Nichol took full advantage, keeping eventual second placed Nick Rowland at bay when he used Super Rally to complete the event on Saturday. Bjerg took consolation points for third in Super Rally, unable to join the others at the podium finish.

The next round of the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship travels to the Scottish Borders in Kelso for the start of the Jim Clark International Rally on the weekend 24th/25th May.

O’Mahony and Higgins get result in opening round of BRC

Posted: April 21, 2008 12:56 PM

County Cork driver Brian O’Mahony and County Mayo co-driver John Higgins had a tough start to their British Rally Championship (BRC) campaign as they finished the opening round, the Pirelli International Rally, under superally rules this weekend (18-19 April).

The crew finished 28th overall and second in class R3 in their OM Concrete Products and Tom Hogan Motors-backed Super 1600 Renault Clio, run by O’Leary Motorsport, on the Carlisle-based forest gravel event despite suffering a mechanical problem on stage 11.

The reigning Dunlop National Championship class 6 champions have returned to contest the BRC this season following a year’s absence and soon got adjusted to competing across a gravel surface after a seven-month gap.

Following the first loop of four stages on Friday night they had already climbed to an impressive 13th place. On Saturday morning they slipped a position to 14th on the first test but after stage eight had reclaimed 13th.

A timing error meant that they were given a time around 18 minutes slower than they had set on stage 10 for an unknown reason which had dropped them down the order to 21st before the suspension failure struck on the next test.

The bottom arm snapped and pulled off the damper through stage 11, bringing an abrupt end to the pair’s event but they were able to finish under superally rules with 40 minutes worth of penalties – 10 minutes for every stage missed – after getting the car into parc ferme.

“It’s good that we could finish under the superally rules but disappointing that we couldn’t finish the rally properly and in a better position,” 23-year-old O’Mahony said. “We had got back into the swing of competing on gravel and were in a good position before the suspension problem.

“It’s frustrating when a mechanical problem ends your rally, and it happened so sudden. Up until then we were having a pretty clean run, apart from the stages being very rough and difficult. Now we have to look forward to round two and to getting a solid finish then.”

O’Mahony collected nine points in the Rally 3 drivers’ category to lie in second place whilst Higgins claimed 10 points to lead the Rally 3 co-drivers’ standings.

The pair will next be in action in the BRC in round two, the Kelso-based Jim Clark Rally on May 24-25, which is a tarmac event.

Mitsubishi off to a flying start

Posted: April 21, 2008 12:53 PM

The Mitsubishi Motors UK Rally Team got the defence of its 2008 British Rally Championship campaign off to a flying start this weekend, when Guy Wilks and co-driver Phil Pugh scored a resounding victory in round one, the Pirelli International Rally. Team-mates Phillip Morrow and Daniel Barritt also put in a great performance, finishing fourth overall in what was Morrow’s debut as a Mitsubishi works driver.

Starting and finishing in Carlisle, the Pirelli Rally featured four stages on Friday evening followed by a further ten on Saturday, all of the rally’s 105 competitive miles taking place over the demanding gravel roads in Kielder Forest.

With Wilks being the reigning British Champion he started the season as clear favourite, but against drivers such as three-times British Champion and his arch rival Mark Higgins, plus regular PWRC competitors Juho Hanninen and Patrik Flodin - and former British Champion David Higgins, the task of winning would not be easy.

However, Wilks was straight on the case and emerged from the first stage with a lead of 4.3 seconds ahead of Mark Higgins, who was followed by his brother David and then Hanninen. Morrow was fourth, having survived a big moment when he momentarily dropped his Mitsubishi into a ditch and although not losing much time, the incident knocked his confidence, especially as it was his first ever stage in the works Mitsubishi.

As Morrow collected his thoughts during the next three stages, Wilks forged ahead, although in the slippery conditions he too briefly dropped two wheels into one of Kielder’s infamous ditches on SS4.

As crews entered parc fermé for the overnight halt, the score-board revealed a perfect start for Wilks and, after winning every stage so far, he had pulled-out a lead of 24 seconds ahead of second-placed Hanninen. Mark and David Higgins followed, with Flodin fifth and Morrow sixth, who admitted he had checked his pace for the remainder of Friday’s stages.

After a good-night’s sleep, Morrow showed his potential on Saturday’s first test and went four seconds faster than anyone else. Wilks was second fastest on this occasion after finding that, as first car on the road, he was clearing loose gravel off the surface . With SS6 cancelled, the two Mitsubishis were again the fastest cars on the following stage and, when teams entered the first service halt of the day, Wilks had stretched his lead to 46 seconds ahead of Hanninen, who reported a heart-stopping top-gear spin in SS7. Morrow was now up to third and hunting down Mark Higgins, who was nearly a minute ahead.

SS8 saw Morrow start to get closer to his prey as the engine in Higgins’ car started to expire. But, on the very next stage, something went adrift in the transmission of Morrow’s car and he found himself without fourth and fifth gears. Although having to negotiate the next two stages before the service halt with just first, second and third, Morrow did well to drop just 20 seconds, but it meant that David Higgins had pulled in front.

As soon as Morrow reached the service area, the Mitsubishi team set about changing the gearbox and did so in an astonishing 18 minutes, which meant that no penalties were accrued by going beyond the 20 minutes of allocated service time.

With Morrow now 30 seconds ahead of Flodin and 10 seconds behind Higgins, he started the last loop of three stages aiming for third place, but mindful not to push too hard and that a finish was the most important item on the agenda for both him and the team.

After a determined but calculated run to the finish, the results showed that Morrow was only seven seconds behind Higgins and had consolidated his forth place. Wilks’ pace however was relentless and he crossed the line to take his second Pirelli Rally victory in succession – the first time this feat has been achieved since Malcolm Wilson scored back-to-back wins in 1979 and 1980. With a final margin of 65 seconds ahead of Hanninen, Wilks’ only concern during the day was the negotiation of a fallen tree on stage 11.

For the Mitsubishi team it was a great start to the season. Their attentions now turn to the second round of the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship and the first asphalt event of the year, the Jim Clark Rally on 24th & 25th May.

The Mitsubishi Motors UK rally team is sponsored by Lovell Group and Virgin Money. It is also supported by its technical partners: Sparco, Speedline Corse, PIAA, Ricardo, and Performance Friction Brakes.

Team Quotes
Guy Wilks
“It’s great to carry on from where we left off. I immediately felt comfortable with the new car - and it ran perfectly from start to finish. Although we won by a significant margin the quality of the field meant that it was no foregone conclusion, so I’m very happy to have come out on top against such tough competition. I’m also pleased that things went according to plan. We pulled out a lead on Friday night and then, without taking risks, we were able to extend our advantage while others played catch-up on Saturday. A perfect start to the season.”

Philip Morrow
“I’m happy with fourth place. It would have been great to get onto the podium in my first event with the works team, but I didn’t want to push too hard and spoil things. Once I got over the moment on the first stage I was happy that I was able to stay on the pace and really pleased to take a fastest stage time. It was a shame about the gearbox, but the lads did an amazing job to change it so quickly. Overall I’m very satisfied with the way things went and pleased that it was such a successful weekend for the team.”

Paul Brigden
“I am delighted with the result. The weekend went really well for the whole team and to come away with a win and forth place - and leading the teams championship is a great start for us. What can you say about Guy? He drove a perfect rally. I’m also very pleased with Phillip’s performance. He used his head and pushed-on when he felt comfortable enough to do so. He overcame problems really well and I am sure he could have made it onto the podium. I must also praise the team for their work. It was another great job all-round. We now look forward to next event and the change to a tarmac surface.”

Press release Jonny Greer

Posted: April 21, 2008 12:29 PM

Carlisle city centre witnessed the launch of the 2008 British rally championship (BRC) on Friday night, 45 cars lined up in what marks the 50th year of the BRC. There was an atmosphere of anticipation surrounding the event with a host of overseas entries most notably ex- Subaru works driver Simon Jean-Joseph and Production WRC regulars Juho Hanninen and Patrik Flodin.

The rally layout consists of four night stages on the Friday and a further ten stages on Saturday making a total of 120 competitive miles. Jonathan Greer lined up his DGM prepared Mitsubishi evolution 9 at seed 15 amongst a host of fellow Irish drivers and was looking forward to starting his first full British championship campaign having tasted a couple of rounds in 2007.

It was to be a good start to the BRC campaign for the northern Irish crew bagging some valuable points and ending the rally in 8th place setting 8 top ten times along the way. During the rally the crew reported a smooth run with no major problems although their progress was hampered slightly on Saturday morning due to a wrong tyre choice.

Jonny commented on Saturday evening “we had a goon run and had no problems to worry about the whole rally, I am happy with our result and it sets a good benchmark for our aim of improving our pace throughout the season”

“My next two rallies see a switch to tarmac which should be interesting”

Double podium success for FX Motor Sports

Posted: April 21, 2008 12:27 PM

• Download - Double podium success for FX Motor Sports (David Higgins)

A shortened display for the Citroeen C2-R2 MAX

Posted: April 21, 2008 12:22 PM

• Download - A shortened display for the Citroeen C2-R2 MAX

Results/Photos

Posted: April 21, 2008 10:48 AM

1 Guy Wilks/Phil Pugh (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) 1:31:32.9
2 Juho Hanninen/Mikko Markkula (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) 1:32.38.4
3 David Higgins/Ieuan Thomas (Subaru Impreza N14) 1:34:13.7 4 Phillip Morrow/Daniel Barritt (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) 1:34:21.1
5 Patrik Flodin/Goran Bergsten (Subaru Impreza N12B) 1:35:05.7
6 Stuart Jones/Andy Bull (MG S2000) 1:35:25.8
7 Eyvind Brynildsen/Maria Andersson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) 1:36:50.0
8 Jonathan Greer/Jonny Hart (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) 1:38:15.3
9 Wyn Humfries/Robert Fagg (Subaru Impreza N12B) 1:39:07.2
10 James Wozencroft/Chris Ridge (Subaru Impreza N12) 1:40:47.7

Full Results
Pirelli Rally BRC
Rallynews (by Brian & Liz Patterson)

Pirelli Rally BRC

• 2008 British Rally Championship
• 2008 MSA British Historic Rally Championship
• 2008 Fiesta SportingTrophy UK

BRC PRE Pirelli Rally

Posted: April 16, 2008 12:01 PM

MSA BRITISH TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2007 MSA Teams’ title was won by Mitsubishi Motors UK in 2007 and they return to defend their crown on the opening Pirelli International Rally with a two car team. 2007 Champion Guy Wilks is joined by Philip Morrow, having won the prize drive through victory on the Evo Challenge.

Runners up in the 2007 teams’ championship Atlas TEG Sport also return, their driver line-up including Swede Patrik Flodin and Welshman Wyn Humphreys, the latter briefly leading the drivers’ championship in his rookie year. They will field a brace of new Impreza N14s, although their late arrival will mean a one-off appearance by the earlier cars for the opening round.

A brace of new Subaru Impreza N14s is also expected at the hands of 2004 BRC winner David Higgins and team owner Hugh Evans. They are joined in Team TQ.com by non-points scoring youngster Nick Rowland, who will pilot a Suzuki in the inaugural Swift Sport Cup

For the first time the newly formed Revolution Wheels Rally Team will run a three car team too. The driver line-up will be headed by BRC regular Rob Swann, he and team-mate Karl Simmons driving Subaru Imprezas, but while he will not score in the Teams’ championship on the Pirelli, Wozencroft joins the team as the third driver.

MSA BRITISH JUNIOR RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
Darren Gass was the 2007 MSA British Junior Rally Champion but he moves aside this year. Limited to two wheel drive, the Juniors are buoyed by an influx of new youngsters, the youngest now being Rowland who is still just 18.

CLASSES
Although the FIA has still not fully adopted the Rally 1, 2, 3 and 4 class structure, these categories were successful for the BRC in 2007 and this format will continue with a couple of amendments.

In a change from 2007 and in line with the FIA’s latest proposals, the Rally 3 class will now encompass turbo diesels, while Suzuki’s one make Swift Sports will move from R2 to R1. The Citroen C2 will be the foundation of the Rally 2 class, but competition has already been entered in the form of an N3 Ford Fiesta from British Rally Elite newcomer Adam Gould and the reigning BRC Stars Champion Luke Pinder will be seen in a 1400cc kit Ford Puma.

The head of the field is likely to be occupied by the Rally 4 class which incorporates traditional turbocharged and normally aspirated Super 2000 cars. Super 1600 runs under the R3 banner, where Brian O'Mahony will return to the BRC to retake his 2005 class title in a Clio, a top five result not out of the question.

CITROËN C2R2 CUP
The BRC’s Citroën C2R2 Cup is now in its second year and has already attracted new and existing competitors to the series. With the support of Belfast ’s Charles Hurst Motors, it will be a big step forward from 2007, with £1750 available on each round in addition to the BRC class fund. The 1600cc Rally 2 class cars’ specification remains unchanged from 2007.

The overall prize for the C2R2 Cup winner at the end of six qualifying rounds of the BRC will be a place at the Citroën Sport shootout to decide a supported drive on a round of the 2009 JWRC. Six cars are expected to contest the Pirelli Rally, with some new faces joining the fray in these front wheel drive flyers.

SUZUKI SWIFT SPORT CUP
This six round manufacturer-backed one make series will contest the first five events in the BRC plus the Tempest Rally. Similar in format to the Citroën series, it will see drivers battling in identical Suzuki Swifts built by Suzuki Sport. The 1600cc Rally 1 class front wheel drive cars will be the same specification as the ones used on the BRC last year by 2006 S1600 Champion, James Wozencroft and 2007 Irish N1 Champion Lorna Smith.

The Swift Sport Cup is part of the Suzuki’s five year world wide marketing campaign and the UK series will be featured in a half hour stand alone TV Series on Sky Sports. In addition to the cash prize fund to be won on each rally, the overall winner will have the option of a fully-funded drive on the 2008 Wales Rally GB in a Suzuki Swift S1600 car. Alternatively a brand new Swift Sport road car and a fully-funded WRGB drive in their own Suzuki Swift Sport Cup car is available.

DIESEL & PRIVATEER CUPS
Once again there will be opportunities for diesel cars to compete in the BRC, the competition in the Diesel Rally Cup likely to be between Steve Graham’s Vauxhall Astra and Fin McCaul’s BMW power. In the Privateers Cup the competition is designed to motivate those who are not part of the Teams battle, opening the door for smaller outfits and individuals to be rewarded.

PIRELLI STAR DRIVER COMPETITION
The concept of the Pirelli sponsored initiative was to assist talented drivers to progress and prove their potential, with a view to moving up in the sport. In 2007 the prize of a fully funded drive in the BRC was realised by 19 year old Darren Gass, following a rigorous selection process.

The scheme, which continues in 2008, still allows any registered BRC driver, irrespective of class or nationality, to be eligible for the scheme. It will choose one person from each of the six events to go forward to the end of season Pirelli Star Driver Shootout. A team of adjudicators will be appointed to evaluate and nominate the candidate who will be presented with the Pirelli “Yellow Jersey” at the finish of the event.

In addition to this, the highest placed junior drivers in both the Citroën C2R2 and Suzuki Swift Sport Cups will also take part in a final selection competition, when the winner will secure a fully funded drive in the 2009 BRC. The 2007 prize of an Evo 9 was deemed an appropriate step up for young Darren, but the prize car will be announced depending on the eventual winner’s aptitude and experience.

PIRELLI INTERNATIONAL RALLY IS SET
The Pirelli International threw up a surprise for triple BRC champion Mark Higgins in 2007 when Wilks tore up the rule book. But with the series attracting even more scintillating talent, those rules are there to be broken again, in what promises to be one of the British Rally Championship’s vintage years.

The BRC’s half century kicks off in Carlisle City centre from where the cars head to the infamous Kielder forest complex. Friday evening’s dark stages will help sort the pack, crews who make it through the murk emerging on Saturday for a full day’s rallying. They return to Carlisle on Saturday evening for the now traditional finish ramp celebrations.

Pirelli Rally BRC

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• 2008 British Rally Championship
• 2008 MSA British Historic Rally Championship
• 2008 Fiesta SportingTrophy UK

Mitsubishi team gets set to defend British titles

Posted: April 14, 2008 5:41 PM

The Mitsubishi Motors UK Rally Team commences the defence of its British Rally Championship drivers and teams titles this weekend, when its two works drivers Guy Wilks and Phillip Morrow contest the opening round, the Carlisle-based Pirelli Rally.

After a stunning year with the Mitsubishi team in 2007, recording five wins out of seven rounds, reigning British Champion Guy Wilks is back for a second season and has just one thing on his mind - to retain his and Mitsubishi’s crowns.

He is joined this year by 24-year old Ulsterman Phillip Morrow, who earned his seat with the works team after winning last year’s Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge, the highly competitive one-make series for Group N (production specification) Mitsubishi Lancers. The team will be fielding two brand-new Lancer Evolution IXs and, although similar to last year’s cars, Mitsubishi is confident they will prove to be even more competitive this season.

In preparation for the Pirelli Rally and to ‘shake-down’ the freshly-built Lancers, the team spent two-days testing in Kielder Forest last week, where Wilks and Morrow got to grips with their new machinery.

“I felt at home with the Mitsubishi straight away and, having not driven on a forest stage since the Rally GB, I was pleased to be ‘on it’ right from the start of the test”, said Wilks. “Although the new car is basically the same as last year’s, by working with the team we made good progress with the set-ups. Although we mustn’t be complacent, I think we’ve got a fantastic chance of retaining our titles this season.”

The test also provided Morrow with his first opportunity to get behind the wheel of his manufacturer-backed Mitsubishi and, following an enlightening two-days he said:
“The works Lancer is superb. I felt comfortable with the package right from the word go, not just with the car, but the whole team. I was very pleased with the way the test went and it’s certainly made a difference to my confidence, going into my first ever event as a works-driver. Although I’m fired-up, I’m going to take a sensible approach and aim for a top three finish – and if things turn out better, then it’s a bonus.”

Also attending the test was Ralliart General Manager and the Mitsubishi UK Motorsport boss Paul Brigden, who was more than satisfied with the outcome:
“When you put two brand-new cars into a forest and drive them hard for the first time there’s always a moment of anxiety that things are going to go okay. But the test went very well and having started with the same set-up we used last year, we were able to make a number of improvements. I was impressed that Guy looked like he had never been away and how Phillip adapted to the works environment so quickly. We’re now looking forward to the first round and carrying on where we left off last year.” For 2008 Wilks will continue to be partnered by his regular co-driver Phil Pugh. Morrow will be accompanied, as he has been on many occasions, by the experienced Daniel Barritt.

After four years as the chosen constructor for the Mitsubishi UK team, Chesterfield-based ADR Motorsport continue to build and prepare the works cars, plus provide the all-important on-event technical support throughout the season.

The Pirelli Rally starts and finishes in Carlisle and features 14 timed special stages, four on Friday evening and a further 10 on Saturday, totalling 105 competitive miles in the infamous Kielder Forest.

The team welcomes Lovell Group and Virgin Money as a new sponsors for 2008. They join the team’s technical partners: Sparco, Speedline Corse, PIAA, Ricardo, and Performance Friction Brakes.

Entry Lists available

Posted: April 13, 2008 11:00 PM

Pirelli Rally BRC

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• 2008 British Rally Championship
• 2008 MSA British Historic Rally Championship
• 2008 Fiesta SportingTrophy UK

FST UK - “Kielder awaits the brave”

Posted: April 11, 2008 4:47 PM

Round two of the VK Fiesta SportingTrophy UK series takes place next Saturday as crews head to the border town of Carlisle for the Pirelli National Rally. The event will give competitors over fifty miles of classic, challenging forest tracks in the largest man made forest complex in Europe - Kielder.

Sixteen registered crews will take to the start of the rally supported by FST series partner, Pirelli. The event has a notorious reputation of being fast and dangerous so FST crews will not only be battling amongst themselves but also the terrain.

The first round of the championship, the Malcolm Wilson Rally, saw close competition to the very end. Going into the final stage of the rally, newcomer Stevie Brown (20) from Peterhead and Liam Regan (20) from Belfast were joint on time with FST regular James Everard (22) from Hull only five seconds adrift. In the end it was Brown who came out on top to take maximum points with Everard in second and Regan third.

Brown will lead the crews away for the rally and will be partnered again by the experienced Ian Morrison. After using the Border Counties rally last weekend as a test, Brown set some impressive times and will be hoping to repeat his round one success.

Everard will again be partnered by Sam Collis, while Regan will have a new co-driver in Neil Dashfield (a former navigator of championship sponsor, Steve Perez) for the rest of the series; both drivers return hoping for a similar result to round one. Since the first round, Regan has also competed in a number of rallies away from the series helping him gain some invaluable seat time and experience.

After a disappointing start for the possible title contenders of Alastair Fisher (19) from Enniskillen, Kris Hall (18) from Appleby and Elfyn Evans (19) from Machynlleth, all three will be back to attempt to take maximum points from the rally.

Fisher, who suffered a mechanical retirement on the Malcolm Wilson Rally, coupled with an unlucky start in the Irish Fiesta Championship is desperate to get his title hopes back on track and, after leading round one until he retired, will be certainly one to watch in the fast Kielder forest.

Hall comes into the rally with a new navigator in Seb Marshall, who is well known and experienced in the FST championship. After winning his class on the recent Border Counties rally against four other championship FST competitors Hall will be upbeat about his chances.

Evans managed to fight back from a mechanical problem on round one to walk away with a valuable point. After back-to-back wins on the first two Fiesta SportingTrophy Ireland rounds Evans will be looking to continue his winning streak; Elfyn will be joined by his regular GEMSport teammate Meilyr Evans (18).

Following a big accident in Ireland Kyle Orr (18) from Dromore, again partnered by Tony McDaid, brings his freshly rebuilt Fiesta ST back to hopefully improve on his excellent fourth place in the current drivers’ standings.

Barry Greer (20) from Carryduff, co-driven by John Lemon, is registered for both UK and IE FST series and with a steadily increasing pace on all the stages he has so far tackled, Greer is becoming a serious challenger, and will look to score some points after an unfortunate no score on round one.

The Pirelli National Rally also sees the return of many of the crews from round one, including Max Utting (22) partnered by the only female in the series Jemma Bellingham, Alick Kerr (19) from Bothwell and John Lloyd who has a repaired car after a roll on round one which dropped him to ninth in the overall results.

Championship regulars Richard Archer and Clive Hilton return to support the series, and with both crews highly experienced and capable of very good results, the younger crews need to be wary of the pace of the experienced.

Richard Parry-Jones also returns to rallying for the first time in 2008 after a successful season in last year’s UK FST series where he scored on three separate events. Parry-Jones will be partnered by Sara Price on next week’s event.

The FST UK also welcomes a new crew to the line up, Luke Francis (18) from Denbigh will be partnered by Chris Jones and is to use an ex Elfyn Evans car to complete the rest of the championship. Francis has no rallying experience so the series will be a steep learning curve but with the calibre of drivers it will help him to develop his talent alongside the best in the country.

Registered crews are competing for a prize fund of £17,550 over the course of the year, with the winner on each round taking home £750, decreasing to £75 for eighth position - a total of £2,295 on each round of the series.

FST championship leader Stevie Brown said:
“With some really tough competition on the Pirelli we'll need to get a clean run to be in with a chance of getting on the podium. Hopefully everyone will make it to the finish, leaving it to a clean, close fight to decide the winner. I think everyone will be pushing harder on this rally, and I wouldn't be surprised if the pace is even quicker than the first round, but I’m up for the challenge.”

Jean-Joseph and the C2-R2 MAX head for Kielder Forest

Posted: April 11, 2008 4:40 PM

• Download Jean-Joseph and the C2-R2 MAX head for Kielder Forest

O’Mahony and Higgins get set for return to British Rally Championship

Posted: April 11, 2008 4:34 PM

County Cork driver Brian O’Mahony and County Mayo co-driver John Higgins will return to action in the British Rally Championship (BRC) next weekend when they contest the two-day Pirelli International Rally (18 – 19 April).

The reigning Dunlop National Championship class 6 champions will be back behind the wheel of their OM Concrete Products and Tom Hogan Motors-backed Super 1600 Renault Clio, run by O’Leary Motorsport, for the opening round of the BRC.

The crew last competed in the BRC in 2006 in a Super 1600 Ford Puma, having been crowned British Super 1600 Champions the previous year. Last season they switched to the Clio to take part in the Irish National Championship and went on to win the class title.

The pair have done the Pirelli International Rally twice but have not contested a gravel event since Rally Finland in August last year. They are running the course car on this weekend’s Waterford-based Moonraker Forestry Rally to get some practice in across the surface with a view to getting off to a comfortable start in the championship on the Kielder Forest-based gravel event next weekend.

“I can’t wait to get back to the BRC, the rallies are very good, and it’s just really enjoyable,” 23-year-old O’Mahony said. “It’s the only championship I can do that won’t affect my college work this year and some of the prizes are very enticing but it’s disappointing that there’s no other Super 1600’s registered for the series yet.

“The Pirelli Rally is very tricky and the stages are not the most forgiving so I’ll just be trying to keep my nose clean and get a good finish, they don’t call it ‘killer Kielder’ for nothing. The first time I did the rally in 2005, it was my first time across gravel in a S1600 and it was a steep learning curve but we managed to get to the end.

”Gravel is my favourite surface so I can’t wait to get back out onto it. We’ve made some changes to the car since Finland so it’s good that I can get to test it out on the gravel on the Moonraker.”

The Pirelli International Rally gets underway on Friday 18 April with a start ramp in Carlisle town centre at 7.15pm and finishes in the same location on Saturday at 7pm.

BRC Buzzes at 50

Posted: April 11, 2008 4:04 PM

The Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship celebrates its 50th year in 2008 and it promises to be a real epic, starting with the Pirelli International Rally inCarlisle.

With a stable platform of six events, control Tesco 99 Octane fuel and Pirelli tyres, the 2007 season went right down to the final leg of the final event, Rally GB. The battles throughout the classes were fiercely fought to the very end too and the new season has a highly charged and competitive feel, with forty registered drivers ready for the gravel of the Pirelli Rally.

Competitors from overseas include Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish challengers, as well as title contenders from the Republic of Ireland. Across the border a strong Northern Irish challenge adds domestic weight to the numbers from England, Scotland and Wales, making tough opposition for both overall and class honours.

The fight for overall positions is going to be hard to call, as the contenders are all of an extremely high standard. Guy Wilks will be keen to defend his first BRC title against all comers, including Scandinavian PWRC stars Juho Hänninen, Patrik Flodin and Eyvind Brynildsen, who are definite contenders for a top spot.

Wilks’ team-mate Philip Morrow is also more than capable of wielding an Evo to good effect and since Mark Higgins registered using an MG S2000, the fight at the front will be unforgiving. His brother David will field a new N14 Impreza and will be keen to improve on last year’s three podiums, Wyn Humphreys also returning to prove his 2007 mid-point championship lead was no fluke. Rob Swann was tantalisingly close to a podium, beaten by Humphreys by less than a second in the Isle on Man. He will be eager to maintain momentum of a career best championship fifth place in his Subaru, but the competition has stepped up a notch, so he will be up against it.

Inaugural Pirelli Star Driver Darren Gass will be a force to be reckoned with in last years championship winning Evo, but not to be overlooked is a welcome returnee to the BRC, Stuart Jones in a second MG S2000. Fellow Welshman David Meredith took tenth in Rally 4 in 2007 and he will want to build on the experience.

Former Suzuki ace James Wozencroft moves up from two to four wheel drive in a Subaru, while Irishmen Jonny Greer and Daniel Barry will both compete in Mitsubishis; the form book definitely including these two as potential front runners.

The Pirelli International threw up a surprise for triple BRC champion Mark Higgins in 2007 when Wilks tore up the rule book. But with the series attracting even more scintillating talent, those rules are there to be broken again, in what promises to be one of the British Rally Championship’s vintage years.

The BRC’s half century kicks off in just over a week’s time in Carlisle City centre from where the cars head to the infamous Kielder forest complex. Friday evening’s dark stages will help sort the pack, crews who make it through the murk emerging on Saturday for a full day’s rallying. They return to Carlisle on Saturday evening for the now traditional finish ramp celebrations.

Pirelli Rally BRC

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• 2008 British Rally Championship
• 2008 MSA British Historic Rally Championship
• 2008 Fiesta SportingTrophy UK

BHRC preview

Posted: April 11, 2008 3:11 PM

The second round of the 2008 Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship will pit crews against the challenge of the mighty Kielder forest complex in Northumberland for the Pirelli Historic Rally (18/19 April 2008).
The crews will tackle four stages on Friday evening and a further three stages on Saturday, starting and finishing with a ceremonial flourish in Carlisle city centre.

Category 1
As usual, the oldest cars in category one (pre '68) will run first on the road and a resounding victory on the Robin Hood was just the start that Patrick Watts and Elgan Davies wanted in their Sunbeam Tiger. They'll be going all out to make it two wins from two starts on the Pirelli, as the Porsche 911 pack chase hard.

Heading the Porsche challenge will be Dessie Nutt and Geraldine McBride in their familiar Porsche 911, with Dessie sure to enjoy being back in the driver's seat after co-driving for his son Michael on the Circuit of Ireland over Easter. Another very quick 911 will be the car of John Keatley/Maurice Beckett, but the quickest of the Lotus Cortinas are really taking the fight to the Porsches.
In particular, the Cortinas of Bob Bean/Malcolm Smithson, Neil Calvert/Arlene Cookson and Jonathan Gale/Graham Gale are bang on the pace and Bean will be looking to continue his Robin Hood battle with Dessie Nutt. Clearly, reaching his 70th birthday that weekend has not slowed Bob down in any way!
Class B2 is likely to be a straight fight between the Mini Cooper S of defending class champions Terry Cree/Richard Shores and the MG Midget of James Stait/Gill Cotton, and it was Stait/Cotton who took a clear win on the Robin Hood when the Mini crew hit major problems.
Three Hillman Imp variants contest class B1, including round one winners Gary and Jane Edington (Singer Chamois). Mike Barratt/Jody Watson (Sunbeam Stiletto) and Geoff Taylor/Steve Greenhill (Imp Sport) will be challenging hard.

Category 2
Steven Smith and John Nichols turned in a mighty performance to win category 2 on the Robin Hood and their Porsche 911RS could well be the car to beat once more. However, the quickest of the Escort Mk1s will be flying along and it is the cars of defending BHRC champions David Stokes/Guy Weaver and Ernie Graham/Robin Kellard that should be the best of the pack.
Stokes/Weaver had a bad weekend on the Robin Hood when sidelined by a major misfire on the opening leg, so they will be looking to get their season properly underway on the Pirelli.
The Porsche 911Rs of Andrew Haddon/Mark Crisp is another contender for category 2 victory, while the Escort Mk1 of Rupert Lomax/David Alcock is getting quicker and quicker. However, category 2 is not just about classes C4 and C5. The 2-litre C3 category is shaping up to deliver some mighty contests this season, and local crew Ken Forster/John Stanger-Leathes should join the action after missing the opening event as they prepared their Escort Mk1 with a fresh Pinto engine. Major challengers include the Escorts of Russell Morgan/Martin Kenyon, Tim Jones/Don James, Neal James/Kevin Jones, James Young/David Young and Robin Shuttleworth/Mark Midgley.
Class C2 is well and truly up for grabs at the moment, with the pace likely to be set by Kevin Broadhurst and Andrew Turner (Escort Mk1). They suffered a disastrous engine fire on the Robin Hood but hope to have the car ready again in time for the Pirelli.

Category 3
The standard of entry in category 3 is every bit as good with four-time British Rally champion Jimmy McRae leading the field in the Prepfab Porsche 911RS. This freshly prepared car is one of the first 911s to run on a gravel event in category 3 and is sure to give the Mk2 Escorts a major fight for category spoils. As before, Andy Richardson partners McRae in the Stobart-backed entry.
Lining up to challenge McRae will be a gaggle of very quick Mk2 Escorts, all of them capable of challenging for victory. Robin Hood winners Richard Hill and Patrick Cooper set a stunning pace and are likely to be the benchmark, while Darren Moon/John McNichol were sensational on the Robin Hood and came very close to overall victory.
Other established contenders include Dick Slaughter/Geoff Dearing, while Phil and Mick Squires will make a late start to the season after missing the Robin Hood after Phil suffered a hand injury in the workshop. Other leading runners in Escort Mk2s include Charlie Taylor/Steve Bielby, Jason Lepley/Howard Pridmore, Frank Cunningham/Ryland James and Chris White/Chris Dewsnap.
Class D3 for the 2-litre non-multi valve cars should also deliver a tremendous contest, with the fastest cars getting up amongst the BD-powered cars in D5. Richard Lane/Frank Richer pulled off a fine victory on the Robin Hood, but will face a big challenge from Will Onions/Tim Hobbs in their RS2000.
Elsewhere in category 3, welcome variety to the Escort pack will be provided by the Sunbeam Lotus of Adrian Seabridge/Daniel Seabridge and the Vauxhall Chevette HSR of Roger Kilty/Lynette Banks.

Gass tests his Pirelli Star Driver prize car - Photos

Posted: April 9, 2008 6:20 PM

Photo:Jakob Ebrey Photography

Several Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship contenders have been undergoing testing prior to the start of the season next week, Darren Gass being one benefiting from some tuition too.

He made the trip toWales today (Tuesday) where his newly Pirelli liveried bright yellow Mitsubishi awaited, along with fellow Northern Irishman Kris Meek's. The plan for the day was to allow Darren to acclimatise himself to the Evo IX, and hopefully learn from the experienced Meeke in the unfamiliar machine.

After the first few runs both Darren and Kris were surprised how slippery it was on the forestry loop, Darren commenting, "It's a different beast to the Citroen and if you go off the clean line it takes much longer to come back after it has gone sideways." he added, "It is all new today; I had to learn the stage first, as Neil isn't here to call the 'notes. Then the car is so different, even from the WRC Subaru I drove once last year and to cap it all I'm using a HANS helmet for the first time too."

The youngster has not been idle since winning the Pirelli Star Driver final in December, taking fitness seriously in advance of the 2008 season, "I'm going to the Gym twice a week and playing football in between, I'm even being more careful about what I eat and drink." he said.

Although he has not driven competitively since the final, the full day in Wales will see him drive at least as many miles as the opening round in Carlisle next week. "It has been a good day and well worthwhile," concluded Darren, "The stages in Kielder should have more grip so it will take a couple of stages to get the feel of it, I'm really looking forward to it."

The Pirelli International Rally starts from Carlisle City centre on Friday 18th April at around 7pm with stages running into darkness. The bulk of the stages will take place on Saturday with the finish back in Carlisle at around 5pm.

More Photos:

Jakob Ebrey Photography

List of Unseeded Entries

Posted: April 7, 2008 3:22 PM

Pirelli Rally BRC

• 2008 British Rally Championship
• 2008 MSA British Historic Rally Championship
• 2008 Fiesta SportingTrophy UK

Patrik Flodin head to Pirelli

Posted: March 28, 2008 12:31 PM

Carnforth based TEG Sport have announced that they will be sending a 2 car team to the Pirelli International Rally, the opening round of the 2008 Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship which blasts off from Carlisle City Centre on April 18th for two days of high speed action in the forests of North Cumbria and Northumberland.

Spearheading the teams attack will be the exciting young Swedish star, 23 year old Patrik Flodin who has made quite a name for himself on Swedish Championship events and rounds of the World Rally Championship. Flodin will be driving a new Subaru Impreza N14 for the TEG Sport team, who had success last year with Mark Higgins who finished runner up in the championship.

Florin will be co-driven by Goran Bergsten and has said in an interview with Svensk Motor Sport “ I am meeting the team next week, I hear they are very good, they work closely with Prodrive”.

Completing the TEG Sport team entry on the Pirelli International Rally will be the experienced Wynn Humphreys/ Rob Fagg who have a wealth of experience in the British Rally Championship.

Juho Hänninen/Mikko Markkula to take part in Pirelli - Regulations available

Posted: March 7, 2008 10:34 AM

• Juho Hänninen/Mikko Markkula to take part in Pirelli
• Regulations available

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07/03/08
Juho Hänninen/Mikko Markkula to take part in Pirelli
Production World Rally Championship leaders Juho Hänninen and Mikko Markkula will join the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship for the Pirelli International Rally in April. The announcement adds to the growing level of competitiveness of the UK’s premier Rally Championship as the crew’s profile clearly shows.

Juho Hänninen began his climb towards the top of rallying in the idyllic setting of Vaara in Punkaharju, Finland. His father was an enthusiastic and successful rally driver in his youth and he was the one who inspired Juho behind the wheel for the first time.

He began driving in sprints at fifteen, swiftly proceeding to Young Drivers sprints with Skoda within a year. He was a common sight on the sprint circuit in a Golf, eventually using it to contest a round of the Finnish Junior Championship in Mikkeli in 1999. Since then he has competed in cars as diverse as Volvo, Seat, Honda and Mitsubishi.

By 2000 he was winning class B Junior Championship events outright, using a Seat Ibiza in the Finnish Junior series in 2001 and 2002. In 2004 he won the N3 class in the Finnish Championship in a Civic, taking Group N podiums in Mitsubishis in the Finnish Rally Championship 2005 and 2006.

His debut in the World Rally Championship was in Sweden in 2006 where he won Group N, beating all the PWRC regulars. He repeated this feat in Sardinia with a second in New Zealand, rounding off the year on Rally GB with a switch to a Citroën C2 and victory in class A6.

A return to the PWRC in 2007 netted podiums in Argentina and Great Britain; a second place splitting Guy Wilks and Mark Higgins on their home soil. With retirement in Greece he ended the season fifth PWRC driver but returned to Sardinia in a WRC Mitsubishi, impressing many with eighth place overall.

He has already begun 2008 in style, the new season kicking off with a perfect PWRC ten in Sweden. He fended off fellow Fin Jari Ketomaa to win the event for a second successive year and now leads the Production World Rally Championship.

The 26 year old Fin’s experience and recent good results bode well for his entry in the 2008 BRC, where he will be joined again by fellow Fin Mikko Markkula who has been part of the team since 2007.

Mikko began rallying in the same year as Juho and scored fourth in the Finnish Junior Championship in 2001. He took second place in the main series the following year alongside Jarkko Miettinen, the partnership netting him a Group N victory on Rally Finland in 2002.

He stayed with the Finnish Championship for the next few years, complemented by outings on the JWRC with Suzuki Sport in 2003 and with Skoda Motorsport’s WRC driver Janne Tuohino in 2005.

2006 saw a move to the Asia Pacific and Chinese Rally Championships with Miettinen, as well as more JWRC and WRC events. His partnership with Juho and the RRE Sports Mitsubishi Team has seen the pair contest the whole 2007 PWRC together with a flawless start to their 2008 campaign.

Their involvement in the opening round of the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship will help to make the Pirelli Rally in April a truly International affair and keep the BRC regulars on their toes.

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Regulations: 05/03/08

Pirelli Rally BRC

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• 2008 British Rally Championship
• 2008 MSA British Historic Rally Championship
• 2008 Fiesta SportingTrophy UK