BRITISH RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP - STÓRA STUNDIN ER RUNNIN UPP!

 Cronin ahead, but Wilks joins Higgins’ chase

 

The second round of the 2009 MSA British Rally Championship is a mere three weeks after the first nail biting opener in Wales and Irishman Keith Cronin will be keen to keep the momentum after his first win, on the forthcoming Pirelli International Rally on 17/18^th April.  

 

All the crews will need to be on their toes to turn their cars around for the event, which has previously been the start point for the BRC, as Easter also falls between the two rallies. Despite the tight schedule, over forty entries are already on the International list.  Absent from the tussle at the top between Cronin/Greg Shinnors and Mark Higgins/Bryan Thomas, was reigning BRC Champion Guy Wilks, but he and Phil Pugh will be back to try and secure their own hat-trick of wins on the Carlisle based rally. Wilks’ switch to a Proton S2000 will mean an unfamiliar package for the Durham driver.  

 

Seeded at car one as the winner of both the 2007 and 2008 Pirelli International and British Rally Championships, Wilks should add even more spice to the action at the front, the ultra fast Cumbrian stages suiting his smooth yet attacking driving style.  Iceland’s Daniel Sigurdarsson takes the place of Stuart Jones in a Team JRM Lico evolution 10, the 32year-old former Icelandic Rally Champion and BRC newcomer making the move from his regular Evo 9 for the Cumbrian event.  

 

2008 Pirelli Star Diver Adam Gould and Seb Marshall will benefit from previous experience on the event, as will Andreas Sjölander and Håkan Jacobsson, both crews expected to go well after impressive UK 4WD debuts in Wales.  

 

Two Scottish Davids; Bogie and Weston Junior, with co-drivers Kevin Rae and Neil Shanks respectively, will battle for Celtic honours against two Northern Irishmen, the four taking fifth to eighth points on round one.

The Irishmen in question come in the form of Alastair Fisher and Jonny Greer, former BRC and Irish Champion co-driver Rory Kennedy alongside Fisher, with Antony O'Conaill guiding Greer.  

 

British Teams Rally Championship  

 

As leaders in the category, Pirelli TEG Sport drivers Higgins and Gould will be watching their backs for improvements in the JRM Lico Team. Sigurdarsson and Bogie have certainly got a bit of ground to make up, but speed and consistency are required for the Team award.  

 

Unfortunate not to finish the first round, Rob Swann/Darren Garrod and Euan Thorburn/Claire Mole’s Revolution Wheels team will be burning some midnight oil to make the start of the rally. Swann’s car suffered an electrical failure while Thorburn’s introduction to the BRC ended more violently, crashing out on stage three of the Bulldog. 

Heimasíða rallsins: http://www.pirelliinternationalrally.co.uk/home.asp

Rásröð internationals: http://www.pirelliinternationalrally.co.uk/pdf/Final%20Entry%20List.pdf