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Leading rally co-driver Rob Fagg
faces a change of surface this weekend, but with it
a chance to compete on home roads as the Isle of Man
welcomes the Manx National Rally, the second round
of the Motor Mall Manx Rally Championship.
Robert Graham & Co Chartered Quantity
Surveyors sponsored Fagg, from Kirk Michael in the
west of the island, will again be alongside Ruthin’s
Hugh Hunter in the R S Hunter Tarmac backed Dom
Buckley RSC prepared Ford Fiesta R5 which they
guided to fourth place on last month’s Somerset
Stages.
That result moved the pair to the top
of the Ravenol BTRDA Rally Championship, the UK’s
principle gravel series, standings after two rounds
but the opportunity to take a break from that series
was too much of a lure to resist.
Therefore this weekend the focus is
on closed roads asphalt stages, the jewel of the
Irish Sea offering some of the most demanding in
world rallying.
Hunter is no stranger to tarmac (he
lays it for a living), although not so much the Manx
roads as the MC Locksmiths sponsored pace note
caller explained.
“Although most recently Hugh has focused on the
gravel events, he has taken victories on Irish soil
in the National series at the wheel of a Subaru S12
so he does have a good history on the black stuff.
His most recent appearance though was on last year’s
Rally Isle of Man but co-driving, something he
enjoyed and encouraged him to come back behind the
wheel this year, 2010 the last time he entered as a
driver.”
With limited mileage in the Fiesta on
tarmac the pair have utilised the experience of Dom
Buckley to give them a strong base to start from
when it comes to set-up. Buckley not only runs
Irishman Eammon Boland on WRC tarmac events but also
Irish Tarmac Championship front runner Alistair
Fisher, knowledge which proves vital when setting up
the car. And with three runs of the short shakedown
stage available to the crews, Hunter and JR
Hinchliffe Plumbing and Heating backed Fagg will use
each run to prepare themselves.
“Although the shakedown is not the
most representative of the stages in terms of narrow
bumpy lanes, it will give us the chance to feel what
the car is doing on the tar with the settings and
make tweaks where we feel they are required”
explained Rob, “Although it won’t be till we hit the
proper stages we know if we have got it right. At
the end of the day though we are out to enjoy
ourselves, no championship pressures but of cause we
want to be competitive.”
Despite contesting events off the
island regularly, competing on home soil is still
something Rob regards as special.
“At present you can’t compete on
closed roads in England and the Isle of Man gives
this opportunity. While I do enjoy the gravel I do
have a preference for tar and there is no better
place than at home” commented Rob, “It also gives
the opportunity to compete in front of those who
help and support me throughout the year, without
those sponsors it would be much harder to compete at
the level I do. For this year I have a number of new
sponsors and I am very grateful, coming on board
from this round onwards is Organic Construction
Solutions and I can’t thank Peter Titterton enough
for agreeing to help me out.”
The event will be led away by three
times winners Jason Pritchard/Phil Clarke in a Ford
Focus WRC03 who will look to make it four in a row
and start as hot favourite. Competition will come
from multiple tarmac champion Damian Cole in a
Fiesta WRC who is keen to add an elusive Manx
victory to his CV and he will be followed away by
Simon Bowen (Subaru Impreza WRC). Reigning Manx
champion Dan Harper is another to watch in the top
10, a switch to a WRC Mini is sure to give him the
tools to compete for honours, although he will need
to tame the beast on the narrow lanes.
Lying in wait on the opening Friday
evening leg are six tests covering 46 miles in the
south of the island, the latter two of which will be
contested in fading light and possibly darkness.
Saturday sees a further 75 miles over six more
stages spread across the island. The event includes
eight stages over 11 miles long, making it one of
the biggest challenges of the year and it will be
hard to recover from time loss.
Hugh and Rob’s progress can be
followed through the live results at:
http://results.djames.org.uk/results/event.php?EventID=475&Entries=Entries
Rob is supported in 2017 by Robert
Graham & Co Chartered Quantity Surveyors, JR
Hinchliffe Plumbing and Heating, Burger Man
Catering, MC Locksmiths and Organic Construction
Solutions. |
