Pritchard takes Citroen win C2R2 Cup Citroen Racing Trophy

Date published : 15 Apr 2009 - 10:01:48

The opening round of the BRC’s C2R2 Cup and Citroën Racing Trophy UK were won by 2008 C2R2 Cup Champion Jason Pritchard with new co-driver, fellow Welshman Andrew Edwards. With three of the four registered drivers having moved to the new more powerful C2R2 Max kits, the battle for honours was set to be unpredictable. The only crew using the regular C2R2 was that of Mark Gamble and Steve Link, but their pace was not in question, being the winners of the 2008 Suzuki one make championship. After having a successful test in the car, Pritchard struggled in the wet conditions, stating that it felt extremely unstable on the loose gravel. He and Edwards still managed the opening fastest time though, albeit only 1.5 seconds clear of Irish driver Martin McCormack and Shropshire co-driver Phil Clarke. McCormack narrowed the gap on the next, after Pritchard got lost on the pacenotes and buckled a wheel. This left the pair split by less than half a second going into service, McCormack’s only problem being lack of match practice in a front wheel drive car. Gamble ran third, having only fitted the engine and gearbox to his new car the day before the event recce. He was another who found the slippery conditions quite unnerving, the car understeering on gravel that had been dry when the crews made their pacenotes the day before. In fourth place throughout the day were last year’s runners-up Andrew Hockridge and Rich Mills, whose problems had begun before the event started. Their mechanic had been giving the car a final run on Thursday evening, but was involved in an accident with a tractor. Although he was not too seriously injured, the police impounded the car which was not released until Friday, when the team had to repair it before safely checks that evening. Running a mix of R2 and Max parts was not ideal, Hockridge hampered all day by a car which he was unable to set up correctly for the conditions. After service McCormack took the advantage with a storming stage three time, pulling eight seconds clear of Pritchard, while Gamble also continued to struggle with set-up, admitting to having a huge 360 degree mid-air spin while running far from ideal tarmac suspension. With some of the longest gravel stages in the BRC calendar, the leading pair set about the next sixteen mile Big Ray test, astonishingly only 0.4 seconds apart at the end, leaving the eight second gap almost unchanged. With two stages after second service all that remained between them and the finish, Pritchard found the settings and pace he needed. Posting a ninth quickest overall time on SS5 moved him 1.8 ahead of McCormack, who appeared to have no answer. The final run though Big Ray settled it. While both crews were inside the top ten overall on the stage, it was Pritchard & Edwards who pressed their advantage, finishing exactly fourteen seconds ahead at the finish in Bala. With Gamble/Link third and Hockridge/Mills fourth, both crews will look forward to the three week break in which to remedy the set-up that cost them time. The battle on the next round, the Pirelli International Rally should be an even closer affair, as the C2R2 Cup & Citroën Racing Trophy UK leader Pritchard missed the event last year after he was sidelined with a broken foot. The event takes place on Friday & Saturday 17th & 18th April, opening with stages that run into the infamous Kielder forest complex at night.