in Latvia this weekend
This weekend sees the second outing in Latvia for Junior Rallying, the scheme to develop the next generation of British rallying talent. Only one of Junior Rallying’s drivers will be taking part in this weekend’s Rally Kalnanuiza, the next round of the Latvian RallySprint Championship, with Tom Clark and Aggie Foster contesting the event in an m3motorsport-prepared and run MG ZR.
Fellow Junior Rallying driver Conor Flynn will not take part, as his UK Rallycross commitments prevent him from travelling to Latvia this weekend. Junior Rallying figurehead Tom Cave, who competed alongside Clark two weeks ago on the Kekava Rally, is also not taking part, as he will be contesting next week’s Talsi Rally.
So the Junior Rallying flag will be flown this weekend by Clark and Foster alone. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing for the 14 year-old driver from Essex. This will be only his second event competing in Latvia and driving to pace notes and while this weekend will be just as challenging, he is far more relaxed at the prospect, having already completed one event and gaining an excellent first result, of 11th in class.
Speaking before the event, Junior Rallying Manager Gemma Price said; “Tom is definitely looking forward to this weekend’s rally. I think the first-event nerves have passed now, after the Kekava Rally and the build-up to this weekend has been far more relaxed. He learned an awful lot on the Kekava and we hope he will be able to put that to good use on Saturday.”
However, the weather conditions this weekend are likely to make the event tougher than Clark’s first outing. The temperature is forecast to be past 20°C, meaning it will be more challenging that the previous round. Clark and Foster will again be competing in the ex-Tom Cave Racing MG ZR that they used on last month’s Kekava Rally. However, Clark hopes that the next event will see the debut of their new car, an R2-specification Suzuki Swift.
The Kalnanuiza Rally is based near the town of Skrunda, around 100Km from Latvia’s capitol, Riga. It features seven stages on Saturday 10 May, with a total competitive distance of 60Km. The crews are expected to reach the finish ramp from 4pm on Saturday afternoon.
