Rodgers to debut Rally4Real.com Micra on Cambrian Rally

Hull’s Tim Rodgers will make his return to rally competition next Saturday (17th October) when he contests the Cambrian rally in a Nissan Micra.

The car has recently been built by Rally4Real.com for their hire fleet and it will run in the popular low-budget Rally First class of the BTRDA championship.

Rodgers has not competed on a stage event since last years Plains rally and he is keen to return to the forests.

"It’ll be great to be out competing again. We’re doing the event to test the new car so we’re not expecting too much," said Rodgers.

"The aim is to get to the finish. The competition in Rally First is very close so to get a good result would be a bonus."

Rodgers and co-driver Paul Woodford will form part of a three car Rally4Real.com supported team – they will be accompanied by Rally First champion Dave Bennett in his Vauxhall Corsa and Tony Simpson who will be out in a Volkswagon Polo 1400.

The Cambrian rally is based in Llandudno and features 45 miles of competitive action in the forests of Clocaenog and Penmachno. The event is the final round of the BTRDA championship and it has attracted a high quality entry, including several crews from the World Rally championship.

Title battle down to the wire for Wright

Bentham rally driver David Wright will go into the final round of the 2009 BTRDA rally championship next Saturday (17th October) with a chance of claiming the overall title.

Wright presently leads the championship in his GPM Mitsubishi Evo 9 but once dropped scores have been taken into account, as per the series regulations, it is rival driver Will Nicholls who possibly has the best chance of the title having already had two retirements this year while Wright has successfully completed all the events.

After a tough season which has seen the crews compete all over England and Wales the championship ends with the Cambrian rally which is based in Llandudno. Wright contested the event last year so he has some experience of the stages.

“It’s great that we’re in with a chance of the title but realistically Will would have to retire for us to win. We’ve also got to keep an eye on Nigel Griffiths who is quite close behind us in the standings,” said Wright.

“We’ve done a little work on the car since the last round and hopefully we’ve cured the misfire problem we had. I’ll be pushing hard to get as good a result as possible to end the championship on a high, my experience from last year should be an advantage. I’d like to thank Giles Philips Motorsport, Kumho Tyres, Proflex and Grove Hill Garage for their support.”

The rally kicks off on Saturday morning from Llandudno and it will be contested over 45 miles of gravel tracks in Clocaenog and Penmachno forests.

Crickhowell set for BCCC return

The Glanusk Estate near Crickhowell will once again echo to the sound of engines next weekend when the Britpart British Cross Country Championship returns to the venue for round 5 of the series having previously being used in April for the opening event.

Reigning champion Richard Kershaw leads the title race going into round 5 after scoring a second place in the previous round at Sweet Lamb while nearest rival Tim Dilworth had a disappointing result after his car suffered propshaft failure on one of the runs. Dan Lofthouse will be looking for another good result to follow his round 4 victory.

A course of around 6 miles has been planned for Crickhowell, most of it being reversed from the previous event to give some variety.

For more information please visit marches4x4.com

Mud Magnet Mull Updates

Carlisle's Rachel Medich has ventured north to the beautiful Isle of Mull to contest the Tour of Mull rally.

She's navigating for Dave Edwards in his Vauxhall Astra and it'll be her second time competing on the island after successfully completing the event last year, also with Edwards.

We will be updating her website throughout the week (subject to phone signals!) so to keep in touch with what's going on please visit mudmagnetrallying.co.uk

Mason and Wild set for Roger Albert Clark Rally

Tim Mason and Graham Wild are gearing up for another challenge on the Roger Albert Clark Rally this November and are aiming at a top six finish in their Porsche 911.

Leeds-based Mason and Wild, who now lives on the Isle of Man, have shown excellent pace on the last three Roger Albert Clark Rallies, but have yet to secure the result that their speed deserves.

However, they now hope that their bad luck is behind them after a very early departure from the Trackrod Historic Cup on Saturday, 26 September. A broken driveshaft put them out within seconds of the start of the opening special stage in Dalby forest.

Wild calculated that their rally lasted just 130 yards. It was the first time they had run an in-car camera for the TV coverage of the British Historic Rally Championship, and it seems that the curse of the camera struck early.

However, Wild says that there is a positive side of the early retirement on the Trackrod. "We've got eight new tyres and a tank of fuel ready for the Roger Albert Clark Rally, so we'll get it right for that," he said.

For more details about the Roger Albert Clark Rally, please visit www.rogeralbertclarkrally.org