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20.4.2009 | 10:20

Fréttatilkynning liðsins okkar eftir árangur helgarinnar

Bogie scores first podium finish for JR Motorsports Team MSA British Rally Championship Round Two Preview Pirelli International Rally – 17th & 18th April 2009 David Bogie drives JR Motorsports Evo X into third place. Pre-event development work pays off. JRM Lico take healthy lead in Team’s Championship.
	High Resolution image
20th April 2009	Printer Version
The second round of the MSA British Rally Championship, the Pirelli International Rally, saw David Bogie and co-driver Kevin Rae bring their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X home in third place and score the first podium finish for JR Motorsports. Team-mates Daniel Sigurdarson and Andy Bull finished sixth – a great achievement considering their similar Lico-sponsored car was only completed hours before the start - the combined results of both Mitsubishis seeing Team JRM Lico shoot into the lead of the British Team’s Championship. Starting and finishing at Carlisle Racecourse, all of the event’s 12 timed special stages took place over the infamous gravel roads in Kielder Forest, the two stages on Friday night and the remaining 10 on Saturday providing a total of 102 competitive miles. Following their fifth-place finish on the opening round, the JR Motorsports team had worked hard on the development of the new Mitsubishi – and their efforts paid off - as David reported the engine was far more responsive right from the start. With a tough rally ahead of them and the reputation of Kielder Forest on their minds, David and Kevin opted for a cautious approach to the opening stage. Determined to push harder through the second, their plan was foiled shortly after the start when they caught the car ahead of them - which was slowed by a puncture - and they lost over 15 seconds in the prevailing dust before they were able to get past. At the overnight halt the time sheets showed David and Kevin in sixth place and only 11 seconds away from a top three position. In the sister car, their team-mates were delighted that their brand new Evo X had run faultlessly and were pleased to be in tenth place. Saturday started with a loop of four stages and David and Kevin were eager to carry on from where they left off the night before. Although it was close, they were able to fend off the competition and, with the demise of two cars ahead of them, they moved up to fourth before returning to Carlisle for the service stop. Besides a set of new tyres and repairs to the exhaust system – which had been crushed on the rougher sections of the stages – the JRM car had run perfectly and hopes were high for a good result as David and Kevin embarked on the next loop, which was a repeat of the four stages tackled earlier. After setting the fourth-fastest time on SS7, stage eight was stopped when rally leader Guy Wilks’ car caught fire. This forced organisers to abandon the next three stages as many of the following crews had used their fire extinguishers in an attempt to put out the blaze and could not continue without them. Cars were then sent back to Carlisle for a regroup before the event’s final two stages. Now in third, the team were determined not to lose the chance of a podium place and a third fastest time in SS11 consolidated the position. But then, on the final stage, a large rock fractured the car’s rear differential casing and pulled out a driveshaft. Now, with only two-wheel drive, David and Kevin drove the final few miles holding their breath. But they made it, and crossed the line just 1.8 seconds ahead of a rapidly catching fourth-placed crew. “I am so pleased to have got the car back to the finish and to secure third place”, said David. “It’s great to have scored the first podium finish in the British Championship, not just for me, but for the JR Motorsports team as well. I know they have worked hard on the car and its performance and reliability this weekend proves that the Evo X has great potential.” Besides a brief visit into a Northumberland ditch in the morning and also damaging the exhaust system, Sigurdarson and Bull’s car also proved reliable and they crossed the line in sixth place. The combination of the team’s two results launches Team JRM Lico into an 11-point lead in the Team’s Championship, with David and Kevin now third in the driver’s and co-driver’s standings. The third round of the MSA British Rally Championship sees the surface change to asphalt, when teams head to Kelso for the Jim Clark Rally on 22nd & 23rd May. JR Motorsports’ 2009 British Rally Championship campaign is supported by: Oakbank Services, Exe-tc competition suspension, Lico, Opie Oils, PPG Transmissions and SJS Designs. British Rally Championship positions after round two Drivers 1 Keith Cronin 40 Pts 2 Mark Higgins 36 Pts 3 David Bogie 30 Pts 4 Dave Weston Jnr 26 Pts 5 Alistair Fisher 27 Pts 6 Jonny Greer 25 Pts 7 Craig Breen 19 Pts 8 Chris Firth 18 Pts 9 Stuart Jones 16 Pts 10 Adam Gould 15 Pts 10 Martin McCormack 15 Pts 12 Daniel Sigurdarson 12 Pts Teams JRM Lico 67 Pts TEG Sport Pirelli 56 Pts Revolution Wheels 15 Pts ENDS Notes for editors David Bogie is 21 and lives in Dumfries. Kevin Rae is 31 and lives in Hawick. Daniel Sigurdarson is from Iceland Andy Bull is from Birmingham JR Motorsports is based in Chesterfield.