Keith Cronin Will Return To The BRC On Rallye Sunseeker

Double British Rally Champion Keith Cronin will make a return to the MSA British Rally Championship on the opening round of the 2012 season, Rallye Sunseeker International. 

The 2009 and 2010 champion will drive a Mantis Performance Car Care backed, Renaultsport-prepared Twingo R1 on the Bournemouth-based event. It’s a one-off promotional appearance, with the car to be prepared by the official Twingo Renaultsport Trophy UK technical and parts suppliers Monster Sport Europe.

The Irishman will be making his second appearance on the Sunseeker, the last being in 2008. He is set to be co-driven by BRC and WRC Academy regular Seb Marshall, who finished fourth on the event alongside Adam Gould last year, though this is still to be confirmed.

Cronin said: “I have been working hard to get deal to compete at International level but so far I haven’t managed to secure anything. When the opportunity to drive the R1 Twingo came up, I accepted and I am really looking forward to driving the car. Let’s hope I can show what the car is capable of doing and provide a competitive bench mark for the other Twingo competitors.”

Trophy Manager Simon Moss added: “The Twingo Trophy is new to the UK this year and this will be the first competitive outing for the R1 variant on gravel. So we wanted to make a bit of a splash and Keith kindly agreed to take the challenge. I’d like to thank Mantis for making this possible, as the car will run under its colours.”

Matt Cotton (Left) In Action During On The 2008 Wales Rally GB

Cornish rally driver Matt Cotton will return to the British Rally Championship in 2012, entering both the BRC and the Fiesta Sporting Trophy after a three year break from the sport.

Cotton last competed in an international event in 2008, taking on the Wales Rally GB at the wheel of a Citroen C2R2, but has since been unable to find the budget required to complete an entire BRC season. He returns this year in an ex-Elfyn Evans Ford Fiesta, which will be prepared and run by AVS Motorsport and Colin Ridgeway Motorsport, while he will be co-driven by long-time friend and BRC regular Glyn Thomas.

Matt said: “There’ll be some fierce competition in the BRC and Fiesta Trophy this year, but I think my past experience will enable me to set some consistent times. It’s a massive challenge, but I really can’t wait to get back behind the wheel.

It’s always been tough to find a budget to compete, let alone in the British Rally Championship, but it’s what I love so it’s just a case of working hard with our sponsors and making sacrifices in other areas of my life.”

Mark Donnelly Scored Two BRC F2 Podiums In His Renault Clio In 2011

The 1998 and 1999 British Rally Champions Renault UK has become the first manufacturer to sign up for the 2012 MSA British Rally Championship.

The British Manufacturer’s Rally Championship has been reinstated for the new two wheel drive era, allowing registered manufacturers and UK importers to vie for the title of British Champion. Renault UK is signing up to a promotional partnership and in 2012, the two highest placed privateer Renault rally cars will score points for the Manufacturer’s Championship.

BRC Manager Mark Taylor commented: “It’s brilliant news that Renault UK are the first to sign up to the Championship. We recognised the commercial realities currently faced by car manufacturers and their dealerships and specifically created a British Championship to attract UK Importers by reducing the usually barriers and high cost of entry.

“We are providing them with a platform to promote products that relate to what is being sold in the showroom. We are also offering them high quality media products and a chance to engage in rally themed dealer events.  Importantly, they will have a stakeholder ship in the future of this world renowned motorsport series.”

Jeremy Townsend, Communications Director for Renault UK, added: “Renault has a long and very successful motor sport heritage and the announcement today adds to the commitment we have in the UK to our national championships.”

MSA British Rally Championship

The MSA British Rally Championship has been obliged to make a change to its regulations regarding stage-based bonus points.

As reporting by The Checkered Flag at the weekend, the organisers of championship were going to implement a bonus points scheme, where drivers picked up one point per stage win. However this contravenes the Motor Sport Association (MSA) regulation 40.1.5, which states:

“There must be no awards for Competitors who equal or improve upon the time schedules for any sections, nor for the fastest times or fewest penalties on any sections.”

Therefore the BRC have had to withdraw the scheme, with paragraph three of the BRC regulation 5.3.1 no longer valid/

Championship Manager Mark Taylor said: “We offer our apologies to the MSA and to any competitor who may be inconvenienced by this change in the regulations. The error is down to us and due to an oversight following an exchange of emails between the championship and the MSA.”

Neil Armstrong Competing On The 2011 Rallye Sunseeker In His Sol Barbados-Liveried Mitsubishi Lancer - Photo Credit: Stuart Paice

Sol Rally Barbados 2012 and its island home are set to have an increased presence at next month’s Rallye Sunseeker, with the organisers and tourism backers of the Caribbean event using the event as a key part of its overseas promotion.

The Barbados event has promoted itself at Sunseeker for two years already, but this year is stepping up its involvement. Supported by the island’s private sector Tourism Development Corporation (TDC), the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) will rewards the winners of the Rallye Sunseeker National with free entry and shipping to Sol Rally Barbados 2012, including flights, accommodation and a rental car, a prize valued at around £5,500.

In addition, the Barbados Tourism Authority’s (BTA) London office has signed an agreement to become a direct Marketing Partner of the Bournemouth-based event, which will see it sponsor an exciting new component of the event, a travel exhibition that will run alongside scrutineering.

The innovative ‘Rallye Sunseeker featuring the Barbados Holiday Show’, a first for UK rallying, will be staged at the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC) on Friday 24^th February. The Barbados marketing team will then also be present at the Ceremonial Start on Poole Quay later that day, before being at Somerley Park the next day for the popular Motorfair.

BTA vice-president, marketing & sales UK, Petra Roach said: “Sol Rally Barbados is a key element of our sports-tourism product; there is great synergy between it and Rallye Sunseeker – both earn vital tourist income in ‘slower’ months, winter in the UK and summer in Barbados, both are organised by really professional teams, and both attract huge crowds, so I am delighted to take our relationship to the next stage.”

Sunseeker Event Director Rick Smith added: “Rallye Sunseeker has always been about innovation, so our plan to use the BIC as the venue for Scrutineering and Documentation was always on the wish list. Now that the Barbados Tourism Authority has continued – and increased – its support for 2012, we are pleased that the novel plan to link the two activities has culminated in a motor sport event allied to a holiday show.”

2011 British Rally Champion David Bogie - Photo Credit: Stuart Paice

The 2012 MSA British Rally Championship will see a brand new bonus point scheme introduced. The new system, similar to that used in last year’s World Rally Championship Academy, will see extra points handed out to those who set fastest stage times.

The scheme will reward the fastest crew in each class with one extra point per stage win, allowing those who go fastest to be rewarded, and also mean quick crews who may retire from an event to still pick up crucial points.

The scheme will start at next month’s Rallye Sunseeker International, with twelve extra points up for grabs on the event.

Rally Fans Will Be Able To Enjoy Live Rallye Sunseeker Coverage - Photo Credit: Neil Tozer/PDM Motorsport Imaging

The Southern Car Club, the organisers of Rallye Sunseeker 2012, have announced an exciting partnership with MIS Motorsport and Screens2Go that will see supporters able to see live footage of the February event.

MIS Motorsport, a leading global supplier of insurance products and services to the motorsport industry, is sponsoring a Screens2Go mobile TV screen. The screen will be at Scrutineering at the Bournemouth International Centre on Friday, before moving to Poole Harbour that evening to screen the Ceremonial Start live.

On Saturday, the screen will be at Somerley Park, where it will show live coverage of the two stages taking place at Somerley, with up to four cameras positioned on the stage to provide the footage. During the two days, all the footage will also be transmitted live to the Rallye Sunseeker website, allowing even more fans to watch the action.

MIS Motorsport’s Chief Executive Dermot Hanafin said: “Although we are a global company, it makes sense for us to team up with Rallye Sunseeker and Screens2Go for this year’s event. The rally is one of the best organised in the UK, and has a name for being well run and organised- for competitors by competitors. Our collaboration with Screens2Go means that we can help bring a new form of rally coverage, and also get our message across to everyone involved.”

Managing Director of Screens2Go, Charlie McGuckin, commented: “It’s good to be coming back to Rallye Sunseeker, we were here a few years ago and it went well. We have a new smaller screen TV unit now so it means we can be mobile and access areas that we could not before. It’s good that MIS Motorsport have joined us, as it means we can show to other organisers what can be achieved and how the rally, or any event for that matter can be screened back live through an event website.”

Rally Director Rick Smith added: “The whole deal came about very quickly at the Autosport Show and it’s good to have Charlie back here in Bournemouth.  When he was here a few years ago his service created huge interest. So with MIS Motorsport on board as a partner, it is shaping up to be a great addition for the rally. Dermot is well known in rallying and we are delighted to see him and his company join us.”

Pirelli Have Continued Their Tyre Provider Deal And Star Driver Programe, As Won By Elfyn Evans - Photo Credit: tegsport.co.uk

The British Rally Championship have announced a new deal that sees Pirelli continue as its sole tyre provider for a further two years.

Pirelli have been the control tyre for the series since 2007, with the previous agreement set to end at the conclusion of the 2012 season. The new deal however will see Pirelli continue to provider tyres until the end of 2014.

As part of its commitment to the series, Pirelli also runs its young driver shootout, giving one young driver each year a fully paid season in the series. This years recipient is Jukka Korhonen, who will contest the BRC in a Pirelli-backed Skoda Fabia R2.

Pirelli’s Motorsport Manager Carl Naylor said: “Each of the six rallies have different surfaces and challenges that place a whole range of demands upon the tyre. This not only enables the drivers to learn a range of driving skills and techniques, but means that they have to learn tyre control and strategy; an important part of being a world-class rally driver.

“We have provided the Pirelli Scorpion K6 gravel tyre and K4 tarmac tyre to the series for a number of years now and drivers have found them to be extremely durable and reliable while offering them the grip required of these demanding rally stages. We’re really pleased to be able to commit to the BRC for a further two years and believe that with all the changes being made this year, it’s going to be a very exciting series to be involved in. This deal also takes in the Pirelli Star Driver programme for 2013 and 2014.”

BRC Championship Manager Mark Taylor added: “In this current global environment, it’s fantastic that we have secured this three year deal with Pirelli which also includes the coveted Star Driver competition. This agreement is a real testament, it shows Pirelli has confidence in the future direction of the Championship and we are delighted to extend our partnership which is now in its eleventh year.”

Tom Cave In Action During Rallye Sunseeker 2011 - Photo Credit: Stuart Paice

The organisers of the 2012 Rallye Sunseeker are offering fans the chance to win tickets to this year’s rally by uploading their photos and videos from last years event.

Two separate prizes of an AAA Car Pass and Programme worth £70.00, are being offered to the fans who upload the best photos and videos to the rally’s Flickr and Youtube channels.

Budding photographers are asked to upload a maximum of one photo to the rally’s Flickr group (http://www.flickr.com/groups/rallyesunseeker2012/), with the photos to be put in a poll on the rally’s facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/rallysunseeker), where the winner will be chosen.

For those with videos of the 2011 event, they should upload their video to Youtube, before adding a link to their video in the channel comment box on the rally’s official Youtube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/RallySunseeker). Like with the photos, the videos will be uploaded to the Facebook page, where a poll will decide the best.

The competitions are for amateurs only, with the closing date for entries the 5^th February, followed by the polls running on the 8^th to 15^th February.

Bill Gwynne Rallyschool and Rallye Sunseeker Are Teaming Up To Reward Volunteers

Twelve marshals who help out at Rallye Sunseeker 2012, the opening round of the MSA British Rally Championship, will receive places at the world-renowned Bill Gwynne Rallyschool as part of a new partnership announced ahead of this year’s running of the Bournemouth-based rally.

Eager to reward the volunteer marshals who are an integral part of the event, the organisers of Rallye Sunseeker and the team at the Rallyschool came together  to come up with this idea, which will see draws take place at each of the venues used by the rally, to pick twelve lucky volunteers to have a day at the school.

The Bill Gwynne Rallyschool has been in operation since 1982, helping the careers of many international successful drivers including Toshi Arai and Mohammed Bin Sulayem. Run by five times British Rally Champion Bill Gwynne, the school has instructors including former Rallye Sunseeker competitor Paul Gwynne, former British and World Production champion Martin Rowe, Nick Pollitt and Peter Bennett.

Commenting on the rewards, Bill Gwynne said: “I am delighted to offer the twelve places to Rallye Sunseeker, because it’s easy to forget that those who come and marshal are all volunteers. Rallye Sunseeker has been an important event in British rallying for many years now, and  Southern Car Club have continually pushed the event upwards to where it is now as  the opening round in the MSA British Rally Championship, no mean feat I can tell you. The event is a favourite with competitors, spectators and service crews so it was a natural thing to be involved”

Event Director Rick Smith added: “it’s great news that my old friend Bill has come on board with this offer to the volunteers. He is so well known throughout the world, he has had drivers from thirty countries attend his school, and he and his team have taught drivers everywhere, that this can only add prestige to the event.”

Jukka Korhonen behind the wheel of the Skoda Fabia R2 during the selection event - Photo Credit: Pirelli

Rising Finnish rally driver Jukka Korhonen has been selected as the Pirelli UK Star Driver for 2012 and will receive a fully-funded drive on next year’s British Rally Championship.

27-year-old Korhonen is the first driver from outside the British Isles to win the prize. He will campaign a Skoda Fabia R2 run by the TEG Sport operation next year.

He went up against five other drivers in a two-day selection process earlier this week. The sextet were judged by a panel made up of former British Rally Champions Gwyndaf Evans and Jimmy McRae, Petter Solberg’s World Rally Championship co-driver Chris Patterson and Pirelli senior tyre engineer Matteo Braga.

The tests the drivers were subjected to included interview technique, pace-note preparation and a driving assessment on a stage in Cumbria behind the wheel of the Skoda.

Korhonen was announced as the winner at the BRC awards do in Manchester on Saturday night. He won this year’s Finnish Fiesta Trophy, and also impressed on a one-off BRC appearance on the Pirelli International Rally where he won the R2 class and finished sixth overall.

He defeated Tommy Doyle, Desi Henry, Osain Pryce, Siim Plangi and Peter Taylor to win the prize, and follows in the footsteps of previous winners Darren Gass, Adam Gould, Keith Cronin and Elfyn Evans.

“I’m very grateful to Pirelli for this fantastic opportunity – and I fully intend to make the most of it,” said Korhonen. “I really enjoyed my first taste of the Skoda Fabia R2 during the shoot-out and I think that we can fight for overall wins with this car. Coming to compete in Britain with Pirelli is one of my dreams, and I am so happy to have achieved it.”

Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery commented: “First and foremost, I’d like to say that all the drivers can feel proud of themselves for having got to the final selection. But we can only pick one winner, and all the judges thought that Jukka would make an excellent ambassador for Pirelli on the British Rally Championship as part of the prestigious Star Driver scheme, with the right performance and mental strength to really make a difference.”

Jason Pritchard leads the BRC contingent after a strong performance on the IRC round in Scotland - Photo Credit: rally-irc.com

This weekend’s Wales Rally GB sees a strong contingent of crews that have taken part in the MSA British Rally Championship and its support series the BRC Challenge.

The highest seeded of the BRC drivers is Welshman Jason Pritchard. The 23-year-old finished third in last year’s BRC, but after a tricky start to 2011 he opted to make selected international appearances in the IRC and WRC in his Subaru Impreza, co-driven by Dale Furniss.

Next up is 2011 runner-up and Pirelli Star Driver Elfyn Evans, behind the wheel of a Ford Fiesta R2 together with co-driver Andrew Edwards. They will look for a repeat of their most recent WRC start, when they won the 2WD category on Rallye de France.

Also in R2-spec Fiestas are father and son team Kit and Tim Leigh, as well as Scot John MacCrone and Stuart Louden.

Three champions from this year’s BRC will also be present. BRC Challenge and Fiesta SportChallenge winners Jack Rowe and co-driver Alex Lee (Fiesta R2) are joined by BRC Challenge Ladies Champions Becky Kirvan and Karen Watts (Fiesta ST).

Fiesta SportTrophy Champion and third-placed BRC Junior Osain Pryce starts as the highest-seeded front-wheel drive runner on the rally’s national event, co-driven by Iestyn Williams. After Wales Rally GB, Pryce will compete for the BRC’s Pirelli Star Driver prize.

Also contesting the national event are BRC Challenge crew James Watts and George Morrison in their Volkswagen Polo.

Three former BRC drivers complete their WRC Academy campaigns in Wales. Craig Breen lies second in the points behind leader Egon Kaur and can claim the title if things go his way. Another to watch will be Alastair Fisher, who won the category last time out in France. 2010 Ladies champion Molly Taylor completes the BRC runners.

You could win your very own copy of this exclusive piece of BRC history

With the dust settled on the British Rally Championship 2011 theCheckeredFlag.co.uk has teamed up with the series to bring you the chance to win a pretty exclusive piece of British Rally history.

The print has been signed by BRC champions of the past and include names such as Dave Richards, David Llewelyn, Ari Vatanen, Malcolm Wilson, Russel Brookes, Jimmy McRae, Stig Blomqvist and Mark Higgins to name a few. The print is limited to 100 copies so this is an exclusive prize.

If that wasn’t enough the lucky winner will also receive a BRC polo shirt and beanie hat.

To enter the competition all you have to do is answer the question below…

Which driver won the 2011 British Rally Championship?

The official BRC facebook page can be found at http://www.facebook.com/groups/163509624450/

David Bogie - Photo Credit: Neil Tozer/ PDM Motorsport Imaging

The final two nominees for the 2011 Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship’s Pirelli Star Driver competition have been confirmed as David Bogie and Jonny Greer, the duo taking their places duo to their four-wheel drive performances on gravel and asphalt respecitively.

They will join the six two-wheel drive nominations, who were awarded places after each of the British Rally Championship’s rounds this year. This means eight drivers will battle it out in the Pirelli Star Drive shootout, which will take place during the week of 14th November. The winner, announced at the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship awards night on Saturday 19th November, will follow in the footsteps of Elfyn Evans, Keith Cronin and Adam Gould, the last three recipients of the accolade.

The nominations for the 2011 Pirelli Star Driver shootout are:
 
Gravel 4WD: David Bogie (Scotland)
 Asphalt 4WD: Jonny Greer (Northern Ireland)
 Rally Yorkshire: Peter Taylor (England)
 Todds Leap Rally NI: Tommy Doyle (Ireland)
 Jim Clark Rally: Marty McCormack (Northern Ireland)
 Pirelli Rally: Jukka Korhonen (Finland)
 Bulldog Rally North Wales: Mark Donnelly (Northern Ireland)
 Rallye Sunseeker: Siim Plangi (Estonia)

Cave was quick from the start on the Cockermouth-based Malcolm Wilson Rally, trading times with class rivals Tristan Pye and Sky Sport BRC presenter Robbie Head. Cave and Pye began to stretch away, before a problem for Pye saw Cave hold a 22 second class lead with two stages to go. He held his advantage to take the class win and sixth place overall.

This saw him pick up a good set of points for the BTRDA Gold Star, as wlel as Production Cup and Junior Driver awards. However Cave had no time to celebrate his achievements, as he headed the 180 miles across Wales to Newtown for the Mid Wales Stages, an event consisting of four long, tough stages as used on Wales Rally GB.

After setting the fastest time on the opening stage, Cave never looked back, holding a 28 second lead at the halfway stage. He continued his great pace over the afternoon to win the rally on his first attempt, with a final winning margin of 44 seconds.

Speaking after his hectic weekend, Tom said: “This has been a fantastic weekend – I am absolutely shattered now but it’s been amazing.

“On the Malcolm Wilson, I was slightly surprised at Tom Naughton’s pace to begin with but then, Craig and I found a really good rhythm in the car. It all seemed to click and it felt manageable and competitive. It was really important to find that feeling, I think, as we needed to maintain the pace throughout the day and it’s especially satisfying considering it’s such an old car – we really had to drive the door handles off it to stay ahead of the Evo9s.

“On Sunday, on the Mid Wales, I knew the first stage reasonably well from Rally GB in the past and I knew that if I pushed hard, we might catch the others napping and get them on the back foot. As it transpired, that’s just what happened – we took time out of them and they had to push to catch up and that meant that it was more likely for them to make mistakes.

“I think this weekend, everything just came together – I feel I was driving better than I have done for a long time, Craig was perfect on the notes, the Pirelli BRC-spec tyres worked really well and the Davis Motorsport boys gave us a really good car.”

Cave leaves the weekend leading the BTRDA Production Cup and Junior Driver award, lying fourth in the BTRDA Gold Star Driver category and second in the British Rally Championship.

The Sunseeker saw a dramatic battle between David Bogie and Tom Cave for the win, with Bogie coming out on top to lead the championship standings as they head to Welshpool for the Bulldog.  Both will be hoping to emulate 2010 Bulldog winners Keith Cronin and Barry McNulty as they look to maintain their title charges.

2011 sees the 51^st running of the event, which will once again be organised by the Wolverhampton & South Staffordshire Car Club. For the 15^th consecutive year, the event will be sponsored by Bulldog Security Products Ltd of Much Wenlock and will be based for a second year at Welshpool Livestock Sales at Buttington Cross.

A deal has recently been agreed with Citroen Midland, who will be providing official Citroen C-Crosser 4 x 4 vehicles for rally organisers, including the Spectator Safety Officer and Chief Marshal, to use during the event.

Entries are beginning to roll in for the event, that as well as the International rally for BRC runners, also hosts The Bulldog Historic Rally, The Bulldog Challenge Rally and The Bulldog National Rally.

The event will incorporate rounds of the BRC, the Dunlop/WONAGO MSA British Historic Championship, Hankook MSA Welsh National Championship, BRC Challenge, Brian Dennis Welsh Historic Championship and ANWCC Championships.

The final closing date for entries to the International event is Wednesday 23rd March 2011, while potential entrants for the Historic, Challenge and National sections have until Tuesday 29th March 2011.

Evans joined the team for the 2011 campaign after winning last years Pirelli Driver Shoot Out and immediately showed his pace on the Sunseeker. Driving the team’s Subaru Impreza N15 for the first time in a BRC event, with Andrew Edwards alongside him, the 22 year old spent the first half of the rally getting used to the car before upping the pace and securing third place for vital championship points.

Reflecting on his podium finish, Elfyn Evans said: “I was relatively happy with the stage times early on as I was still getting used to the car but I was braking too early for the tighter corners and having a problem with committing to them like Bogie was. We speeded up a bit in the afternoon but the lines were difficult as the stages cut up quite badly in places on the second loop of stages so I had to adapt my driving style to suit the conditions. The car was perfect and to come away with a podium is a fantastic result so thanks to the team for doing a great job and I’m hoping for another good result on the Bulldog Rally.”

Following close behind was Bristol-based Adam Gould, who only confirmed his entry to the rally a week before the event. Co-driven by Seb Marshall, the 23 year old had his Impreza as high as third at one point, but settled for fourth, less than seven seconds behind his team-mate.

Adam Gould commented on his weekend, saying: “Fourth place is a good result today for us given it was my first time in the car and was so much different to what I’ve driven in the past. I felt some vibration on stage two and discovered the wheel nuts had worked loose which was a scare but then set fastest time on SS4. We lost some time on the second loop this afternoon and because it’s a relatively short event, there wasn’t enough time to claw back the time I dropped but all credit to Elfyn who drove well on his first BRC event in a four wheel drive car. It’s going to be an intense battle all year but I’m looking forward to the Bulldog as I think that rally will suit the Subaru better.”

The result meant the TEG Sport left Dorset happy with their weekends work and will hope for more of the same when they head to Wales for the next round, the International Bulldog Rally of Wales on April 2nd.

TEG Sport Team Principal Stuart Newby added: “Third and fourth places is a mega result for us today, neither driver had any major problems so it was job done as far as I’m concerned. It’s vitally important to get solid points on the board on the opening round so it was a case of taking things steady and making no mistakes and both Elfyn and Adam did just that. It was Elfyn’s first proper outing in a four wheel drive and Adam’s first time in that car too so everyone’s especially delighted with the results and I’m very happy with TEG Sport’s performance this weekend.”

Overnight rain left the stages treacherous, but Cave was able to get off to a quick start in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, posting the second best time on the first stage before winning stage two. Two more second fastest times on the next couple of stages left Cave just 2.9 seconds off rally leader and eventual winner David Bogie as they approached first service.

His charge continued after service, securing another stage win during the next group of three stages, however he lost time when having to slow due to spectators on the road, after rival Jason Pritchard stopped ahead of him.

Realising he wasn’t going to be able to catch Bogie, Cave decided to ease off and ensure he finished the rally, but still managed to win another stage before the end. Finishing second gives Cave a good haul of points as he looks to mount a challenge for the 2011 BRC title.  

Commenting on his Sunseeker performance, Tom said; “I’m really happy with today. I’ve really enjoyed the event and it’s a pretty much a perfect start to the BRC season for us.

“The first loop this morning was good, despite a huge moment on the first stage and understeer in the car. It wouldn’t turn in well on the fast corners but I think the others were suffering the same, so I guess it was just slippier than we anticipated.

“We made a few changes to the car in the first service and it felt better on the second loop but we lost a bit of time, and our concentration, when we arrived at the corner where Jason Pritchard had gone off. There were spectators stood around the car, on the line we would have taken through the corner and we had to go straight on to avoid them, then reverse back on to the stage.

“On the final loop, it felt really good and we managed to take a little time back from David but then, he was basically too quick for us and I decided to back off to safeguard second place. It was too good a result to risk.

“It’s a perfect start to the season for us – I couldn’t have hoped for anything better. The notes from Craig were working really well, the JRM car felt very good and it all came together.

“And the next round, the Bulldog, is my home event, so hopefully we can have a good result there to keep the momentum going.“

In a depleted field, missing seven time event winner Marcus Dodd as well as regulars like Steve Perez, Paul Bird and Andy Burton, Duckworth stormed away to win the first stage, but then picked up a two minute penalty  for arriving at time control early.

This dropped him down to nineteenth, but he pushed on to make up the penalty and eventually retook the lead on SS9, despite suffering launch control issues on his Impreza. A superb run on the final two stages meant his final winning margin was 55.3 seconds, proving the considerable pace he had over his closest rivals.

Duckworth’s biggest threat for most the rally was the crew of Anthony Wilmington and Andrew White. The duo took advantage of Duckworth’s penalty to take the lead after SS2 and held it until SS7, when the wheel studs sheared off their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI, forcing them to retire.

Benefitting from Wilmington’s retirement to briefly take the lead was Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX driver Colin Britton. Co-driven by Arthur Kierans, he impressed with his pace and led for two stages and despite losing out to Duckworth; he still managed to beat many crews with much more experience of the Dorset forests than he has.

Completing the podium was Wug and Max Utting in their Subaru Impreza, ahead of fellow Impreza outfit Garry Pearson and Laura Marshall, the Scottish pairing doing weel on their first outing in the car. Completing the top five was Calum and Claudia McLeod in their popular MG S2000.

Sixth overall and the first 2WD finisher was Matt Thorne and Les Harrogate in their Ford Escort Mk II, beating fellow Escort crew Jason and Sally Wyatt to the class 2E honours. In the annual battle of the Skoda’s, Darren Jones and Paul Burley’s Felicia came out on top, beating James and Colin Beckett’s Favorit, winning the 2C class in the process.

For Stuart and Simon Larbey, there wasn’t the happy ending all the fans had hoped for as their MG Metro 6R4 retired on SS9 with a broken front diff on its last ever appearance on the Sunseeker event. Another high profile retirement was Kevin Rowledge, a possible contender for a podium finish, who was forced to retire his Ford Focus WRC with Clutch issues.

In the historic section of the rally, running over eight of the Sunseeker’s eleven stages, it was Richard Lane and Frank Richer who took the spoils, heading a Ford Escort one-two-three. Ernie Graham and Chris Parsons finished second, with Peter Egerton and Alun Cook completing the podium. The first Mini home was driven by Clive King in fifth place. There was only one retirement in the Historic rally, with John Brooks’ clutch giving way on his Mini Cooper.

Reigning Scottish Rally champion Bogie and co-driver Kevin Rae came into the rally with confidence high, having got his defence of that title off to the best possible start with victory on the Snowman Rally last week, and it certainly showed.

He was the quickest out the blocks to win SS1 by 2.3 seconds from Tom Cave, co-driven by Craig Parry.  It was Cave who became Bogie’s closest challenger over the course of the rally and briefly took the lead on his first ever BRC round after winning SS2, though Bogie won SS3 to take the lead again. By the time they headed to the first service of the day four stages in, Bogie led Cave by only 2.9 seconds.

Despite battling hard, Cave had to settle for second on his debut

Cave won his second stage of the day on SS5 to narrow the gap to Bogie to just one second, but Bogie immediately hit back winning the next two stages before service and despite Cave winning SS8 straight after, Bogie still held an eleven second advantage.

Realising he couldn’t catch Bogie without taking unnecessary risks, Cave decided to consolidate his second place over the final three stages, allowing Bogie to cruise to victory, winning the final stage on his way to becoming the first Scot to win a BRC round since Alistair McRae in 1997.

Behind the front two, a great three way battle emerged for third place between Subaru Impreza crews Eflyn Evans/Andrew Edwards, Adam Gould//Seb Marshall and Jason Pritchard/Robbie Durant. It was Pritchard who held the early advantage out the three, but Gould won SS4 to move into third as they reached first service, but his margin over Pritchard was only a narrow 0.3 seconds, with Evans only 1.4 seconds further back.

It was Pritchard who was first to buckle under the pressure, sliding wide and getting stuck in a ditch on SS6. Unable to get out, he was forced into retirement, leaving just a two way battle for the final podium place.

Evans moved into third after SS6 and looked to pull away, however Gould had other ideas, winning SS9 to narrow the gap to just 4.5 seconds with two stages remaining. However Evans proved he had got his head around his new TEG Sport Impreza and won SS10 to finish third.

2010 Pirelli Star Driver Evans enjoyed podium finish in first Impreza start

Pritchard’s demise allowed JRM crew Daniel Barry and Rory Kennedy to claim the final spot in the top five in their JRM Motorsport Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X. Despite being one of the few BRC drivers to have previous experience of the Sunseeker stages, having finished fourth overall in 2009, Barry was unable to challenge for the win as he adapted to his new machine.

Narrowly missing out on the top five were Skoda Fabia S2000 pair Jonny Greer/Dai Roberts and Robert Barrable/Damien Connolly both of whom were competing on their first rally’s in their new cars. Greer’s progress was hampered by a puncture in SS7, while Barrable was facing a steep learning curve on his first rally in a 4WD machine.

In the 2WD section of the rally it became a battle of the Renault Twingo’s as Autosport Technology pair Siim Plangi and Mikko Pajunen locked horns for the R2 class win. As the BRC looks set to move to 2WD only in 2012, there was a lot of focus on the class during the Sunseeker and they didn’t disappoint with a closely contested rally.

It was Estonian Plangi, co-driven by compatriot Marek Sarapuu, who came out on top over finish team-mate Pajunen, co-driven by fellow Fin Jani Salo. Pajunen had led after the first couple of the stages, but a late check in to two time controls cost him a combined thirty seconds of penalties, gifting Plangi a lead he never lost. Plangi’s performance earned him a nomination for the Pirelli Star Drive, while the one two for the Twingo’s gave Autosport Technology maximum points in the Teams Championship.

Estonian Plangi beat team-mate Pajunen to 2WD Honours

The favourite for the R2 win before the rally was top seed Craig Breen, who had Gareth Roberts sat alongside him and had competed in the rally in the past. The Irishman showed his pace early on, briefly holding the class lead after SS3, but a split water pipe forced him to stop in SS4. He was left to refill his water from a puddle using drinking bottles in his car, losing him over two minutes and ending his chances of winning.

A replacement water pump in service allowed him to push on over the rest of the day and he worked his way up to finish fourteenth overall and third in class. In the team’s championship, Breen’s woes were added to when team-mate John MacCrone retired with electronics problems on SS1, leaving M-Sport Ford Rally Team third in the standings.

The third 2WD runner to finish was reigning BRC Challenge champions Callum Black and Paul Wakely in their Suzuki Swift S1600. Black struggled throughout the rally, with a wrong tyre choice leading him to aquaplane in the tricky conditions. This left him unable to fight for the 2WD win, but as the only R3 runner in the entry, he did go home with a class win.        

Black struggled in conditions but still finished third in 2WD Section

Alongside Pritchard and MacCrone, the leading retirements in the International Rally were Citroen C2 drivers Desi Henry and Mark Donnelly. Henry had a good start to rally but a spin on SS6 was followed by sheared wheel studs forcing him to retire on the final stage, while Donnelly’s driveshaft broke at the start of the first stage. Late entry to the rally Euan Thorburn also retired early on, while Alan Cookson broke two driveshaft’s before deciding to retire before causing anymore damage to his Impreza.

The 22 year old is looking forward to taking on the Bournemouth-based event for the second time and will tackle the gravel event in his North Road Garage run Subaru Impreza N16.

Pritchard’s preparations for the event haven’t run smoothly though, with a testing off leaving the team in a frantic battle against time, as Jason explains:

“The car took a bit of a battering, I came out unscathed but we’ve had to hire the exact same model from Prodrive for the Rallye Sunseeker International, I’m incredibly grateful to the guys at Prodrive for getting us the replacement car with such short notice”

Despite the off, Pritchard is positive after the test and is looking forward to getting back out in the forests:

“I can’t wait for Friday, I felt great up until the incident and what happened in the test has only made me more determined to get behind the wheel and show everyone what I’m made of. There’s nothing better than competing, the whole team is ready for the challenge and I’ve never felt better”

Jason is set to enter his fifth season in the British Rally Championship, having previously won the R2 class of the series in both 2008 and 2009, before upgrading to a Subaru Impreza N2010 last season. He went on take a superb third in the overall championship behind former champions Keith Cronin and Gwyndaf Evans.

The youngster’s performances saw him awarded a wildcard entry into last years Wales Rally GB, in the Production Car World Rally Championship class. He used it to great effect, finishing inside the top twenty overall and fourth in class, picking up points on his PWRC debut.

Pritchard heads into his second Rallye Sunseeker looking for a better run than his last visit in 2006, when an engine fault ended his rally early.

Pritchard added: “I will be pushing myself all the way over the weekend, I need to be right up there from the word go. I will be doing the Shakedown on Thursday as there are some differences in the set up of the car. This will give me the opportunity to familiarise myself with the car. Robbie and I can’t wait.”

The rally, organised by the Southern Car Club, begins with a ceremonial start on Poole Harbour on Friday evening, before 65 stage miles in forests across Wareham and Ringwood on Saturday. For 2011, the event is split into three rallies, International, National and Historique.

International Rally

The BRC runners lead the way in the entry for the International section of the rally, with Craig Breen and Gareth Roberts top of the pile as number one seeds and favourites in their Ford Fiesta R2. Heading to the event after finishing 15^th overall on the opening round of the World Rally Championship in Sweden recently, the duo will be looking to add to their International Rally Northern Ireland BRC win last year.

Hot on their heels will be two drivers in Skoda Fabia S2000’s. First up is Northern Ireland’s Jonny Greer, co-driven by Dai Roberts, who returns to the rally having finished ninth in 2010 in an Evo IX. The other Fabia will be driven by Irishman Robert Barrable and co-driven by Damien Connolly, the pair coming into the season after a successful 2010 which saw them win the British and Irish C2R2 Championships.

A driver to watch will be the 2010 BRC Challenge champion Callum Black in his Suzuki Swift S1600. Co-driven by Paul Wakely, Black is aiming for the F2 title this season despite it being only his second year in rallying and will look to get a good start to the season on the Sunseeker.

Leading the line up in the Citroen Racing Trophy is Desi Henry/John Rowan, the Northern Ireland pairing making their debut in the BRC having competed in Ireland previously. Following them will be fellow Northern Ireland pairing Mark Donnelly/Barry McNulty, the latter being the winner of the 2010 BRC Co-Driver title as he navigated Keith Cronin to the drivers’ championship.

Scottish ace David Bogie leads the way in the four wheel drive entrants in the International Rally. Co-driven by Kevin Rae, the 2010 Scottish champion will be running a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX and is one of the favourites for the rally as he looks to mount a title push.

Also challenging for the win will be JR Motorsport pairing Tom Cave and Daniel Barry in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X’s. Cave, co-driven by Craig Parry, competed in various Intercontinental Rally Championship rounds in 2010, but has decided to stay on home soil this season, while Barry returns to the rally on which he finished fourth in 2009, with Rory Kennedy alongside him. 

Another driver to look out for is reigning Pirelli Star Driver Shoot-out winner Elfyn Evans, the prize for which was a fully funded drive in this seasons BRC in a Pirelli backed, TEG Sport run Subaru Impreza. The 2010 UK Ford Fiesta Trophy winner will be co-driven by Andrew Edwards. The TEG Sport team has also entered a Ford Fiesta ST for Nick Cristofaro/Rob Fagg.

Other BRC entrants to look out for include the 2008 Pirelli Shoot-out winner Adam Gould, co-driven by Seb Marshall, last minute entrants Euan Thorburn/Paul Beaton in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX and Alan Cookson/Julian Wilkinson in their Subaru Impreza N15, who suffered a huge accident on the rally back in 2008.

Rallye Sunseeker International has a real international feel to the event this year, with drivers coming from all across the world to compete. Leading these are Finish pair Mikko Pajunen/Jani Salo in their Autosport Technology run R2 Renault Twingo. The duo won three R1 rounds and one R2 round last season so will be one to watch on the Sunseeker. Running an identical Twingo will be Estonian pairing Siim Plangi/Marek Sarapuu, who finished sixth overall on Rally Scotland last year.

Flying all the way from Barbados for the rally will be Neil Armstrong and Max Ferri in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX. It will be the duo’s second appearance on the rally after finishing seventeenth overall in 2009 and comes as part of the major Sol Rally Barbados 2011 promotion at the event.

As part of the promotion, the winner of the Rallye Sunseeker National event will receive free entry and shipping to the 2011 Rally Barbados from the Barbados Tourism Authority. They will also get flights, accommodation and rental car from the Barbados Rally Club, an award valued at around £5,500.

National Rally

With the introduction of the British Rally Championship and the loss of the MSA National Gravel Rally Championship at Rallye Sunseeker, many of the top national drivers that have graced Rallye Sunseeker in recent years are missing this year’s event.

Out of the top ten seeds from last year’s rally, only two have returned for this year’s national rally. Regulars like Paul Bird, Steve Perez, Andy Burton, Stephen Hendy and Kenny McKinstry are missing from the entry list, with the biggest absentee from this year’s rally being seven time Sunseeker winner and local hero Marcus Dodd.

This has left two time winner Roger Duckworth/Aled Davies leading the field for this year’s National Rally. Duckworth, who won in 1998 and 2004, is the only former winner in this year’s field and will be looking to make it a hat trick in his Subaru Impreza WRC.

Hot on his heels will be Anthony Wilmington and Andrew White, who have impressed in the Dorset forests in recent years. ‘Wilmo’ finished sixth in 2009 and seventh in 2010 and will hoping to match those results this year in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI.   

Behind them the rally has many of its stalwarts returning once again. Wug and Max Utting head into the event off the back of finishing third in class on the Wales Rally GB National last season in their 2007 Group N Subaru Impreza.

Another Group N Impreza crew are experienced female pairing Shelley Taunt and Julie Murphy, who return to the rally in their 2004 model having finished seventeenth overall in 2010.  Another returning crew are Rod Bennett and Henry Richardson in their Fiat Stilo Arbath. The duo has competed on the event in many different machines over the years, including a Lancia Delta Integrale, and has over sixty years’ rallying experience between them.

The iconic MG Metro 6R4 rally car is having its final fling on the Rallye Sunseeker in 2011 as Stuart and Simon Larbey enter their ex-Tony Pond car on the event for the final time. Their car has built a legacy on the event over the years, having competed on it over ten times.

Another car that has become iconic on the Sunseeker is local driver Darren Jones’ little Skoda Felicia. Jones and his co-driver Paul Burley missed the event last year, but return in the car they picked up for £40 in 2007, a car that has won its class on Wales Rally GB in recent years. Taking them once again in another Skoda will be James and Colin Beckett in their Favorit.

Historique Rally

After a successful first run in 2010, the organisers of Rallye Sunseeker have once again added a designated Historic rally within the event. Eight cars entered last year, but more than double that are set to take to the stages this time round.

Fans of the iconic rear wheel drive Ford Escorts can see many different examples of these machines competing on Rallye Sunseeker once again this year. On top of the five on show in the National rally, there are four more in the Historic section, including a MK1 Mexico in the hands of David Kirby and Ben Friend and a RS1800 run by Ernie Graham/Chris Parsons.

Another legendary rally car well represented is the Mini, with eight versions of the little machine set to grace the stages. Other cars on show include a Ford Cortina G, Austin Healey MK III, Lotus Sunbeam and Datsun 240Z.

Fans first chance to see the cars competing in the 2011 Rallye Sunseeker International is at the ceremonial start on Poole Quay from 6.30pm on Friday evening.

On Saturday, fans can pick up a Forest Car Park ticket for £25 per car, which gives them entry to the special stages in Ringwood, Uddens and Wareham forests. Those looking to make a day out of it can head to Somerley Park, where two special stages will run as well as the Motorfair, featuring various amusements and displays to keep fans entertained. This also costs £25 per car for entry. The Elliot Canford Park Arena, which is used for servicing, is also open to the public, costing £10 to enter, with the cars serviced twice during the day.  

Spectators can get their final glimpse of the cars and drivers with the ceremonial finish on Bournemouth Pier Approach at 5.30pm on Saturday evening.

The rally can be traced back to origins in 1973 and the Kleber Southern Rally, a road rally first run in Surrey and Sussex. The first winners were Derek Skinner and Peter Rushforth in a MGB, with the pairing going on to win it again in 1975. The rally saw a new sponsor come on board in 1977, with it now named the Happy Eater Southern Rally. Sir Peter Graham/Dave O’Brien picked up the win that year in their Porsche 911, before three consecutive wins for Ford Escorts.

1984 saw another name change, with the event becoming the Citroen Winter Rally, with David Kynaston/Keith Oswin in their Audi Quattro 985 and David Llewellin/Rob Arthur in their Nissan 240RS amongst the winners during the mid-eighties. It wasn’t until 1986 until the event moved to its current home of Bournemouth, with Colin Short/Gary Champion winning in their Ford Escort RS, before current Ford World Rally Team boss Malcolm Wilson and co-driver Nigel Harris took victory in 1987 in their MG Metro 6R4.

As the nineties approached, Mazda took over sponsorship of the event, with it renamed The Mazda Winter Rally. Throughout the following decade, the event took on various guises, being called the The Mazda Car-Line Winter Rally, The Winter Rally, The Sunseeker Powerboats Winter Rally and The Bournemouth Winter Rally.

Winners during the decade included Trevor Smith and Roger Jones, who added to their 1989 win with victories in 1991 and 1992 in their Ford Sierra Cosworth. David Gillanders/John Bennie picked up two wins in their Ford Escort Cosworth in 1994 and 1995, while Raymond Munro and Graham Brunton took the Metro 6R4’s second and last victory on the event in 1997. Roger Duckworth and Mark Broomfield took victory in 1998 in their Subaru Impreza.

It was the following year, 1999, when the event took its current title, Rallye Sunseeker. Marcus Dodd went on to win the event for the first time, beginning his love affair with the rally. Co-driven by John Bennie, he beat Brian Lyall/Alun Cook and Kenny McKinstry/Noel Orr in their Subaru Impreza’s with his Ford Escort WRC to take victory, the first WRC car to win the event.

He repeated the trick in 2000, in his new Subaru Impreza WRC, before beating Kenny McKinstry/Noel Orr and David Mann/Alun Cook in 2001 to make it a hattrick of wins, with co-driver John Bennie sealing his fifth rally win. 2002 saw Dodd finally defeated, with Irish star Kenny McKinstry finally taking victory after finishing third in 1999 and runner up in the two previous years. Dodd got back on the winner’s podium in 2003 alongside new co-driver Stephen McAuley, beating Andy Burton/John Roberts in their iconic Peugeot Cosworth.

2004 saw a change to the events schedule, with the rally’s traditional stages through Bournemouth’s Lower Gardens and Pier Approach moved from Saturday to Friday night, making them a floodlit spectacular for fans and turning the rally into a two day event. Roger Duckworth and Mark Broomfield benefited from it most to take their second event win, beating Hyundai Accent WRC pair Craig Middleton/Robin Hernaman and Steve Petch/John Richardson.

This began a successful period in the rally for the Hyundai Accent WRC. 2005 saw it win in the hands of David Higgins and Daniel Barritt, with Dodd runner up in his, before Craig Middleton/Robin Hernaman took victory a year later in theirs.

After three years without a win, Dodd returned to the winners ramp in 2007, with Andrew Bargery alongside him, before winning again in 2008, making it four wins on the trot for a Hyundai Accent WRC. Burton, now with Shelley Rogerson alongside him, finished runner up again, with Stephen Moore/Tony McHugh third in their Ford Focus WRC. 2008 also saw the first running of the Military rally, with the Armed Forces Rally Team competing in Land Rovers. There were also a variety of demonstrations and displays to mark the 21^st anniversary of Malcolm Wilson winning in a MG Metro 6R4.

2009 saw a new winner of the event, with Will Nicholls and Nick Broom taking the win in their Subaru Impreza WRC after frontrunners Dodd, Steve Perez and Paul Bird all succumbed to retirement.  Roger Duckworth/Mark Broomfield finished second in their ageing Impreza, with Sean Devine/Mark Regan making it an Impreza lockout of the podium, finishing an unexpected third.

Last year’s rally saw Marcus Dodd and Andrew Bargery return to the winner’s rostrum once again, dominating the rally to take their seventh win on the event. Behind them, a titanic battle for second place ensued between Andy Burton/Robin Kellard and Steve Perez/Paul Spooner. Burton in his Peugeot Cosworth held the place until SS6, before Perez in his Ford Focus WRC 07 got the upper hand. The battle had one final dramatic twist when Burton won the final stage of the rally to snatch the place back and finish runner up on the event once again. Roger Duckworth and Mark Broomfield followed Perez home for fourth, ahead of Paul Bird/Kirsty Riddick in their Ford Focus WRC 08, with Jonny Milner/Ian Windress completing the top six in their Toyota Corolla WRC, a solid start to a season that saw them win the 2010 MSA Gravel Rally Championship.

Rallye Sunseeker, based in Bournemouth on the south coast, has grown into one of the most popular events in the country. Škoda UK and the rally’s organisers, the Southern Car Club, first began working together at the 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed, where the manufacturer demonstrated its Fabia S2000 rally car on the Southern Car Club run Forest Rally Stage. Škoda will provide a variety of models, including its Yeti, Octavia Scout, Superb Hatch and Superb Estate models.

Event Director of Rallye Sunseeker, Rick Smith said: “Rallye Sunseeker prides itself on forging appropriate partnerships so as we welcome Škoda as our Official Vehicle Partner we see the association of two strong and valued brand names – Sunseeker and Škoda; both renowned for innovation and design for purpose. Our senior officials look forward to show- casing a variety of 4×4 Škoda models on the special stages which make up Rallye Sunseeker 2011.”

Each diver had to hit as many illuminated buttons as possible in the allocated 60 seconds on a BATAK wall which is specially designed to test and improve reaction times. Jenson recorded an impressive 114 hits in one minute, whilst British Formula 3 runner-up James Calado was beaten narrowly with a total of 112 hits ahead of fellow F3 driver Oliver Webb with 107. Harry Tinknell of the Formula Renault UK championship recorded 103, F3 Euroseries driver Alexander Sims hit 95 whilst British Rally Championship star Alastair Fisher was close behind with 94.

Now motorsport fans and fitness fanatics can test themselves to see how their reactions match up against their hero’s at the Autosport International Show held at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham next month. The BATAK wall Reaction Race will be at the MSA stand where visitors can test themselves over the four days. The best score on each day will be awarded with a Silverstone driving experience and in addition, the overall winner will also receive a motorsport fitness assessment, which is the same undertaken by professional drivers courtesy of the Porsche Human Performance centre located at Silverstone.

Not only will Autosport International show visitors be able to take part in the reaction race but there will be a chance to see top motorsport personalities, commentary legend Murray Walker and BBC F1 pundits Martin Brundle and Jake Humphrey. There will also be a variety of cars from many motorsport disciplines on display including the F1 Championship winning McLaren MP4/4 which was driven by the late great Ayrton Senna.

Tickets are on sale for the Public show held on 15-16 January at the NEC Birmingham and for more information, visit www.autosportinternational.com

Cronin and McNulty’s fellow TEG Sport competitor Jimmy Girvan was tragically killed in an accident whilst competing on the Colin McRae Forest Stages Rally on Saturday.

The championship winning crew finished third on the Yorkshire rally, but it was enough to secure the back-to-back titles, and in a display of the brilliant camaraderie throughout motorsport, they dedicated their second title to Jimmy Girvan, with whom they had been testing on Thursday.

Gwyndaf Evans and Claire Mole won the rally, with their fellow JR Motorsport’s pairing Alastair Fisher and Rory Kennedy finishing second, to secure the Team’s title for the team.

Cronin’s third place was enough to secure his second title in as many years, who started the rally knowing full well that a top seven finish would be enough to see the title remain in his hands.

Speaking after the event, TEG’s Team Principal Stuart Newby said “Keith drove a fantastic rally with no heroics. We played it safe this weekend by running with a tool box and two spare wheels and even so he still finished third overall. We’ve finished second in the championship for the last three years and so it is nice to take the win this time. However it is devastating about Jimmy and all of our thoughts are with his family”.

Fellow TEG Sport crew Adam Gould and Craig Drew were supporting Cronin well throughout, but were forced to retire late on with damage to the front suspension

“It is gutting for my season to end this way but cannot thank everyone enough for all of their support especially TEG Sport, they have been absolutely fantastic!”, said Gould.

The rally’s new base in Scarborough welcomed Payne and Thorley after a show of the utmost skill throughout an event made considerably more difficult by the heavy overnight downpour, and some drivers stating that they felt grip levels were almost non-existent in places.

Stephen Petch and John Richardson completed the rally in second place, with Jamie Anderson and Ella Flynn completing the top three.

Speaking after his dominant win, Payne said “Today was one great result for us, we had a good clean run with no real dramas. The weather made it very interesting and we survived a huge moment on the last stage so we were really lucky to make the finish!”.

Photo credit: Mark Simpson

Cronin came out on top after an early, and intense, battle with Gwyndaf Evans, but the Welshman fell back after an off during the first day, allowing Cronin to secure a dominant victory on the time sheets.

Evans finished second to keep the momentum on his title assault, despite losing two minutes whilst stuck in a ditch. A strong recovery drive saw him reclaim second place, and finish the rally 1m38s behind Cronin.

Cronin had his own scare during the same stage, when the Irishman struck a bank, but it made no difference to the end result.

“I am very pleased to be back here. The car worked well, in such treacherous conditions you need to have confidence and we were able to push when we needed to. TEIN and TEG Sport have worked wonders to the car!”, said a delighted Cronin at the ceremonial finish in Douglas.

Jason Pritchard rounded off the podium in the Subaru Impreza, with an overall time just over 3 minutes behind Gwyndaf Evans.

Keith Cronin and Barry McNulty celebrate their Victory

Speaking after the event, Evans said “Of course we would have liked to have won, but second is still a big result”, adding “Although we were unlucky to have spun into the ditch, we were also lucky to be able to keep going. It was a great shame, as I think it would have been a good battle for first place”.

Championship leader Jonathan Greer bolstered his position in the championship hunt with fourth place. He started the Manx event in the lead of the championship, and heads to his home round in the same position, and used sensible tactics to ensure that his position remained.

“As we couldn’t be caught and it would be difficult to improve on our overall position, I must admit that we took it steady towards the end to make sure we made it to the finish”, said Greer.

In terms of the 2010 Dulux MSA British Rally Championship standings, things could not be closer.

Jonny Greer sits atop the standings with 62-points, followed closely by Gwyndaf Evans (58-points), Keith Cronin (56-points) and Jason Pritchard (55-points).

The next round of the BRC sees the crews head to Antrim, Northern Ireland. The event runs from the 20th to the 21st August.

The deadline for the cheaper registrations coincided with the decision whether to can the Championship. However, with 13 confirmed entries and another 12 entries possible, the series is looking up and could end up more successful than it was in 2009.

Of the entries, M-Sport expect 8 of them to be Fiesta Sport Challenge competitors, and registrations are being accepted and processed by the new FSC co-ordinator Callum Craw.

Out of the 13 current registrations, 8 of them are new to the BRCC, and they have come from as far as Kent, Fife and County Tyrone in Northern Ireland. These drivers are:

Callum Black – Northamptonshire

Andrew Chalmers – North Yorkshire

Louise Cook – Kent

Mark Donnelly – County Tyrone

Conor Flynn – Derbyshire

Andy Gwynne – Gloucestershire

Julian Wilkes – Somerset

Simon Moore – Tyne & Wear

George Morrison – Fife

Chris Peart – East Yorkshire

Gavin Spencer – Tyne & Wear

Russ Thompson – Lancashire

James Watts – Hertfordshire

The Championship starts with the Bulldog Rally on the 27^th March, and it will be based at the new Livestock market in Welshpool.

Photo credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography

The challenge of the final round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge will be taken on by 2007/2008 champion Guy Wilks along with the newly crowned champion Keith Cronin. Joining the two British champions will be Pirelli Star Driver Adam Gould, with all three drivers using different cars to what they have been.

Scottish Rally Champion David Bogie will use his own car at his home event along with Jonny Greer who will be travelling from Ireland to compete.

Fresh from his win on a national forest event Dave Weston will join the event after securing fourth place in the British Rally Championship. Alastair Fisher who took two BRC podiums this year on the way to an overall third will aslo be taking part.

1995 BRC champion Alister McRae will also be competing after recently completing on Rally China last weekend.

Other drivers include Euan Thorburn, Icelandic Champion Daniel Sigurðarson, quadruple Fiesta Champion Craig Breen, Kris Hall and Barry Greer.

2009 BRC drivers on RACMSA Rally of Scotland

No	Driver/Co-driver			Car
2	Guy Wilks/Phil Pugh			Skoda Fabia S2000
3	Keith Cronin/Greg Shinnors		Fiat Abarth Punto S2000
4	Adam Gould/Sebastian Marshall		Peugeot 207 S2000
5	David Bogie/Kevin Rae			Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
7	Jonathan Greer/tbc			Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
8	Dave Weston/Ieuan Thomas		Subaru Impreza N14
9	Alastair Fisher/Barry McNulty		Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX
17	Euan Thorburn/tbc			Subaru Impreza N12B
20	Daniel Sigurðarson/Martin Brady		Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
21	Craig Breen/Gareth Roberts		Ford Fiesta R2
23	Kris Hall/Robbie Durant			Ford Fiesta R2
24	Barry Greer/Susanne Wright		Ford Fiesta ST

Photo Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography