The opening round of the 2013 MSA British Rally Championship will commence in Cumbria this weekend (4-5 May) as crews prepare for the Pirelli Richard Burns Foundation Rally: an event which Pirelli has sponsored for 22 years.
Pirelli has been the official tyre supplier to the UKs premier rally series since 2007 and the Italian tyre firm will be on-event at each British round this year to supply its highly successful K6 Scorpion gravel tyres in 15-inch fitments. The Pirelli K4 gravel tyre will also be available at the weekend. Based close to Pirellis Carlisle factory, which was visited by the UK Prime Minister David Cameron last week, this years Pirelli RBF Rally will challenge crews over 10 stages covering 78 competitive miles.
Previously known as the Pirelli International Rally, the event has been renamed the Pirelli Richard Burns Foundation Rally from this year onwards in memory of the former world rally champion who tragically died in 2005 after losing the battle against a malignant form of brain tumour.
The Pirelli RBF Rally started out as a local club event before becoming a round of the British Rally Championship in 1992. Pirelli's involvement with the event dates back to the inception of the rally in 1976 and over the years, the event has attracted a host of world-class drivers including Richard Burns himself who won the event back in 1993.
The event will also mark the first BRC event that Pirelli UK Star Driver Mark Donnelly will contest in a Pirelli-supported Citroen DS3 as a result of winning the prestigious Pirelli Star Driver shootout that was held last December. Donnelly, who will be joined by co-driver Dai Roberts, commented: Our preparations have been going very well over the past few months and I am really looking forward to starting my British Rally Championship season with Pirelli.
We have carried out a couple of test sessions with the car and also did the Granite City Rally last weekend where we made several changes to the car set-up which has helped prepare us for the start of the season. As the Citroen DS3 is still a new car for me, I don't want to expect too much so hopefully we can build on our pace and finish with a solid result, added Donnelly.
Pirelli Tyres UK Motorsport Operations Manager Matthew Corby commented: After the successful decision to move to a two-wheel-drive only format last year, the BRC organisers have welcomed further changes in 2013 including more compact rallies and reduced entry fees. It was a blow that the season-opening Rally North Wales had to be cancelled due to poor weather, but the entries and competition are strong for the Pirelli RBF Rally which is a fantastic event to kick-start the season. I would also like to wish our new Star Driver Mark the best of luck as he hopes to get his year off the best possible start with a strong result under his belt.
Spectators and members of the public will have the opportunity to get close to the cars and drivers at the ceremonial start on Saturday 4 May in Carlisle City Centre. On display at the Carlisle Racecourse HQ will be a host of competition cars, trade stands and several attractions including a Pirelli simulator.
A charity fundraiser has also been organised with the aim of raising funds for the Richard Burns Foundation. The fundraising raffle will be drawn on Saturday evening at a special chat show hosted by Robert Reid and prizes include a test day in an M-Sport WRC car, two weekend passes to the Goodwood Festival of speed, a 2013 Pirelli calendar and a replica Pirelli Formula One wheel and tyre.
Tickets for the fundraiser are only 1 and will be on sale at the rally headquarters at Carlisle Racecourse, at the Carlisle city centre start ramp and at all special stage car parks. The organisers have pledged that all money raised will go directly to the Richard Burns Foundation to assist in their work with medical research.
