The closing round of the Pirelli-supported MSA British Rally Championship, International Rally Yorkshire, will take place in Scarborough later this week where Keith Cronin aims to clinch his third international rally title (28-29 September).
Set in the North York Moors, the sixth round of the UKs premier rally series will challenge the crews over six stages covering 66 competitive miles and will kick off with a ceremonial start in Scarborough town centre on Friday 28 September. This will be followed by a 15-mile forest night stage in the Dalby forest complex before five speedy gravel tests the next day.
Pirelli has exclusively supplied the British Rally Championship with tyres since 2007. The K6 gravel tyre will again be supplied for crews competing in Yorkshire: its tread blocks have been specifically designed to bite through mud and gain maximum traction while the soft compound also means that it heats up quickly at low temperatures.
Cronin is tied at the top of the points table alongside Elfyn Evans with 78 points. However, Welshman Evans has elected to skip the championships closing round due to his commitment to Rallye de France Alsace: the fourth round of the Pirelli-supported WRC Academy which takes place the following weekend.
Elsewhere in the standings, Welshman Tom Cave is four points behind joint leaders Cronin and Evans. The championships rules state each driver can drop his worst score of the series and after winning the three previous roundsUlster, the Jim Clark, and the Pirelli International Rally26-year-old Cronin only needs to finish eighth or higher in order to claim the prestigious rally title.
This years Pirelli Star Driver, Jukka Korhonen, will be vying for his first class win of the year in a TEG-prepared Skoda Fabia R2 later this week. It would be fantastic to finish our season on a high, explained the Finn. Weve had an incredible time this year and Id like to take this opportunity to thank both Pirelli and TEG Sport for providing us with such a great opportunity and a very competitive car. Weve learned a lot this year and it would be the icing on the cake to finish the year with a class win in Yorkshire.
With Citroen continuing to lead the manufacturers battle with 183 points, both Renault and Ford will be looking for a healthy points haul in order to try to overhaul the French marque at the closing round.
Other championships that will take place at the closing round of the season include the Fiesta SportTrophy UK, Citroen Racing Trophy UK and the Twingo Renaultsport UK Trophies, together with competitors entering the NGK Spark Plus BRC Challenge.
Pirelli UK Motorsports Operation Manager, Matthew Corby, commented: Following two successive asphalt events, International Rally Yorkshire will mark a return to gravel for the first time since the Pirelli International Rally back in May. It is unfortunate that Elfyn cannot join us in Scarborough to challenge Keith for this years title but everything is still to play for with Tom Cave only four points adrift of the lead.
Corby added: I am looking forward to seeing how Jukka will fare on the gravel stages in the Yorkshire Moors. These types of roads are similar to the kind of technical and fast stages that Jukka is used to driving back in his native Finland. Ive seen mixed weather reports for this weekend but the Pirelli K6 gravel tyre is well suited to deal with a vast array of road conditions. It has been used in numerous rallies this season and will help give the crews confidence on the roads thanks to its first class traction control.
Viewers at home can keep up to date with all the action from the International Rally Yorkshire by tuning into Sky Sports' programme, British Rallyzone. Up to date listings can be found a week before the scheduled transmission time by visiting www.skysports.com/tv_guide.
