If you're not excited for this one then you are not a rally fan! Round 2 of the MSA British Rally Championship is the historic Circuit of Ireland Rally, which apart from Rallye Monte-Carlo is the oldest rally in the world. After the grueling mud and gravel of Rd 1 in Wales, the tight, twisty and jump-littered roads of Northern Ireland could not be more different, which just adds to the challenge of the 2016 BRC.
What adds extra spice to this second round of the rejuvenated BRC is that the British drivers will be wading into battle with the Irish Tarmac Championship runners and the boys from the European Rally Championship, creating one mega battle and a record breaking entry list of 44 R5 specification vehicles. Leading the British Rally Championship runners away is championship leader Elfyn Evans, who won his home round of the series last time out. Close behind in the running order are his nearest rivals from the Mid Wales Stages Fredrik Ahlin, Tom Cave and David Bogie. Ahlin and Cave are in Fiesta R5's while Bogie is the leading Skoda Fabia R5 on the entry list. Seeded fifth and closest to Evans is Keith Cronin, who had a disappointing Mid Wales but has been strong in the Irish Tarmac series this year. Other BRC drivers to watch are Euan Thorburn who claimed a solid fifth on round 1 and who did this rally last year in a Fiesta S2000, Max Vatanen, Jonny Greer and Desi Henry, who is another along with Greer and Cronin that is contesting both the Irish and British Championships in 2016. The battle in the DMACK Juniors is likely to be between the Fiesta R2T's of Gus Greensmith, Adam Bustard and Meirion Evans and the works Vauxhall Adam R2's of Robert Duggan, Mattias Adielsson and Arron Windus. The battle for BRC honours is only part of the equation for the top runners though, who surely will be interested to see how they can do against the European contenders, which include 2016 ERC points leader Alexey Lukyanuk (Fiesta R5), 2015 ERC Champion Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Fiesta R5) and 2015 Circuit of Ireland winner and Citroen WRC driver Craig Breen (DS3 R5). One thing is for sure, it's going to be epic! Check out the full entry list here.
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Round 1 of the revitalised BRC saw the drivers head to Wales for the Mid Wales Stages, using stages such as Hafren/Sweet Lamb that are used as part of the British round of the World Rally Championship.
Pre event favourite Elfyn Evans took the victory on home soil, netting 50 points as he decided to play his Joker, which awards the driver with double points. The former WRC driver won the opening stage by 18 seconds in the darkness, but didn't have it all his own way! Swede Fredrik Ahlin won the second test on Saturday night, and woke up on Sunday in determined mood, winning two stages and taking the overall lead in his CA1 Sport Ford Fiesta R5. However, the DMACK British Rally Team Fiesta R5 Evo of Evans took the final two stages to win the event. Completing the podium was Spencer Sport's Tom Cave, who was also at the wheel of an R5 Fiesta. The Welshman fended off the challenge of 2011 British Rally Champion David Bogie in his Skoda Fabia R5 to take the final step on the podium. Despite all being in the same car, each driver in the top 3 was using a different manufacturer of tyre: Evans on DMACK, Ahlin on Pirelli and Cave on Michelin. Bogie took fourth, taking a stunning stage win on stage 4. He finished ahead of old Scottish rival and fellow Scottish Rally Champion Euan Thorburn. The Duns driver was driving the only Peugeot 208 T16 on the event, and took it sensibly steady in treacherous snowy conditions to come home relatively unscathed in fifth. Josh Moffett, Matt Edwards (in a BRC2 spec Mitsubishi impressively!), Jonny Greer, triple British champion Keith Cronin and the Skoda of Desi Henry completed the top 10. Brit Gus Greensmith won the DMACK Junior BRC in his Ford Fiesta R2T from the Renault Twingo of Sindre Furuseth and the Vauxhall Junior Rally Team ADAM R2 of Swede Mattias Adielsson. It was an epic contest between three different makes of car, but ultimately Greensmith came out on top. However, Furuseth leads the championships as he played his Joker for the opening round. Osian Pryce dominate the BRC National Rally Cup in his Spencer Sport Mitsubishi Mirage R5. He too played his Joker, meaning he leads this particular championship by 35 points. It's a shame his car is not eligible for BRC1, because the Welshman and former British Championship rally winner was mixing it with the top times! Round 2 of the British Rally Championship is the Circuit of Ireland on 7-9 April, with the British boys going up against the European and Irish contingent. It promises to be epic! |
BRITISH RALLYINGArticles covering rally in Britain, looking at the MSA BRC Archives
September 2017
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