After two visits to the podium in the opening two rounds of the 2011 Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship, Welshman Elfyn Evans had to settle for a fourth place finish when round three of the series visited Carlisle for the Pirelli International Rally this weekend.
After a good start which had him in second place overnight and for the opening few stages today, the 22 year old from Dolgellau, along with Aberystwyth co driver Andrew Edwards, then dropped time in the TEG Sport Pirelli Shoot Out sponsored Subaru Impreza N15 because of a time consuming puncture on SS6.
Because of the damage caused by the flailing rubber which in turn damaged the steering and brakes, Evans dropped further time on the dry and dusty stages meaning he was happy to reach the finish this evening in fourth position and in doing so, consolidated his second place in the title race for the Carnforth-based team.
TEG Sport team-mate Adam Gould and co driver Seb Marshall didn’t fare any better as the 23 year old driver from Bristol hit one of Kielder’s infamous rocks in stage one whereby the impact broke a rear wheel hub. Although managing to get his Subaru to the regroup and autograph session in the middle of Newcastleton last night, there was nothing to be gained by attempting stage two so he retired leaving himself down in fifth in the standings.
After three rounds on gravel, the series resorts to asphalt for the next two rounds, the first of which is the Jim Clark International Rally based in Duns on 27/28 May whereby both Evans and Gould will be looking to get their title aspirations back on course.
Elfyn Evans: “We had quite a few problems today so I’m really pleased to get to the finish. I can’t say I’m happy with the result but all things considered, these are important points for us and fourth was the best we could do today. The puncture came four miles from the end of SS6 and we dropped a lot of time as a result of it and the other problems it caused which we had to contend with also so it’s a relief to get here. The team did a magnificent job to keep us going, so I’m very grateful for their efforts today. It’s been very physical so hopefully we can challenge for the win on the Jim Clark in a month’s time.”
Lynn Newby – TEG Sport Team Principal: “We don’t seem to have much luck on this event and so it has transpired again. Given Elfyn had more than his fair share of problems this weekend, fourth is a brilliant result and those points may prove vital at the end of the season. Adam lost too much time last night and there was no point in continuing so he decided to save the car which was very wise. We’re better placed this year than we were this time last year and still ended up winning the Championship so hopefully, we can get both TEG Sport cars back onto the podium at the Jim Clark as that’s our aim.”
Results
1, David Bogie/Kevin Rae – Mitsubishi Evo9 -1:28:57.9
2, Robert Barrable/Damien Connolly – Skoda Fabia S2000 – 1:30:00.0
3, Jonathan Greer/Dai Roberts – Skoda Fabia S2000 – 1:31:37.5
4, Elfyn Evans/Andrew Edwards – Subaru Impreza – 1:33:10.4
5, Martin McCormack/David Moynihan – Citroen DS3 – 1:35:03.3
6, Jukka Korhonen/Marko Salminen – Ford Fiesta – 1:35:22.5
7, Craig Breen/Gareth Roberts – Ford Fiesta – 1:35:32.6
8, Mark Donnelly/Barry McNulty – Renault Clio – 1:35:35.6
9, Jason Pritchard/Ryland James – Subaru Impreza – 1:36:17.8
10, Tom Clark/Alistair Wyllie – Subaru Impreza – 1:37:05.8
Championship Positions (provisional)
1 David Bogie 58 points
2 Elfyn Evans 51
3 Jonny Greer 44
4 Tom Clark 33
5 Adam Gould 31
6 Robert Barrable 30
Further information on the team, drivers and championship, please visit: www.tegsport.co.uk, www.adamrally.com and www.rallybrc.co.uk.
Picture courtesy of Jakob Ebrey (www.jakobebrey.com): Elfyn Evans in action on the Pirelli International Rally.
