Somerset Stages Preview· Round 3 of the BTRDA Rally Championship·
Subaru Impreza N16 run by Davies Motorsport Services· Looking to maintain Production Cup and Junior class leads
Teenage rally driver Tom Cave will be heading south next week, as he competes on the Somerset Stages, the next round of the BTRDA Rally Championship.
Cave, and co-driver Craig Parry, have won the Production Cup of the series on both outings and now lead the category, as well as the Junior Cup and are fourth in the Gold Star Driver class.
Following his early retirement from last week's Bulldog Rally, the second round of the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship, Tom is keen to get back in action and put the last rally behind him. He and Craig are looking forward to returning to the BTRDA, where they have enjoyed excellent results so far.
However, the Somerset Stages will see the third car in as many rallies for the pairing; this time, they will use a latest-specification Group N Subaru Impreza, run by Davies Motorsport Services, the company which ran Tom and Craig last year and on the Malcolm Wilson and Mid-Wales stages recently, with Tom and Craig winning the latter outright.
The one-day event is based in Minehead and uses forest tracks in and around Exmoor, as well as 7.5 miles on the Porlock Toll Road, which is an asphalt section. The one-day event comprises 11 stages totalling 42 stage miles, so with relatively short stages, Tom knows that success will hinge on once again attacking from the word go.
Commenting, Tom said; "It will be really good to get back in the car and start to build our confidence again, after the disaster on the Bulldog. "Of course, it will be interesting to be driving a new car - the third car this year - but I'm really looking forward to it. We have a test booked before the rally so I can get a feeling for the car but I am sure that run by the DMS team, it'll be spot on.
"I think we'll have to push hard from the start of the event, as with so many short stages, there won't be any opportunity to pick a single stage to push on. The Portlock Toll Road stages will be interesting, as they're pretty long and on tarmac which, as we know, is always a bit of a handful for a car on a gravel set-up.
"However, we will be able to make some changes to the car. There's a service halt either side of these two stages, so we can possibly drop the ride height a little, stiffen the damping up a bit and at least fit a set of tarmac tyres just for the two stages, so it's not as daunting as it could be."
The first car is due to start the event at 08.00 on Saturday April 16 and finish at 15.30.
