Pirelli Star Driver Daniel McKenna has pulled clear in the lead of this year’s British Rally Championship, after his first gravel victory on the Scottish Rally, round three of the series that is exclusively supplied by Pirelli.

The Irishman enjoyed an intense battle with Welshman Osian Pryce throughout the 10-stage event, with the pair exchanging the lead as well as fastest stage times. Having started the rally tied on points with Pryce for the series lead, now for the first time in his career – with the help of Pirelli – the 27-year-old McKenna is the sole championship leader. At the end of last year, McKenna was elected by a jury of experts to a prize drive with Pirelli backing – and he is now repaying their faith handsomely.

On the dry and dusty gravel event, held on famous gravel roads close to Dumfries, the drivers used Pirelli’s K6 and K4 tyres, which have proved their worth on several previous occasions in Scotland.

The unique K tread pattern is designed to evacuate gravel and loose stones extremely efficiently, providing grip and traction even under the extreme conditions of rallying. While these specialised tyres are extremely fast and light, they are also very strong: none of the lead cars suffered from any punctures or tyre-related issues at all. This was one of the keys to the intense battle in Scotland. Like every Pirelli tyre designation, the higher the number, to softer the compound. The tough nature of the Scottish stages meant that the harder K4 was mostly used.

McKenna said: “That was a tough victory! The car was faultless and I have to thank the DGM team and Pirelli for all their hard work this weekend. It’s given us a great confidence boost going into the Ulster Rally and the stages there are a lot more familiar, I’m looking forward to it.”

Pirelli UK Motorsport Operations Manager Matthew Corby added: “It’s great to see our Pirelli Star Driver in the lead of the British Rally Championship, underlining once more Pirelli’s commitment to sustaining the future of British rallying talent. Daniel and his co-driver Arthur Kierans did a great job all weekend and they thoroughly deserve this victory on a surface that they still don’t have so much experience of. With the championship back on asphalt for the next round, we look forward to seeing what they can do on our latest asphalt tyres.”

The next round of the British Rally Championship takes place on asphalt at the Ulster Rally from 15-16 August.