Number one seed, Tom Cave, is looking for his second successive Rally Yorkshire win
Current championship leader, Jukka Korhonen, is aiming to consolidate his position at the top, ahead of Alastair FisherThe Citroen Racing Trophy UK and the MSA British Rally Championship reach their penultimate rounds this weekend at Trackrod Rally Yorkshire and the DS3 R3 crews are looking forward to returning to the forest stages, all of which are classic RAC rally tests.
Beginning in the darkness on Friday evening with two stages in the legendary Dalby Forest complex, the rally will then take in the Cropton, Langdale and Gale Rigg tests on Saturday, before wrapping up for a tea-time finish.
Tom Cave is the number one seed for the event; the Welshman tasted victory at Rally Yorkshire back in 2012, having won on a tie-break from fellow countryman Osian Pryce and Cave is keen to repeat that victory this weekend, saying: "It was very close last year, with Osian and me tied at the end of the event and me wining on a count-back. But I know that I can win here and that will be the aim for the weekend.”
Meanwhile, Pryce arrives at Rally Yorkshire fresh from a win at the Ulster Rally and the 20-year-old Motorsport Engineering student is looking to repeat that success, commenting: “I’m confident that we will be on the pace. The target is another podium finish [which we’ll need] if we’re to have any chance of taking third spot in the Championship which would give us the free entry into the Wales Rally GB in November.”
Leader of both championships heading into the penultimate round is young Finn Jukka Korhonen, who will be keen to retain both leads over the weekend. After a strong second place in the Ulster Rally, he could come one step closer to title glory this weekend.
One man hoping to stand in Korhonen’s way is Alastair Fisher; the Northern Irishman has experienced a season of highs and lows, but if he is able to repeat his Scottish Rally form, he will be a force to be reckoned with.
Pirelli Star Driver, Mark Donnelly, is looking forward to returning to gravel, having re-found his form he’s keen to make up for lost time, saying: “We're going back to my preferred surface of gravel, so that will definitely help. I think it’s fair to say that the championship is out of reach at this point, but I'll be trying to get as far up the standings as possible between now and the end of the season.”
Behind Donnelly in the standings is John MacCrone, whose CA1 team has worked hard to re-build his Citroen DS3 after his Rally NI accident; a shakedown at the Rallyday event last weekend ensured that everything was in working order for the upcoming weekend.
With the points tight at the top, Jonny Greer and James Grint, who currently lie fourth and sixth respectively are two other drivers to watch this weekend, as the race for points becomes evermore important in the final two events.
Citroen Racing Trophy UK- Drivers Championship standings after round four
1st Jukka Korhonen 76 pts 2nd Alastair Fisher 663rd Tom Cave 64 4th Jonny Greer 585th Osian Pryce 486th James Grint 447th Mark Donnelly 428th John MacCrone 299th Peter Taylor 2510th Brendan Cumiskey 2211th Desi Henry 12
