MITSUBISHI CLAIMS SECOND PLACE AFTER EXCITING ISLE OF MAN ENCOUNTER

~ Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship ~ Round Three – Rally Isle of Man – 17th, 18th & 19th July 2008

• Guy Wilks battles back to score hard-fought second.
• Phillip Morrow’s solid performance interrupted by tricky conditions.

After having to stop mid-stage and change a wheel during day-two of the Rally Isle of Man, Guy Wilks and stand-in co-driver David Moynihan battled back to finish second in round three of the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship, which took place on 17th – 19th July.

Mitsubishi team mates Phillip Morrow and Daniel Barritt also had a challenging event: Following an excellent start to hold a solid fourth place, they were caught out by the changeable road conditions on stage 14 and hit a bank. After the team repaired the car, they rejoined the rally for the final day and clawed their way back up to 16th place and, in doing so, scored valuable team’s points.

Starting and finishing from the famous TT Grandstand, just north of the Island’s capital Douglas, the event featured four stages on Thursday evening followed by a further 12 on Friday and seven on Saturday. This makes it the longest asphalt rally in the BRC calendar at 182 competitive miles and therefore, one of the toughest events of the season.

The Isle of Man has a reputation for its changeable weather, a factor that makes tyre choice a lottery – and this year was no exception.

The whole team was delighted that, other than accident damage, both of its Lancer Evolution IXs ran faultlessly, the cars built by Chesterfield-based ADR Motorsport, who also provide the on-event technical support.

Team Quotes:

Guy Wilks
“We knew what we had to do this weekend and everything started well but luck was not running with us. We again proved we had the pace to win and to finish second even after changing a wheel is not a bad result. We therefore need to put the record straight for the remaining rounds to keep our title hopes on track. I have to thank David (Moynihan) for doing a good job and stepping in at the last minute in place of Phil (Pugh), who is currently suffering from back problems.” 

Phillip Morrow
“I knew how important it was to do a good job for the team this weekend and, although I wasn’t feeling completely comfortable with the set-up I had chosen, it was so frustrating that the only real moment I had was punished in such a dramatic way. The team did a great job in fixing the car and getting me back out for the final day and, although the final result was not what we wanted, at least we collected points for the team’s championship, which I know is a priority for Mitsubishi.”

Paul Brigden – General Manager Ralliart
“Following the result from round two, we came to the Isle of Man with a strategy to get our crews to the finish in strong positions. Even though we again proved that we have the quickest cars, things did not go according to plan, so once we have had a de-brief to assess our position in the team’s and driver’s championships, we will decide on what our strategy will be for the forthcoming Ulster Rally and for the rest of season in order to keep our championship hopes intact.”

Tesco 99 Octane British Rally Championship
Positions after round three