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Battle Resumes In The Manx Lanes... |
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Sunday, 06 May 2007 |
Two rounds into the 2007 Hankook MSA Gravel Rally Championship and as per usual, the drama has once again started in earnest with the latest chapter set to unfold on next weekend’s RBS International Manx Rally.
Leading the series after a win on the previous event – the Brick & Steel Border Counties Rally – is 2004 ANCRO Champion Steve Perez along with co driver Claire Mole in their Ford Focus WRC 05 and they are chased by another former champ, this time the 2005 winner Paul Bird who with co-driver Andy Richardson have made a good start to the season in their Subaru WRC.
Perez took his maiden 'National A' victory last time out in Kielder but
crashed out of last year’s Manx at high speed near to The Braaid and
he’ll be looking to avoid a repeat of that if he’s to maintain his
advantage which in itself will be a tough task given Bird’s pace in the
Manx lanes. ‘Birdy’ – who’ll be back on the island later in the month
to try to guide his bike racing team to TT victory at this year’s
centenary event – has never won this event and is desperate to do so.
Bird has finished third twice on the opening pair of events, beaten
both times by his friend and rival Perez and once again the ‘Loser Pays
All’ deal will be in place meaning one of them will be picking up a
hefty champagne bill in the Villa Marina come Saturday night!
Winners of the opening round of the series on Rallye Sunseeker in
Bournemouth were Marcus Dodd and Andrew Bargery but they suffered a low
speed off into an infamous Kielder ditch last time out meaning their
Hyundai Accent WRC didn’t make the Jedburgh finish and again the former
double champion will be looking to local co-driver Bargery to guide him
to victory. Dodd is a proven front runner on the championship's only
all-tarmac event and is another one looking for outright victory to
bolster his championship bid.
Another one of the ‘Big Four’ comes in the form of yet another ANCRO
champion Roger Duckworth who hopes to be reunited with regular
co-driver Mark Broomfield in their Subaru WRC. Duckworth always shows
good pace on the Manx and after his non-finish on Rallye Sunseeker, he
desperately needs maximum points to follow on from his runner up
placing on the Border Counties. A good result may mean the pair
continue their championship battle as they had only planned on entering
the first three rounds.
Double winners abound in the support classes what with Phil Morrow
taking maximum points on the two rounds to date in the Mitsubishi
Ralliart Evolution Challenge and Jock Armstrong doing likewise in the
Subaru Group N Trophy and expect the battle for HPM 2WD and VK1400
Challenges to be fiercely fought also.
As per usual, a strong contingent of non-ANCRO registered competitors
are expected to battle it out at the front including four times winner
Kenny McKinstry (Subaru WRC) and other ex winners John Price (MG Metro
6R4), Melvyn Evans (Subaru WRC) and Phil Collins (Ford Escort). Others
include Kevin Lynch (Ford Focus WRC), Jon Ingram (Ford Focus WRC) and
Tony Davies (Subaru WRC) but the man many people will be watching will
be former World Champion Colin McRae who contests the event in a Ford
Escort Mk2.
Comprising a total of fifteen stages, five on Friday night including
the classic 21-mile Milerisk and the remaining ten on Saturday, the
action gets underway around the streets of Port Erin at 19.00 on Friday
with Leg Two commencing at 08.45 on Saturday from the TT Grandstand
before the first car is scheduled to finish around 15.30. Further
information including a seeded entry list and stages is available from
the RBS International Manx Rally website at www.manxrally.org and
championship positions at the series website: www.gravelrally.co.uk
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