Manx Challenge for BRCC

As the 2009 BRC Challenge season approaches its half-way point, the first of two innovative format events, Rally Isle of Man, will get underway on Friday and Saturday 10th & 11th July.

Richard Archer and Thomas Ward head the field, as crews tackle their option of “overseas” events, choosing the double header Manx event over the similar format Ulster Rally in August. Archer will be on a charge for a hat-trick of victories in the ultra-quick Corsa, but he is likely to be pushed all the way by round one winner and Fiesta SportTrophy (FST) leader Matt Edwards and Manx co-driver Rob Fagg. Having missed the Jim Clark Rally, Edwards is playing catch-up on points, as he lies sixth in the series, a full 41 points adrift of Archer

Archer may feel reasonably safe at the front, since his nearest rival John Boyd will not be there. But with 31 points available on each of the two Isle of Man events, next nearest rivals Brett Griffin/Sam Fordham and Neil Matthews/John Connor could easily leapfrog ahead with good results.

To further add to the intrigue, FST driver Ross Forde will run third on the road on his second visit to the Manx lanes. While he can score points in the BRCC, this is his first event in the 2009 series, the Irishman having switched from the British Rally Championship, but still able to score in the FST.

Leading RC1 class driver Matthews will hope that he and Connor can maintain the momentum they seem to be building as the season progresses, struggling early on but showing good pace on the Jim Clark where they took third.

Another crew leading their class, RC2, Griffin and Fordham will continue their steep asphalt learning curve on the tricky Manx lanes, the Peugeot driver admitting back on the Jim Clark, that it was his first non-airfield sealed surface rally.

Ex single seater FST competitor Robert Barrable will be looking to not only gain more points in the Fiesta series, but to close the gap to the highest placed Junior category driver on this event, James Watts. Barrable and fellow Irishman Seamus O’Grady have had a difficult 2009 so far, failing to finish on Rally North Wales and missing the Jim Clark Rally.

Manx youngster David Radcliffe and Cumbrian co-driver Steve Hartley should go well here, having been second on round four last year. Their experience on round five, (the event split in ’08 as this year), was not so good though, clipping a rock in their Swift.

James Watts is re-joined on Rally Isle of Man by Janice Moore, the partnership formed on the Pirelli obviously working well. Still driving the diminutive Polo, Watts took two excellent third places last year and narrowly missed out on third in the Championship after a last round retirement.

Finally Austin McKinlay and Anthony Palmer will hope for a better event than last time out. Transmission problems left them with little mileage on the Jim Clark Rally, so they effectively start their BRCC asphalt experience here on the difficult Manx lanes.

Obviously the Island is famous for motorsport and the whole event is based at the famous TT Grandstand overlooking Douglas, but another feature which has played its part in deciding this classic event is the swiftly changing weather.