in build up to British Rally Championship

Midlands rally driver Phil McVay continued his build up experience and confidence ahead of the first round of the British Rally Championship with an impressive result on the Somerset Stages.

Despite a string of mechanical woes Phil brought the Subaru Impeza home second in class and 15th overall against a competitive field of crews.

"The result was brilliant bearing in mind we had to contest with everything from a lack of turbo, a puncture and the crew having to replace the prop shaft at the first service,'' said Phil.

"But despite these setbacks we battled on and were delighted to have been able to set some fastest times which is a perfect boost ahead of the first round of the British Rally Championship which gets underway next month,' he said.

"Despite losing time with the mechanical problems we had a good run and are really looking forward to taking on some of the most testing stages in the UK when we sample the Kielder Forest complex on the first round of the British Rally Championship.''

Phil said that experience on events around the country in the build up to the BRC had given him tremendous confidence ahead of the challenges ahead.

"Getting behind the wheel of the Subaru on a regular basis already this season has been vital in giving me increased confidence in the car and it is so important to have as much time behind the wheel as possible - a policy we hope will pay dividends when we line up at the start of the Pirelli Rally.''

Phil is now making final preparations for the Pirelli Rally next weekend when Phil and new co-driver Jim Ward get their BRC campaign underway.

The Pirelli Rally gets underway in Carlisle on Saturday May 13 for two days of high speed action in Kielder Forest.