Bogie wins Mitsubishi Championship on tie-break

David Bogie crossed the line of this weekend’s Bulldog Rally to finish fifth in the final round of the Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge and, in doing so, became the 2008 Champion. Nik Elsmore did all he could to secure the title by being the first Mitsubishi home but, by ending the season on exactly the same points total, Bogie claims the series victory by virtue of scoring more highly on the opening round.

Starting and finishing in Oswestry, with all of the event’s six stages and 65 competitive miles taking place in the north-Wales forests, the Bulldog Rally provided the arena for this year’s Evolution Challenge finale. As well as Bogie and Elsmore, three other drivers were in with a chance of taking the title: Neil McCance, Daniel Barry and Keith Cronin.

Cronin On A Mission
Knowing that he would have to win, and for others to falter if he was to succeed, Cronin was on a mission right from the start and went through the first stage a staggering 28 seconds quicker than his closest rival. For Bogie, a brake problem meant he lost nearly a minute to the leader and most significantly he had dropped to seventh place. However, things went better on the next stage and he passed Tom Naughton and Evo Challenge returnee Jonny Greer to grasp the all-important fifth place.

With a comfortable lead, Cronin set off on SS3 intent on not taking any risks, but even at his slightly reduced pace he was caught out on a deceptive bend two-thirds of the way through the stage, when the car slid straight on, dropped into a ditch and slowly rolled onto its roof.

Elsmore Takes The Lead
Elsmore now held the lead by ten seconds from McCance and then Barry, who was just a further two seconds behind. But the drama wasn’t over and, as he exited stage four, Bogie became aware that his car’s head gasket had started to leak, causing him to drive with one eye on the temperature gauge for the remainder of the event.

Positions at the front of the Evo Challenge field stayed the same for SS4 and SS5, but on the sixth and final stage, a final push by Barry saw him edge ahead of McCance to take second place behind Elsmore, who was a little disappointed not to become champion, but very pleased with his day’s work.

Bogie’s Close Encounter
Crossing the line in fifth place, a delighted and relieved Bogie said:
“That was close! At one point I thought I wasn’t going to make it, so as soon as I got into fifth place I just took it steady. It was really difficult to know what speed to drive and I would like to have been up there with the rest battling for position today, but I came here to do a job and I’m delighted to win the Evo Challenge title.”

Bogie will now go on to receive his award, which has recently been announced as a works drive in this year’s rally GB.