Photo Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography The 2017 Prestone MSA British Rally Championship is fast reaching its mid-season with the third of three rallies contested either side of the Scottish/English border taking place this weekend in Dumfries & Galloway. The RSAC Scottish Rally has been a long stay in the BRC calendar for a number of years, and this year could prove to be the key event in the title race.
Why? The balance is finely poised, and Fredrik Ahlin holds all the cards. The Swede has taken the first two victories of the year in his Skoda Fabia R5, with his relationship with new co-driver Torstein Eriksen working wonders thus far. Ahlin's Border Counties win where he was predominantly the fastest man out there was in stark contrast to his victory on the Pirelli International where he was fastest on just one of the eight special stages. But the ability to be blisteringly quick and yet consistent when necessary shows strong championship potential. The man himself however knows he won't have it easy on the Scottish. Tom Cave is perhaps Ahlin's biggest threat. After an event long battle with the series leader in Jedburgh at the wheel of a Fiesta R5, the Welshman switched to Hyundai power, debuting the i20 R5 in Britian's national rally championship. This could be a match made in heaven, and the split times certainly suggested so with Cave winning the first two stages of the rally in the car. Sadly, a suspension issue sidelined him and meant he scored no points but the marker had been laid. Similarly, Cave's compatriot Osian Pryce is another that is getting better rally on rally. The Spencer Sport driver is using the BRC to obtain extra R5 experience ahead of two prize drives in a DMACK Fiesta in the WRC courtesy of his performances in the Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy last season. Third place on the Border despite a puncture was followed by second place in Kielder despite a late handbrake problem. Will it be a case of third, second and then first for Pryce? The final driver likely to be causing Ahlin headaches is the man just a few metres along the service park within the CA1 Sport camp. David Bogie, five times Scottish champion and 2011 British champion has had a difficult start to the year in his Fabia R5. Despite largely dominating the national events (Snowman, Malcolm Wilson & Speyside Stages rallies) he has entered this year, it just hasn't come together as soon as the bright yellow Prestone banner has gone across the windscreen of his Skoda. A loose rock ended his round one adventure while brake issues with no service break on day one destroyed his Pirelli. The Scotsman did recover impeccably however, claiming all four stage wins on the second leg. The Scottish is Bogie's home turf, so there's arguably no better place for him to notch up that first win since the championship's relaunch last year. Keith Cronin (Fiesta R5), Marty McCormack (Fabia R5), Desi Henry (Fabia R5), Rhys Yates (Fiesta R5) and Matt Edwards (Fiesta R5) have all had contrasting seasons thus far in 2017, but all are capable of grabbing a spot on the podium. The stages this year are looking very smooth and flowing, which will be a blessed relief after the sharp and rocky affair last year. Fredrik Ahlin is the man to beat, it's now up for his rivals to hunt him down and knock him off his perch. A third Ahlin win from three would be disastrous for the chasing pack.
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Just a matter of miles from the finish of the 2016 Armstrong Galloway Hills Rally, a Ford Fiesta R5 had cried enough. Garry Pearson's Scottish Rally Championship dreams were in tatters. That could be enough to deter plenty of young drivers, but it did nothing to dampen Pearson's confidence or determination as on his first competitive day of action back in the very same car since last September, he was lying fourth overall on the Pirelli International Rally Unfortunately, a "silly" mistake on Sunday's opener meant the Duns driver didn't bag the result on the second round of this year's Prestone MSA British Rally Championship, but is pleased with the giant-killing pace he showed. "We were pleasantly surprised to be fourth." Pearson said. "We never fully got up to our true pace until Sunday morning where we were feeling much better and getting to grips with the car. Sadly, we made a small error and it cost us dearly. "It would have been nice to finish on the podium or in the top five, but we can't complain at our pace. We effectively were fighting with some of the best drivers in the UK and Ireland at the first time of asking." After having competed in the ARR Craib MSA Scottish Rally Championship last season with events typically consisting of around 45 competitive stage miles, the 100 mile Kielder forest based rally on 29-30 April presented a different challenge. But for Pearson, who has competed in the British Championship in the past at the wheel of two wheel drive R2 machinery, this wasn't a problem. "The stages were superb!" He explained. "It pays dividends to be confident and sure of the car's ability in the flat out sections of the stages which we didn't quite have, but the longer stages seemed to suit us. I think we set better times in the longer ones. Undoubtedly we struggled to get to our true pace but we can't expect to keep up with the front-runners after six months off." Despite driving the same Fiesta R5 he took to two SRC victories in 2016 alongside Robbie Mitchell, Pearson contested the Pirelli alongside his championship rival from last year, Jock Armstrong's co-driver Paula Swinscoe. "Paula is great." Pearson enthused. "She has a real interest in how we perform and is very competitive which I like." When will we next see Garry Pearson out on the stages? Don't go making any specific plans just yet, as the man himself is unsure where he'll be, but his competition ought to be scared when he comes back later in the year stronger than ever. "We hope to be out later in the year, but we aren't sure where! I'm away to assess on boards, work on my driving and tyre management and we'll form a plan from there." Rallying. There just isn't any other sport quite like it. And that's why last weekend I made the 90 mile trip south-west to Carlisle and the infamous Kielder Forest to spectate surprisingly only my third ever forest event, the Pirelli International Rally which counted as the second round of the 2017 Prestone MSA British Rally Championship.
For anybody that is unfamiliar with the sport of rallying, I encourage you to read on as I hope this review from my experience down near Carlisle will help you understand what spectating a modern rally stage is like. I don't need to explain the thrill to all you experienced heads, and besides the picture above of Eyvind Brynildsen attacking SS6 Black Fell depicts the action far better than I ever could. Sweden's Fredrik Ahlin made it two wins from two starts in 2017, taking his second consecutive Pirelli win by over 30 seconds from Welshman Osian Pryce. Marty McCormack completed the podium in third place, his best result since the BRC re-launched back in 2016. Ahlin was quick all weekend, but wasn't the initial pace-setter. That honour went to Tom Cave, who brought Hyundai's i20 R5 to the BRC for the first time. Edging out Ahlin's Skoda by just 0.7 seconds in the opener, Cave stretched his lead out to seven seconds after the second test in the incredibly quick and punishing stages. Unfortunately that is as far as the Welshman would go on the Pirelli as suspension failure sidelined him in SS3, and the decision was taken to not restart on Sunday as the chance of a good result was gone. Cave's compatriot Osian Pryce took up the role as Ahlin's closest challenger, slashing the Fabia driver's lead to just four seconds three quarters of the way through the event. However, a handbrake issue saw the Spencer Sport driver lose time and ultimately finish behind Fredrik who had the rally under control. The Swedish superstar played his Joker which means he claimed an extra five points on top of the 25 he earned for the rally win, elevating him into a commanding lead in the championship. With the news that Cave will return with the Hyundai on the next round in Dumfries, appetites are whet for what promises to be a huge battle and potentially the championship battle come the Isle of Man. David Bogie's difficult BRC campaign continued on the first day of competitive action in Kielder. A brake issue left his Skoda R5 with only three working brakes which on such demanding and long stages saw the 2011 champion leak bundles of time to his rivals. Having won three national events this year already, Bogie converted his anger at a luckless start into epic driving, winning all four of Sunday's stages to grab fourth overall. Garry Pearson, who lost out on the 2016 Scottish Rally Championship title by just a single point, started his first rally since September in a Ford Fiesta R5. The Duns driver impressed, lying fourth overall overnight but sadly threw it all away on Sunday's opener, making a mistake at a chicane and reversing into a ditch, beaching the M-Sport machine. Keith Cronin rolled his M-Sport car, while Rhys Yates claimed another solid points scoring finish in sixth. Wildcard entrant Eyvind Brynidlsen's weekend was blighted with mechanical issues, but the Norwegian driver looked very quick when he did get out on the stages. And speaking of the stages, what a fantastic place in the world to go rallying. The stages themselves are world famous for their tricky and car-breaking nature. But besides the roads the drivers are testing their mettle on, the countryside and surrounding area in south Scotland and north England is stunning. If you like your cars, there's a high chance that you will enjoy driving, and that is half the fun in spectating a rally. Owning a 13 year old Fiesta, I don't particularly enjoy the rough and tough of the forest tracks but the small B roads around the forests are phenomenal to drive. The roads are not only great, but there's a great sense of adventure looking for your spectator points. Nowadays, there are only a few spectator zones designated per event but on the Pirelli, they were all clearly marked with great guidance on the website on how to get there. The marshals at all spectating points I visited were nothing but friendly, and even helped me park my car! The viewing points were splendid, allowing for great rally action yet crucially from a safe standing point. Given that this was a BRC event, the quality of action was of course mesmerising. The look of awe on my brother's face as Fredirk Ahlin hussled his CA1 Sport Skoda around a square right with the textbook Scandinavian flick could create a good short poem. Attending rallies from the media side as I now do is a very different experience than standing stage-side. The two aren't really comparable and it isn't really a relevant comparison as obtaining a media role isn't something we are all going to do. With TV and social media coverage, you may wonder why you should even bother going to watch a rally. When you can be better informed at home with what's actually going on than you would be standing in a forest, why should you pay your £10 to head out, park you car and watch the action live? The answer to that one is simple. Spectating is an experience. It's an adventure. It's exciting. The sounds, the smells and the potential drama. The sense of satisfaction of watching your heroes negotiate a tricky stretch of road after the sacrifice you've made to get there. It's something you will only truly understand if you go out and do it. And the Pirelli International Rally is a very good place to go do it. The only real issue with the experience was the lack of entries compared to other rallies, but with it being a BRC event with over 100 competitive stage miles the entry fee was higher than your average UK national event so clubmen drivers were less likely to come and compete. But the flip side of that is you get to watch better quality drivers. I flirted with the idea of going to watch this event time and time again this year. I'm mightily glad I did. |
BRITISH RALLYINGArticles covering rally in Britain, looking at the MSA BRC Archives
September 2017
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