Championship Contenders Converge on Carlisle

The Pirelli Carlisle Rally, the 3rd round of the MSA British Rally Championship, will see a top class field assemble in the historic Border city next weekend, with all the leading contenders pitching up to do battle over two days of high speed action over twisty gravel tracks in the giant Kielder Forest complex. There has been a resurgence of interest in the British Rally Championship this year and this is reflected in the expanded entry list which is expected to increase further once the usual late entries finally arrive. Welshman Elfyn Evans is series leader by virtue of scoring double points on the opening round, he crashed out of the next one and will be looking to make up lost ground, Tom Cave (Ford Fiesta) and David Bogie (Skoda Fabia) are neck and neck in 4th position but Bogie has the confidence of being a former winner of the Pirelli event and knows Kielder well. Other championship leading runners confirmed on the entry list include Jamie Anderson and Rhys Yates in Ford Fiesta’s and Matt Edwards (Mitsubishi Evo 9) while hoping to get their championship campaign back on the road will be Martin McCormack and Neil Simpson, both in a Skoda Fabia, who have endured miserable luck so far. The BRC Junior series is equally a very tight contest with a mere 6 points covering the top four drivers, all of whom will be coming to Carlisle. Robert Duggan (Vauxhall Adam) leads Sindre Furuseth (Renault Twingo) by a mere point, Gus Greensmith (Ford Fiesta ) and Mattias Adielsson (Vauxhall Adam) are tied on equal points while Adam Bustard (Subaru Impreza) and Josh Cornwell (Ford Fiesta) are close behind. The Pirelli Carlisle Rally will be based at the H&H Borderway Auction Mart, just off Junction 43 of the M6. The British Rally Championship contenders will start the events opening leg at 12:30 and, after a hard days action in the vast Kielder Forest will return to Carlisle for an overnight halt at 6:00pm. The second day will feature an early 8:00am start and will feature 3 more stages in Kielder before the 12:00 noon finish back at Borderway for the ceremonial prize giving, complete with the traditional champagne spraying.