Kumho Tyres MSA British Rallycross Championship

Favourites must catch up in Wales - Monday’s (May 7) second round of the Kumho Tyres MSA British Rallycross Championship at Pembrey is a critical event for several of the pre-season favourites after a dramatic opening round at Lydden four weeks ago.

The winner at Lydden, and the championship leader entering round two, is Dave Bellerby (Northallerton) who drives in the SuperModified category with his Lotus Exige. By steering clear of the crash that changed the face of the event, and producing an outstanding drive, Bellerby became the first to win a British championship event outright in a two-wheel drive car since 1985 when the four-wheel drive ‘Supercars’ came to dominate Rallycross.

Bellerby knows that he has almost no chance to repeat the success, but is aiming the qualify for the Superfinal at Pembrey.

“My aim is to keep hold of the championship lead, I think I can probably get to fourth or fifth place in the Superfinal and if I can do that with George Tracey and “Mad Mark” behind me than I can keep the championship lead,” said Bellerby.

The driver who lost out most at Lydden was Andrew Jordan (Sutton Coldfield) who had dominated the event, setting fastest time in each of the three qualifying heats and then winning the Supercar A final. Jordan’s day came an abrupt end in the first corner of the Superfinal where a gearbox problem caused his Ford Focus to lose drive, after which it was hit by following cars.

“I’m aiming to win at Pembrey. We’ve got a test lined up before the weekend to make sure we’ve sorted the gearbox problems and also to work on start line performance,” said Jordan. “I was fastest at Lydden and I think we’ve got the Focus working really well on the Kumho tyres, reliability is the key for me now. The only good thing about Lydden was that I wasn’t the only one to have problems.”

Highest placed of those who started the year tipped as likely champions was Pat Doran (Milstead) who managed to take fifth place with his Ford Fiesta ST despite losing the use of fourth gear after the third qualifying heat. John McCluskey (Dublin) was Jordan’s closest challenger for most of the event but was forced out of the Superfinal as a result of damaged sustained in the crash. Dermot Carnegie (Dublin) had a very good run in his brand new Fiesta, but was also a retirement in the Superfinal.

“Mad Mark” (Barnard Castle) led the Superfinal but ultimately lost out to Bellerby. “I got caught in the crash at the start of the Superfinal and that damaged the intercooler. As the race went on the engine was getting too hot and beginning to lose power, I thought i might have won but there was nothing I could do to stop Bellerby,” said “Mad Mark” who eventually finished third behind George Tracey.
Driving his new Peugeot 307CC WRC in its first BRC event, Tracey struggled in the heats but made it through the B and A finals to run in the Superfinal where a dogged performance brought second place. The Mullingar-based Irishman faces a hectic time just to get to Pembrey on Monday where he will race his Ford RS200.
“I’ve entered the Peugeot in the first round of the European Rallycross Championship in Portugal. That is on Saturday and Sunday and then I’m flying back overnight to drive the RS200 at Pembrey. I want to try and do a full season in the European championship if the car is okay but I had a good start in the British championship so I need to continue that too,” Tracey said.

Local star Howlin makes a late start

SuperModified racer Mike Howlin (Haverfordwest) will begin his 2007 season at Pembrey where he will race his new rear-wheel drive Fiesta ST for the first time. The new Fiesta uses the 2.4-litre Cosworth engine from his old car, but should be faster: “It should be better in every area, I hope it’s lighter and better handling than the old car but it’s taken a bit longer to finish than we’d estimated so I don’t know yet. Hopefully it’s fast enough to catch that Lotus!” said Howlin.

Others chasing Bellerby in the SuperModified category include 16-year-old Ben Power (Welshpool) who has made a great start to the 2007 season after graduating from Junior Rallycross to race a SuperModified Ford Ka that uses a 240bhp two-litre engine. Power finished fourth in the SuperModified A final at Lydden and was classified ninth in the Superfinal.

The supporting programme for the Kumho Tyres MSA British Rallycross Championship features the Bill Gwynne Rallyschool Junior Rallycross Championship and the BTRDA Clubmans Championship.

The Junior championship also had an historic result in round one where Samantha Thom (Cookstown) became the first girl to win an event in the category’s four year history. Thom (15) caught and passed both George Tracey Jnr. (Mullingar) and championship favourite Ben Rennison (Richmond) to win what was her first championship event.

Competitors in the BTRDA Clubmans championship have already completed two rounds and the joint championship leaders, having won their respective classes in each event, are Stock Hatch racer Dave Baines (Tarporley) and Junior Rallycrosser Ben Rennison (Richmond).

Event details
Kumho Tyres MSA British Rallycross Championship
round two, Monday May 7
Pembrey, on the A484 west of Llanelli, between Burry Port and Kidwelly
Practice starts at 0900, racing from 1000
Admission: Adults £12, children up to 16 free
Info: 01554 , RallycrossUK.com