Bentham’s David Wright will contest his first rallies since last November’s Grizedale Stages over the next couple of weekends when he takes part in events in Cumbria and Shropshire.
First up will be the Malcolm Wilson rally next weekend, a round of the BTRDA championship and an event that Wright has scored some good results on in recent years. He’ll be using an ex-Carlos Sainz Ford Focus WRC prepared by Giles Philips Motorsport and supported by Grove Hill Garage and Kumho Tyres. It is the same car he used to take second place on the Grizedale Stages and he also used the car to wow the crowds at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
“I’m really looking forward to getting back in the car after a few months break,” said Wright. “We had a great run on the Grizedale Stages and came within a second of winning the event, a result which gave me a lot more confidence in the car. We've made a few more handling tweaks to improve the set-up since then.”
“The Malcolm Wilson rally also uses Grizedale forest so hopefully we’ll go well again. We’ll also be tackling stages in Whinlatter and Greystoke forests so it’s sure to be a tough event, especially as the weather often throws all sorts of conditions at the drivers.”
“The event has attracted a very good quality entry including some more modern WRC and R5+ cars so getting a podium finish will be a huge challenge but that’s what we’re aiming for.”
Wright will switch from a four wheel drive Ford to a two wheel drive one for the following weekend's AGBO Stages in Weston Park near Telford where he’ll drive an Escort Mk2.
“It’ll be quite a change going from driving a four wheel drive car on gravel to a two wheel drive car on tarmac but it should be great fun! We did the event last year in the Mk2 and spent most of the time sliding sideways! Since then we've fitted a 2.5 Smith and Jones engine and a Drenth sequential box so we should be quicker and even more sideways this year."
"Steve Pugh will be my co-driver on both events. He has many years of experience which is vital for getting a good result. Thanks to GPM, Grove Hill Garage, Kumho Tyres, Proflex and Drenth for their help and support."
