BRITISH RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP SET FOR SPECTACULAR RETURN TO ACTION
February 26, 2016 by MSA British Rally Championship![BRITISH RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP SET FOR SPECTACULAR RETURN TO ACTION](images/articleimages/british-rally-2016-image-0001-400.jpg)
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International entries from further afield bring the Fiestas of Sweden's Fredrik Ahlin, and Finland's Max Vatanen, son of 1981 World Rally Champion Ari Vatanen, who also won the British title in 1976 and 1980. Jamie Anderson, will be hoping to put up a strong defence of his Mid Wales title, while another previous winner Tom Cave and navigator James Morgan face a race against time to get their Fiesta back on the road after a dramatic accident on last weekend's Red Kite Stages. Two other Fiesta R5s will feature in the hands of Rhys Yates, who steps up from the English Rally Championship, and tarmac specialist Alex Laffey who will be learning fast on the Mid Wales Stages having not contested a gravel rally since 2011. Meanwhile Ollie Mellors is out to prove that the Proton Satria S2000 is still a match for the newer R5 cars. Making a return to the BRC for the first time in 16 years is Neil Simpson in the Skoda UK-supported Fabia R5 that has looked mighty quick in pre-season testing. Other drivers aiming to prove the value of experience over youth are multiple MSA Asphalt champion Damian Cole in his Fiesta S2000, former BTRDA champion Hugh Hunter who has acquired a new Fiesta R5 and James Slaughter who simply couldn't resist the challenge of getting back behind the wheel at the top level of stage rallying. With a staggering 21 cars fighting for honours in BRC1, the competition is expected to be absolutely fierce and with such a variety of makes and models, as well as an open tyre formula, it makes it almost impossible to pick a winner at this stage. DMACK Junior BRC The DMACK Junior BRC is designed to provide the ultimate proving ground for young drivers under 26 years of age. The £60k prize fund value on offer to the champion from series sponsor, DMACK Tyres, has attracted a stunning entry that guarantees a closely fought championship in this first year. Leading the way in a truly international field will be highly rated Swedish star Mattias Adielsson who heads a three-car Vauxhall Junior Rally Team assault in a trio of ADAMs. Norwegian Sindre Furuseth in a lone Renault Twingo will follow before an army of Ford Fiestas, spearheaded by Australians Rhys Pinter and Guy Tyler. Englishman Gus Greensmith heads the home challenge and, alongside Welshman Meirion Evans, Scot Blair Brown and Irishman Robert Duggan, could form the introduction to an old-school gag. The comedy will be saved for later, however, as the Junior crews prepare to fight for victory in Wales and lay down an important marker for the rest of the season. BRC2 Chasing the BRC1 runners will be the hotly contested BRC2 class, which is home to such iconic vehicles as the Subaru Impreza and Mitsubishi Lancer. Phillip Morrow, Roland Llewellin and 2010 Mid Wales Stages winner Matt Edwards will be hoping to get among the front-runners. BRC3 In the BRC3 category, newly announced BBC Top Gear presenter Chris Harris will debut the exciting Toyota GT86 CS-R3, but will be up against stiff competition from young hot-shot Chris Wheeler in a Citroen DS3 R3T. BRC4 The BRC4 class features the same R2 machinery as used in the Junior championship, but for drivers who just fail to make the 26 year old age cut-off! Tony Simpson, Roger Platt and Marty Gallagher are likely to enjoy a close battle on these longer events, but will have downhill mountain bike legend Gee Atherton trying to deliver a giant killing performance on his local stages in Wales. NRC In the National Cup home-grown heroes Osian Pryce and Dale Furniss will be challenging for honours in their Spencer Sport-run Mitsubishi Mirage. As well as looking to win their class, the Welsh duo will have their sights set on breaking into the top ten overall, as will teammate Jamie Jukes and fellow Mirage driver Robert Blomberg. They will face a stiff test from a number of experienced crews who are stepping up to the longer stage mileage on offer alongside the BRC show. Ben Taylor, Managing Director of championship promoter International Motor Sport, is buoyant ahead of the new season. He said: 'In the course of the past 20 months, there has been so much work involved to get to this point and it's really exciting how things are taking off. So many people have played a part in what has been achieved and it is incredibly gratifying that the competitors have responded so enthusiastically. It's great for the sport that people are talking positively about rallying again and I can't wait for the new season to get underway!' BRC Championship Manager Iain Campbell echoes those sentiments: 'I really can't wait until the end of the first two stages on Saturday night. Not only will they be a huge challenge to the crews, it will mean that after all the work from everyone involved and all the hype and anticipation, BRC 2016 will have something tangible. We will have results on the board; we will have heroes, we will no doubt have some heartbreak and the story of the season will have started. 'From having had a year away, it was never on my radar that we would have such a high quality and quantity of entry for the start of this programme. Now the really hard work starts – maintaining the forward momentum for the future.' The new-look BRC will take in seven events across the British Isles as it tours England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland before culminating on the iconic lanes of the Isle of Man. Asphalt special stages and gravel tests will see the country's best drivers in the best cars fight for overall supremacy on the best events, while the action will feature throughout the year on Channel 4 and BT Sport. The final event will count for double points, while each driver has one 'Joker' to play on one of the first six rounds. Selected a week before each round, a 'Joker' can only be played only once and will enable a driver to double the points scored on that nominated event. Keep tabs on all the latest BRC developments by visiting www.msabrc.com or following us on social media: MSA British Rally Championship on Facebook and @MSA_BRC on Twitter using #BRC.
posted on conceptcarz.com
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