RallyNews No1 Manx International Rally

MANX TAILS NO.1 TT Grandstand-Douglas-Thursday 4pm

Justin Dale in his Peugeot 206 'Super 1600' heads a strong entry for this Manx International Rally, with a lot at stake in terms of both the Pirelli British Championship and the Toshiba Tarmac series. Dale is close behind Jonny Milner and his Toyota Corolla WRC in the Pirelli British points race, while in the Tarmac series Andrew Nesbitt and Eamonn Boland in their respective Subaru WRC's are 1 & 2 in the points table, with current Champion Nesbitt very much the dominant factor.

Within the framework of both Championships there are all sorts of angles to be considered, not least the battle for GpN. David Higgins in the Barretts Subaru is the current GpN benchmark of the British series. This time he faces just about the fastest of the Irish GpN men, headed by Trevor Cathers in his Lancer.

Overall, spice has been added to the proceedings with the entry of Mark Higgins in a David Greer Corolla WRC. Mark, like his brother David, cut his rallying teeth here on the challenging Isle of Man roads and is a master at screwing the last ounce out of the Manx stage times. There will be much interest to see how former British Champion Mark will match up against Nesbitt, Boland and the other top Irish drivers from the Tarmac series, not to mention Jonny Milner.

In a way this Manx is very similar to the Jim Clark Rally two weeks ago with the best of the Pirelli series runners mixing it with the Tarmac contenders. It made for a good rally then, with Andrew Nesbitt coming out on top, but not until he had a thrilling battle with Milner. The addition of Mark Higgins this time, and also Steve Petch in his Hyundai WRC, has the makings of an even more interesting battle.

Fog and rain during the reconnaissance made life difficult for the drivers. Mark Higgins, who hasn't missed a Manx since '89, commented at Mt Murray scrutineering "I feel for drivers who don't know the Island. We didn't get a clean run, but we had notes, although I don't know the Island like the back of my hand." Andrew Nesbitt said, " Although we won the National here 2 years ago, everything has moved on. I think our notes will be slow for some stages." Andrew will drive the same '99 spec Subaru with which he won the Jim Clark, and not the 2001 model as tipped.

Jonny Milner reported, "We have got a little more power than on the Jim Clark, from the engine mapping. At the test stage the Corolla felt great, and I couldn't believe the grip I was getting in the rain from the Pirelli tyres." Peugeot works driver Justin Dale told us, "We have settled the suspension a little since the Jim Clark. The car feels good. I don't mind the rain and the fog - it will equalise things a bit." Justin's fellow Super 1600 pilote Rory Galligan was making last minute suspension adjustments, but reported all OK.
Non-starters from the advertised list include Gwyndaf Evans, Austin McHale and Nik Elsmore. Also Willie Fannin (37), Adrian McElhinney (42), Ellya Gold (43) and Joanne Neely Bownes (56). More news after the first couple of stages..

Brian & Liz Patterson.