BTRDA and SRC winners ready for Spanish WRC fiesta

The winners of the Junior Driver category in both the BTRDA and Scottish Rally Championship series are eagerly anticipating an early morning flight to Salou, thanks to Vital Equipment, the company that provides high-performance Carless Racing Fuel to each series. Vital Equipment launched its Run to the Sun competition earlier this year, to offer the winning driver and their co-driver a four-day trip to the penultimate round of the 2011 FIA World Rally Championship and with it, a chance to spend time with 2003 WRC champion, Petter Solberg.

In the BTRDA series, it was Tom Cave, the 19 year-old from Aberdovey that topped the tables, along with a convincing win in the Production Cup, thanks to four class victories during the course of the season. North of the border, after a season-long battle, it was Liam Harkness who triumphed on the final round, the Colin McRae Stages rally.

Therefore, Tom will be joined by Craig Parry and Liam by Tony Marchbank as they head for one of the key rallies of the WRC season.

Following the engine failure and subsequent retirement of championship leader Sebastien Loeb in France, Loeb and Ford's Mikko Hirvonen are now tied for the series lead, with Loeb's team-mate Sebastien Ogier a mere three points adrift. The title is now a three-way fight between the two Citroen drivers and Hirvonen and while it cannot be won in Spain, it could certainly be lost there.

Spain itself is widely regarded as one of the most exciting rounds, both when it comes to the level of competition and the overall atmosphere. The Spanish rally fans are incredibly passionate and the party feeling in Salou means fans from around Europe make the pilgrimage for the season's last tarmac event.

The winners will get to see some of the best action, thanks to their Vital Equipment guide, whose experience of providing the WRC control fuel will give unrivalled opportunities. They will also get the chance to see the Peter Solberg World Rally Team in action, as they join the crew for lunch during the event.

Commenting, Vital Equipment MD Alistair Roberts said: "We have seen an incredible level of competition in the Junior categories of both the BTRDA and the SRC this season and it came down to the penultimate round of the BTRDA and the final round of the SRC before we knew who would be joining us in Spain.

"Now that has been confirmed, I am delighted that Tom, Craig, Liam and Tony will be our guests in Salou at the end of the month. The rally itself will be a very tough fight - historically, the Citroens tend to be stronger on asphalt and the Fords on gravel, so it should be a fantastic event to set the scene for the finale. I am obviously very pleased that competitors kindly generated this amount of drama for the first Vital Equipment Run to the Sun prize..."

Rally Spain takes place from 20-23 October and is based in the Costa Dorada resort of Salou.


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