 |
| Wilks wins first time out for Mitsubishi |
|||||||
|
PRESS
INFORMATION Tesco
99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship - Round One Report
23rd April 2007 n their first ever event for the Mitsubishi Motors UK Rally Team, Guy Wilks and co-driver Phil Pugh stormed to a convincing victory in this weekend’s Pirelli International Rally, the first round of the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship. Wilks led right from the start and won 11 of the event’s 14 stages, only gear selection difficulties on stages nine, 10 and 11 momentarily breaking his stride. For 75% of the rally his closest competitor was Mitsubishi team mate Gwyndaf Evans, co-driven by Huw Lewis, who held a strong second place right up until stage 12 when a broken transmission shaft brought his rally to an early conclusion. The rally started and finished in Carlisle city centre and comprised four stages in darkness on Friday evening and a further ten on Saturday, which combined provided an overall competitive distance of 100 miles on the demanding gravel roads of Kielder Forest. It was a perfect start for the Mitsubishi team, with Wilks setting fastest and Evans second fastest times on all of Friday’s four stages. Such was the pace of the two Mitsubishi Lancers, when crews returned to Carlisle for the overnight halt Wilks had established a 28-second lead ahead of his team mate, who was in-turn 34 seconds ahead of last year’s winner of this event Ryan Champion. Reigning British Champion Mark Higgins held fourth place a further minute behind in a Subaru. The Mitsubishi drivers reported that both the team’s Lancer Evolutions had run perfectly. Even so, they admitted their times could be even better: Wilks owning up to stalling his car on a tight corner in SS4 and losing 10 seconds, whilst Evans found that the aftermath of his recent bout of flu was still affecting him. Very happy with the story so far, the team ordered more of the same for Saturday’s 10 stages and, for the next loop of three stages, that’s exactly what happened, Mitsubishi extending their advantage in the process. Wilks was now 37 seconds ahead of Evans who was in-turn 36 up on Higgins, who was getting quicker as the day wore on. But then, in SS 9, Wilkes suddenly found he had no third gear and the lever was jumping out of fourth. Adjusting his driving accordingly he got the car back to the service halt after SS11, amazingly only reducing his lead by five seconds. The team then set about changing the gearbox, a procedure they had rehearsed many times, but with their record being 23 minutes and the service halt only 20, it was vital to get the operation completed on time in order to keep Wilks ahead. A tremendous performance by the team’s technicians saw the gearbox changed in just 18 minutes and Wilks booked into the service-out control just as the clock ticked over 20. With a ten-second penalty applied for every whole minute over the time allowance, it meant that Wilks had retained his lead and was now 22 seconds ahead of Evans. With just three stages to go, a Mitsubishi one-two looked possible, but half-way through SS12 Evans’ car coasted to a halt when the cross-shaft in the transmission sheared. In contrast, Wilks’ car was back to 100%, a point he proved by setting fastest times on the final three stages, his performance rewarding him with his first ever outright victory by an impressive margin of 66 seconds. In addition to his first place, Wilks was also presented with the Pirelli Star Driver Award, which sees him selected as the first of six finalists who will be selected to win a prize drive in 2008. The Cirencester-based Mitsubishi Motors UK rally team is supported by HKS, Pirelli, Sparco, Speedline Corse, PIAA, Ricardo and Performance Friction Brakes. The team’s two Lancer Evolution IXs are built and run on events by ADR Motorsport of Chesterfield. Guy Wilks is supported by Mobil 1. Team
Quotes Gwyndaf
Evans Paul
Brigden – General Manager Ralliart Pirelli
International Rally – Results Tesco 99 Octane British Rally Championship Standings Drivers
Points ENDS Notes
for Editors |
Guy Wilks (right) and co-driver Phil Pugh celebrate their victory in the opening round of the Tesco 99 Octane British Rally Championship, the Pirelli International Rally, on top of their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX (copyright free image).
Guy Wilks/Phil Pugh - Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX (copyright free image).
Gwyndaf Evans/Huw Lewis - Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX (copyright free image). |
||||||
|
For further information please contact:
Paul
Brigden, General Manager - Ralliart Mitsubishi
Motors UK Motorsport Press Officer
|
|||||||
| |
|||||||
Guy
Wilks trounces opposition to take outright rally victory
