Photo Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography The dust has settled from the first three gravel rounds of the season, and now it's time for the suspension to be lowered, the brakes to be beefed up and the driving technique to be changed as the 2017 Prestone MSA British Rally Championship handbrake turns its way into the second half of the season later this month, predominantly staged on tarmac. With Britain's national rally championship in limbo between events, what better time to reflect on the season so far and what we can expect come the close of play in September? And as ever, with this being a BRC article on This Is Rally, expect some strong nostalgia... Photo Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography The title of this piece may have grabbed you. I flirted with the idea of calling it New era, same old story, but that makes the year's action seem somewhat boring when it has been anything but. In fact, I think this season, which was billed as a tough one for Iain Campbell, Ben Taylor and the team given the success of the series' comeback last year, has been even better than the last. The championship is well and truly up for grabs, and a title battle no matter how many contenders is always a tantalising prospect. You can read about 2017's importance here. With three rounds gone and four to go, the race for the 2017 British Rally Championship title is hotting up and could go right down to the wire. Returning this year but in a Skoda Fabia R5, Fredrik Ahlin partnered with Norway's Torstein Eriksen heads the standings with a meaty 55 points, but only 30 points covers the top six with several drivers down the lower half of the table promising much more than they have so far delivered. Ahlin spent most of 2016 as eventual champion Elfyn Evans' closest rival in terms of pace, taking the lead from the Welshman to everybody's surprise in his backyard on round one, but ultimately driver error, mechanical issues and the sheer class of the WRC star would shine through leaving Ahlin in the shade. Out went the Fiesta R5 and in came the Fabia, and the Swede duly took the Skoda's first BRC win on the Border Counties before notching up his second consecutive Pirelli win on round two. Both events were won in different fashion and showed a new side to Fredrik. He was the pick of the bunch in the Scottish Borders, winning comfortably on his debut in his new machine, before taking the win in Kielder despite only winning one of the eight stages. He managed the event from the event, an important trait for any championship contender to possess. The RSAC Scottish Rally could prove to be the sea-saw in the battle to be 2017 British Rally Champion. Ahlin began the event as the one to beat with two wins to his name having expertly played his Joker too in Carlisle to sit on a maximum 55 points from 55. Living up to his pre-event billing, the Swedish driver headed into the final stage of the third round a mere 0.1 seconds behind team mate David Bogie who was gunning for a popular home win. However, just one CA1 Sport Fabia would emerge from that final test, and it wouldn't be Ahlin's; the Swede parked up after a stone had burst through the radiator of his black and gold machine. Game over. Ahlin insists that this lost him second place rather than a win, but no matter the intentions and beliefs the points don't lie and a non score was disastrous for Fredrik. A healthy championship lead had been surrendered, blowing the 2017 title race wide open. Osian Pryce and Dale Furniss were the crew to benefit the most. The Welshman, who has twice finished a runner-up in the BRC, secured a late deal to drive the Spencer Sport Fiesta R5 in order to keep him sharp for his WRC2 prize drives in a DMACK car later in the year, underlining the strength of the rejuvenated BRC. Despite punctures and other niggling issues, Pryce bagged a third place finish in the Tweed Valley before coming within four seconds of a first BRC win in a four wheel drive car in Kielder, only for a handbrake issue to force him to cede the spoils to Ahlin. Another consistent performance in Dumfries & Galloway saw him run in the top group, and he was there to profit when Ahlin's luck turned. Just four points behind in the championship and yet to play his Joker, Osian Pryce is a real threat to finally get his name on the BRC trophy. But if the fastest man out there is to win the championship, right now you wouldn't say it was going to be Pryce. Two candidates spring to mind here: Tom Cave and David Bogie. Photo Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography Cave was the man who in the end took second spot in the championship behind the imperious Evans last year, improving as the season progressed. That elusive win escaped his campaign however, so the Welshman was keen to rectify that on the Border Counties Rally that kicked off 2017. Strapping himself into a Dom Buckley prepared Fiesta R5, Tom waded into the battle with Ahlin at the front after the Joker-playing Bogie damaged his steering on an inside rock. Bogie's retirement may have meant one less contender, but it left Cave first on the road and sweeping the loose gravel, so he decided to take advantage of the rally's regulations and hang back in a road section to let his Scandinavian rival do the cleaning. The tactics backfired as he still lost time to Fredirk's Skoda, meaning Cave ultimately had to settle for second. The stage was set heading to Kielder Forest, with Cave debuting the Hyundai i20 R5 in the BRC. The combination looked good in pre-event testing, and that promise translated into stage times as Tom and co-driver James Morgan opened up a good lead after the first two stages. However, a suspension issue would stop him on the third stage, but a marker had been set. On to the Scottish, and it was a strong sense of deja vu for Cave. Blasting through the two stages on Friday in fading light, the Hyundai took the scratch time on both tests to lead the chasing pack. But stage three would be its downfall once again, with the i20 appearing at the stop line minus its rear right wheel. The potential is well and truly there, with the car's strong tarmac reputation sure to play into Cave's hands in Ypres. David Bogie's season has been one of intrigue. The multiple Scottish champion got his season underway with a dominant win up in Inverness on round one of the Scottish Rally Championship. Heading down to the Malcolm Wilson Rally, the result would repeat itself but this time it was arguably more impressive, bettering fellow BRC contender Keith Cronin on a rally he is less familiar with. But an ambitious cut ended his Border Counties adventure and saw him with zero points on his Joker nominated round. Pirelli time, and a sticking rear brake with no service break on Saturday would see the blue Skoda hemorrhage time and leave the Scot far from amused. It was looking like the bright yellow Prestone stickers were like the plague to his Fabia. But from there, the Dumfries' driver's anger turned into a scintillating performance, destroying his opposition on day two to blitz his way up to fourth overall winning all of the leg's four tests. Bogie's home event was crucial. Make or break if you like. A bad result here and he may not continue the rest of the British Championship season. Fortunately for us, after a slightly cautious start on Friday night, Bogie was a man possessed. It was almost all or nothing for the 2011 BRC Champion. Given just a small whiff of the win, he'd go for it. And that he did. With Cave out the way, he set about hunting down his team mate Ahlin and the pair had a ding-dong battle which saw them continuously trade seconds and swap positions at the top of the leaderboard. The punishing stages took their tole on Ahlin's R5 which gave way, leaving Bogie free to take a first BRC win in six years, but you just get the sense that this win was always going to be David's. He now heads to Ypres as the series' form man. But is he the favourite for the BRC's Belgian round? No, as many are tipping fellow Skoda man Marty McCormack for success based upon his previous experience on the European event and his stellar start to the season. Yet to play his Joker, the Irishman sits fourth in the standings in the Tiger Risk Fabia R5 having switched to the turbo charged motor after competing in a now out-dated S2000 last year. McCormack scooped up a podium on both the Pirelli and the Scottish despite his lack of R5 experience, so is a real dark horse for the rest of the season. As is fellow Irish driver Keith Cronin. The triple BRC Champion and defending Irish Tarmac Champion is yet to really show his hand in 2017. It's obvious Cronin has the ability; three British Rally Championship titles in three different cars speaks for itself. But it hasn't quite clicked for Keith and his M-Sport team thus far, with Cronin's lack of genuine gravel experience in recent years hindering him among other things. With the vast majority of the season now on tarmac, expect his serious and expected challenge to come at the BRC's best like a tonne of bricks. Photo Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography Those are your main six contenders, but others such as Rhys Yates, Matt Edwards and Desi Henry are bound to have their say in proceedings as the season wears on. And what a season it promises to be. The pace is electric, the cars impressive, the events superb and the fight intense. Like all good British Rally Championships gone by, the best of Britain is taking on the Scandinavians and being joined by other competitors and championships (Scottish Rally Championship, Belgian Rally Championship, Irish Tarmac Championship) along the way to add some gin to the tonic. Just as it should be. Question is, will Fredrik Ahlin replicate fellow Scandics Hannu Mikkola, Pentti Airikkala, Ari Vatanen, Stig Blomqvist, Tapio Laukkanen, Marko Ipatti and Jukka Korhonen in beating the Brits on their own turf?
Staring into my crystal ball, I think ultimately his sheer pace matched with his approach and consistency makes it hard not to jot Fredrik Ahlin down as championship favourite. But it will largely depend on his tarmac pace as it isn't the Swede's preferred surface. Osian Pryce has an ace up his sleeve in a Joker, and is likely to be quick everywhere so could throw a real spanner into the works. It's hard to look beyond these two, with Bogie perhaps a little too inconsistent and Cave a bit too far back to make enough gains. But one thing is for sure: I can't wait to watch this one unfold over the coming months.
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BRITISH RALLYINGArticles covering rally in Britain, looking at the MSA BRC Archives
September 2017
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