Sykes seeks Pirelli podium to maintain title charge

Rally driver Richard Sykes, from Stourbridge, is aiming for a podium finish on next weekend’s Pirelli Challenge event as he seeks to maintain his lead in the BRC Challenge rally championship.

The Carlisle-based rally is the third round of the championship with Sykes and co-driver Simon Taylor having already taken a first and second place on the opening two rounds.

Since the previous round extensive work has been undertaken on Sykes’ Bathams Brewery, G I Sykes Ltd, Boroughbridge Marina and Silverstone Tyres-supported Citroën C2 R2 Max including an engine rebuild.

"The engine was getting near to the end of its life and was down on power," commented Sykes. "We’ve done a full rebuild on it ready for the Pirelli and we’ve also done a lot of work to lighten the car."

"We’re focused on finishing the event on the podium to get a good haul of championship points and I will drive within myself to get there but if we are in a position to safely push for a win we will do."

"Last time I did the Pirelli I was the leading Citroën driver part way through the event but went off the road trying too hard for the win so I’ve learnt my lesson from that."

 "I am feeling confident and it is great to be able to concentrate on driving and not worry about the bad reliability we have had in the past. We’ve got Simon Hawthorn looking after the car with Martin Billings joining Simon on the events, they are the best guys I have worked with in rallying and their work on the car has meant that so far this year we’ve only had to clean it and change the tyres in service, we’ve had no other problems at all."

Sykes and Taylor will lead the Challenge crews away from the rally start at Kielder Castle on Saturday morning with the crews facing 48 miles of competitive stages in the notoriously tough Kielder forest before the event finishes at Carlisle racecourse.

Image courtesy Jakob Ebrey Motorsport Photography

Images from the Britpart MSA BCCC Round 1

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Medich and Begg ready to rock on Granite City rally

The Rally2Raise Nissan Micra will contest its third event next weekend (14th April) when driver Rachel Medich and co-driver Katherine Begg take part in the Coltel Granite City rally.

The event will be the first time Katherine has ever competed but she has had intensive training from Rachel who, up until this year, was usually to be found in the co-driver’s seat.

"As the day draws nearer to my first competitive event the nerves are obviously kicking in but at the same time I’m also very excited to be part of Rally2Raise and all it is setting out to achieve, especially the awareness raising of causes very dear to me personally," said Katherine. "I am normally with a rescue unit at rallies so it is going to be extremely weird being in a rally car rather than sitting in the unit watching, and sometime rescuing, them."

"Rachel has given me loads of tuition so hopefully I will be ok once we get going and I’m sure it will turn out to be very enjoyable."

The organisers of rally, Aberdeen and District Motor Club, have generously donated an entry to the event for the Rally2Raise team and DMACK tyres will support the distinctive yellow and blue Micra on the event along with Clark Motorsport.

Rachel commented: "It was a fantastic offer by the organisers to give the team an entry. The Coltel Granite City rally is my local event and it will be an honour to take part. The support from DMACK is very appreciated also, the Micra’s forest tyres were looking a bit worse for wear after the Saltire Classic rally we did so it will be great to have new rubber for the Granite."

"We have had some really good press coverage locally and getting the car out on the event will help raise even more awareness for the Rally2Raise project and our four supported causes – the Nystagmus Network, the Joanne Bingley Memorial Foundation for post-natal depression, Cancer Research UK and the MS Society."

The rally will be based near Inverurie with around 44 miles of competitive action in the forests of Kincardineshire.

Please visit www.rally2raise.co.uk or www.facebook.com/rally2raise for more information on the project. Donations can be made online via uk.virginmoneygiving.com/rally2raise.

Rally2Raise gets Merrick backing

The Rally2Raise charity project is delighted to announce that it will be supported by the Merrick Forest Stages Rally this year.

The project, founded by rally competitor and rescue volunteer Rachel Medich, is using rallying to help raise funds and awareness for four charities - Cancer Research UK, the Nystagmus Network, the MS Society and the Joanne Bingley Memorial Foundation for post-natal depression.

The "Merrick" will be offering navigator-turned-driver Rachel a free entry to the September 1st event, which will again be based in Wigtown in South West Scotland. The rally will be the penultimate round of the MSA Scottish Rally Championship.

Competitors on the event will be invited to make a donation to the project when they enter online through the event website.

"We are delighted to name Rally2Raise as our nominated charity for this year's Merrick", said Rally Manager Allan Marshall: "Rachel and the girls are raising funds for such very good causes. Hopefully our efforts will help them in reaching their target".

Rachel Medich commented: “The support that the Merrick organisers have offered Rally2Raise is absolutely fantastic and it will greatly assist us in achieving our goals of raising funds and awareness. The project is really taking off now and we have lots of exciting things planned for the forthcoming months.”

Please visit www.rally2raise.co.uk or www.facebook.com/rally2raise for more information on the project. Donations can be made online via uk.virginmoneygiving.com/rally2raise.

Sykes storms into championship lead after Bulldog rally success

Stourbridge’s Richard Sykes took his first rally win in three years on the Bulldog Challenge event last weekend, a performance which put him in the lead of the BRC Challenge rally championship.

The Welshpool-based event, which was round two of the championship, started with the Big Ray stage. Keen to get a good haul of points Sykes and co-driver Simon Taylor were immediately on the pace, setting third fastest time in their Bathams Brewery, G I Sykes Ltd, Boroughbridge Marina and Silverstone Tyres-supported Citroën C2 R2 Max.

Sykes maintained his position after the second stage in Dyfi forest before powering into the lead with a stunning time in stage three, Gartheiniog.

“We made a decent start to the event although we had small problems in both of the opening two stages,” said Sykes. “We got held up in the dust of the car in front on stage one which cost us around 10 seconds and then we beached the car on a corner in stage two. Fortunately some spectators got us going again so we didn’t lose too much time.”

“It was brilliant to be leading after the third stage, we didn’t know how we were getting on till we got back to service so it was pleasing to see we were fastest.”

The rally headed north for a pair of stages near Bala, Llangywer and Penllyn, with Sykes 30 seconds ahead of his nearest rival. Despite his lead Sykes continued to push hard, setting the fastest time on both stages to extend his lead by a further nine seconds.

There was no let up in the final Dyfnant stage either, Sykes taking his fourth consecutive stage win to complete a dominant performance.

“Even though we had a relatively comfortable lead I wanted to keep going as quick as I could on the final three stages and I was aiming to set as many fastest times as possible. I was delighted to be quickest on them all!”

“It was my fourth time contesting the Bulldog, the previous three occasions resulted in the car breaking so it is great both to finally finish the event and to win it.”

“The event was very tough, some of my main championship rivals didn’t make it to the finish so we didn’t get to have a battle with them although I think we had the pace to still do the job. For once we have had a great start to the season while other crews are having problems and we will continue working as hard as we can to try and take the championship win.”

Sykes now leads the BRC Challenge championship on 56 points ahead of James Watts on 46. The next championship round will take place in April with the Carlisle-based Pirelli Challenge rally.

Image courtesy Jakob Ebrey Motorsport Photography