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."
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BRITISH RALLYINGArticles covering rally in Britain, looking at the MSA BRC Archives
September 2017
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