Armajaro MSA British Historic Rally Championship - Round six: Manx Historic RallyThe unique challenge of the tarmac roads of the Isle of Man will form round six of the Armajaro MSA British Historic Rally Championship on 29-31 July.The Conister Trust Manx Historic Rally is one of the most popular events on the BHRC schedule and two and a half days of flat-out tarmac rallying will put cars and crews to a mighty test.After five stages on Thursday evening, including the unique blast around Castletown harbour, the action resumes with seven stages on both Friday and Saturday before the event finishes back in Douglas on Saturday afternoon.Historic (category 1)With an unbeaten run of five wins from five events, the Porsche 911 of Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride has taken a stranglehold on the historic category for pre ’67 cars. The Irish ace is superb on tarmac and it is difficult to see him being beaten in the lanes.However, Dessie is the first to admit that things have been far from easy this season. The similar Porsche 911 of Francis Tuthill/Nick Kennedy has pushed hard and is really overdue a win. But it will take a mighty effort from Tuthill to topple Nutt on tarmac! New to a Porsche 911 are John Morris and Chris Flavell, who have moved up from a Hillman Imp!Leading the chase of Nutt in the points, and well clear in class B4, are Chris and Hilary Green (Lotus Cortina). An impeccable season to date has put them second to Nutt but the husband and wife crew have elected to miss the Manx and count that as a dropped score.Class B3, where the Ford Cortina GTs set the pace, is far less settled as Jonathan and Graham Gale head the crews to the Isle of Man. Ronnie Roughead and Ian Canavan are chasing hard in a typically hard-charging season.Post-historic (category 2)Up until the Mid Wales Stages at the end of June, Ray Bellm and Marc Jones (Escort Mk1) were having a brilliant season in the post-historic category. Four wins and a fourth put them well clear in the post-historics and rivalling Nutt/McBride in the contest for the overall BHRC crown.However, a blown engine in Hafren forest turned their fortune around and they now head to the Isle of Man only second in the post-historics. But for Bellm, the tight and twisty Manx lanes will be a vast contrast from the high-speed Le Mans race circuit where he will be racing a Ford GT40 the weekend before the Manx!Bellm's Mid Wales disaster allowed Steve Smith and John Nichols to take over the post-historic lead in their Escort RS2000 but even Smith's entertaining style is unlikely to be enough to fend off the more powerful BDA-engined cars on the Manx tarmac. However, class C3 is already looking secure in Smith's hands. His biggest class challenge on the Manx could come from the RS2000 of Bob Gibbons/Neil Cook."Ray Bellm and Richard Gower are seriously quick on tarmac," reckons David Stokes, winner of the Mutiny and Mid Wales events in his Escort Mk1. Now fifth in the post-historics after a couple of earlier non-finishes, Stokes and Den Golding know that, more than any event, just getting to the finish of the Manx is the first target. "It will be a rally of attrition," predicts Stokes.Gower, meanwhile, is overdue a good result after blistering pace has been consistently blunted by a series of problems. If everything runs well, Gower should be the biggest rival to Bellm. "I love the tarmac and I'm really looking forward to the Manx," says Gower.Away from the rapid Escorts, the Datsun 240Z of Dominic Frattaroli and the Porsche 911 of Stuart Rolt should fly on the tarmac, though Frattaroli will be keen to lay the ghost of a 2003 Manx accident that put him out on Friday morning. Meanwhile, Chris Browne and Liz Jordan will be keen to use their tarmac experience to good effect in their Escort, while the Escorts of Rupert Lomax/Dave Alcock, Rikki Proffitt/Phil Harrison and Graham Samuel/Tony Phillips should all feature strongly.Up into a fine class C2 lead have come Dave Dyer and Graham Wride in their Escort Mk1, but they are missing the Manx and so the Mexico crew of Ken Forster/John Stanger-Leathes will be aiming to capitalise.With more stage miles than ever, the 2004 Manx promises to be a real test for the BHRC contenders. Nutt and Smith lead their respective categories going into the event, but that could all change on the legendary tarmac roads of the island!The Manx Historic Rally is organised by Manx International Rally Ltd and for more details about the event, please visit the website at: mir.co.im