Melvyn Evans will experience his first taste of the Kwik-Fit/ Pirelli British Rally Championship (BRC) when the tarmac expert contests round five of the series, the Gibbs Aquada Manx International Rally on 29th-31st July 2004. Evans is confident he has the pace and will be looking to upstage some of the British Rally Championship regulars on the Isle of Man and be among the front runners come the Saturday finish.
The Llanwrda rally driver will make his BRC debut in his ex-Richard Burns Subaru Impreza World Rally Car and will be partnered by fellow Welshman, Aled Davies. The Miskin co-driver having paired up with Evans for the first time in Ireland on the Ravens Rock Rally. The pair worked well together, giving Evans the confidence to step into the BRC arena with Aled alongside.
"I have been considering doing a BRC tarmac round for the last two years, after the Ravens Rock event we just decided to do it. We went to Ireland with the car to use the rally as a test to ensure we were using the best possible settings. Although it was Aled's first time in the car with me, he fitted in quickly and the test went extremely well with us setting a last stage fastest time to give us the boost we needed at the end of a successful test."
Evans is no stranger to the Isle of Man, having won the Manx National in 2002, finishing second in 2003 and had a problematic event back in May of this year. Having changed machinery and worked closely on settings and tyre choice, the Welsh driver is optimistic that things will fall into place on the coming event.
"We had a different car back in May and found the suspension too hard for the Island. This car has completely different suspension and following our testing sessions, I feel very confident we will have the correct set up and a very good tyre from Kumho Tyres. Having been on the National event I have some idea with the stages. I would prefer it to be dry as it suits everyone better, but if its wet your driving style has to be more refined as the place can catch you out so quickly. It will be hard to judge the pace of the event, so Thursday will be the time to go for it and judge the pace for the remainder of the rally."
Melvyn and Aled will be supported on the Gibbs Aquada Manx International Rally by Celtic Roofing Supplies and Kumho Tyres.
