Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship - round five: Isle of Man Historic Rally

Round five of the 2007 Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship is the toughest on the schedule as crews head for the Isle of Man for two and a half days of flat-out asphalt rallying (19-21 July). The daunting closed roads of the island provide a massive test for man and machine and the Isle of Man Historic Rally marks the start of the second half of the BHRC season.Current overall championship leaders – and 2006 winners - David Stokes and Guy Weaver will lead the field away from Douglas on Thursday evening, while the survivors will finally finish back in Douglas on Saturday afternoon after classic stages on the island roads.Stokes and Weaver are having a superb season and already have four strong scores to their credit in their Ford Escort Mk1. Having recently reached his 60th birthday, Stokes is driving with commendable restraint as he mounts a very serious title bid. Now comes one of the toughest events of the year and if they can bag another strong finish in the post-historic category on the Isle of Man, they could tighten their grip on the title.Currently chasing Stokes in the overall points is Jimmy McRae who, partnered by Andy Richardson, won the recent Mid Wales Stages in the Prepfab Ford Escort Mk2. However, McRae is switching to a category 2 Porsche 911 for the asphalt event and will be tough to beat on stages he knows so well. With McRae not running in category 3, the pacesetter could well be young Irish ace Martin McCormack. Partnered by Liam Moynihan in another Escort Mk2, Martin has been sensationally quick on his first events outside Ireland and will surely fly on the island, even though the stages will all be new to him.Equally quick in his Mk2 will be Gareth Lloyd, co-driven by Ryland James. They were leading on the Mid Wales when they rolled, but the damage to their car was not enough to keep them away from this event. Other quick Escorts in category 3 include those of Dick Slaughter/Geoff Dearing and Martin Freestone/Michelle Calvert. As championship joint sponsor, through his holiday business in the Gambia, Freestone will want a strong result on his home rally.Former BHRC champions Steven Smith and John Nichols will start second in their Porsche 911RS. It's been a pretty torrid season for them so far, so a good run on their favourite rally would be perfect for the XS Racing entry. However, 2007 pacesetter Richard Tuthill will also be in action in his 911RS and, partnered by John Bennie, is another contender for overall victory.Ranged against Stokes in category 2 are more Escort Mk1s for Craig Salter/Graham Wride, Neil Parsons/Chris Parsons, Graham Samuel/Tony Phillips and Frank Cunningham/Arron Forde. Packing out the typically strong Porsche entry will be Peter Lythell/Gill Cotton and James Sutherland/Howard Pridmore.Class C3 for the 2-litre cars could be headed by the Escort of Drew Wylie and Dean Beckett, while C2 for the 1600cc cars is shaping up to be a battle between Ken Forster/John Stanger-Leathes and Vince Bristow/Dean Mitchell. Forster missed the Mid Wales after a roll on the previous event, but is aiming to be back as quick as ever.Patrick Watts/Elgan Davies, the 2006 BHRC champions, will set the pace among the category 1 cars (pre '68) in their mighty Sunbeam Tiger, but Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride are always quick on the Manx lanes and will really take the fight to the Tiger in their Porsche 911. More category 1 Porsche 911s are in the hands of Philip Smith/Barbara Smith and Geoff Stewart/Bill Stevenson, while the very quick Lotus Cortinas of Philip Atkinson/Nicholas Kaighin and Jonathan Gale/Graham Gale will be right on the pace. Among the smaller cars, making a welcome return to the BHRC will be Matt Pearce and his father Dood in their Mini Cooper S. Matt is spending most of this year co-driving in the Ford Focus WRC of Michael O'Brien, but is wheeling his Mini out for this event.Add in a gaggle of very quick crews from the Irish historic scene and the stage is set for another cracking Isle of Man Historic Rally. Half a dozen drivers have realistic hopes of victory, and several of them will not be overly concerned by the need to score championship points.The Isle of Man Historic Rally is organised by Manx International Rally Ltd. For more details about the event, please visit the website at: mir.co.im