MSA British Rally Championship Round Two Pirelli International Rally – 17th & 18th April 2009
Bogie upbeat about Pirelli Rally debut Pre-event testing helps development of Evo X Team looking to build on first round performance
The JR Motorsports team will be heading to Carlisle this weekend to contest the second round of the MSA British Rally Championship, the Pirelli International Rally, which takes place on the infamous gravel roads of Kielder Forest on Friday and Saturday 17th & 18th April.
Driven by David Bogie and co-driven by Kevin Rae, hopes are high that an improvement on the opening round’s fifth place can be achieved, as the team’s Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X has undergone a series of tests and technical changes since the Bulldog Rally in March.
Success on the Pirelli Rally is nothing unusual for the team, as cars built by the same engineers recorded outright victories in both 2007 and 2009. JRM are now targeting the same level of performance with the Evo X and are confident that with further development its full potential will soon be realised.
Already the team are delighted with the feedback received from Bogie and others who have driven the car, all reporting that the handling and brakes are excellent. Therefore, attention is now being focussed on extracting more power and torque from the engine.
“With the development that’s been carried out on the car since the Bulldog Rally, I’m confident we will be able to increase our pace”, said David. “Although I’ve not competed on the Pirelli Rally before, I like the long fast stages that are synonymous with Kielder and I think that the Evo X will be well suited. I’m therefore looking forward to getting back into the car and seeing if we can get on terms with the front-runners.”
Adding further interest to its BRC campaign, JR Motorsports has joined forces with the Lico sponsored Mitsubishi team, which on this event sees Daniel Sigurdarson behind the wheel of a brand-new Evo X. The Icelandic Rally Champion will be co-driven by Andy Bull, who partnered Stuart Jones on last month’s Bulldog Rally. Following round one, Team JRM Lico lies second in the Team’s Championship standings.
Starting a finishing at Carlisle Racecourse, the Pirelli International Rally gets underway at 6.00pm on Friday evening and sees two stages before the overnight halt. A further 10 stages take place on Saturday, the total of which provides the field of 44 cars with a total competitive distance of 102 miles.
JR Motorsports’ 2009 British Rally Championship campaign is supported by: Oakbank Services, Exe-tc competition suspension, Lico, Opie Oils, PPG Transmissions and SJS Designs.
British Rally Championship positions after round oneDrivers1 Keith Cronin 20 Pts2 Mark Higgins 18 Pts3 Stuart Jones 16 Pts4 Adam Gould 15 Pts5 David Bogie 14 Pts6 Dave Weston Jnr 13 Pts7 Alistair Fisher 12 Pts8 Jonny Greer 11 Pts9 Tom Walster 10 Pts10 Craig Breen 9 Pts
TeamsTEG Sport Pirelli 36 PtsJRM Lico 33 PtsRevolution Wheels 0 Pts
