Osian Pryce leads the field ahead of round two of the CRT18 stages of the Jim Clark Rally promises excitement and drama for Scottish rally fansClosed tarmac surfaces could be a major challenge in wet conditions
Osian Pryce leads the field away from the border town of Duns this Friday night for the Jim Clark Rally. The 21 year old from Machynlleth, in Wales, has good form on closed road tarmac surfaces having won last year’s Rally NI event, as well as the first round of the 2014 MSA British Rally Championship.
Two days of closed road competition is what the Jim Clark Rally is all about. Starting at 7pm on Friday night, the crews will tackle eight stages. Two of Friday’s stages are held around the town of Duns, where thousands of spectators are expected to be cheering on the Citroen crews. Spot-lamps will then be fitted to the DS 3 R3’s for the final stages of the evening.
On Saturday there are ten stages to tackle including the famous Edrom and Swinton tests, the latter having a particularly nasty jump on a cross-roads that’s caught out many in the past. The weather can also play a critical part. If it is dry, the roads will have consistent grip, but if it rains, the tarmac often turns into a very slippery surface. It will be a rally of drama before the tea-time finish in Kelso on Saturday.
“I really enjoy the Jim Clark, and the Abbey St.Bathans stage is one of my favourites,” commented the British Championship leader. “Last year we finished third, and it was the start of my real enjoyment of tarmac.”
Starting second is Pirelli Star Driver Daniel McKenna in his DGM Sport run DS 3 R3. The Monaghan driver is a real threat, after a superb drive to sixth overall on the ERC Circuit of Ireland on his DS 3 tarmac debut. “There are four tarmac scores to count this year,” says Daniel. “So these rallies will be crucial in the championship race.” In preparation for the Rally Isle of Man later in the year, he took his MK2 Escort over to the Manx National to learn the terrain and finished sixth.
Callum Black will start from fourth in the distinctive black DS 3. He will be aiming to put a score on the board after an unfortunate excursion on the penultimate stage of round one. The Brackley driver was showing great form in third place before he got stuck in a ditch. David Carney from Westport, County Mayo, was quick to grab that podium spot in Carlisle on his DS 3 gravel debut. Having contested a tarmac event at home in Ireland, the Jim Clark could suit the former C2 R2 Max driver. Carney starts from seventh and could be one to watch this weekend.
James Ford finished the opening round in sixth, despite a few small problems. The Preston driver enjoys doing a lot of the setup on his own DS 3, and co-driver Michael Gilbey will be helping him prepare the all-important pace-notes for this weekend. Timothy Cathcart completes the DS 3 R3 runners starting in ninth place. The Enniskillen driver finished seventh in Carlisle after a fraught rally which included punctures, a broken wind-screen, and a loose turbo pipe. In between, he recorded some fast times amongst the top three, so he will be out to make amends.
Citrorn interest extends to the faithful C2 R2 Max. Richard Sykes took the C2 R2 Max to victory in the Challenge section on the Pirelli RB Foundation Rally in Carlisle. He starts from tenth. Also hoping to make the start this time is Lotus F1 engineer Rene Dias Torcato also in a similar C2 R2. This event never fails to bring excitement and drama, it certainly would be hard to bet on a winner as the Scottish fans are treated to a closed road spectacular.
