PRESS INFORMATION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship
Wales Rally GB, 30th November – 2nd December 2007
Mitsubishi Motors UK wins British Rally Championship Teams title
Guy Wilks wins rounds six and seven to become British Rally Champion
Gwyndaf Evans finishes third in British Championship
Victory in PWRC category

It was a weekend to remember for the Mitsubishi Motors UK Rally Team, with Guy Wilks and co-driver Phil Pugh winning rounds six and seven of the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship to take victory in both the British Team’s and Driver’s titles on this weekend’s Wales Rally of Great Britain. Driving their Group N Lancer Evolution IX, they also dominated the Production World Rally Championship category ahead of some of the best Group N teams in the world.

Team-mates Gwyndaf Evans and Huw Lewis finished second in round six and, in doing so, helped secure the Team’s title, the result also seeing them claim third place in the BRC standings. And it would have surely been another one-two for Mitsubishi in round seven if it was not for impact damage following a hard landing causing their car’s transmission to expire on Saturday.

As well as the final round of the UK series, the Rally GB also hosted the final round of the World Rally Championship and therefore represented the year’s biggest challenge for BRC crews. With a total of 224 miles, the event being over twice the distance of a domestic international rally, British Championship organisers had split the event into two rounds, the first concluding after Friday’s initial leg of six stages and the second at the end of the event, following a further seven stages on Saturday and another four on Sunday.

As it has been all season, the battle for honours was between Wilks, Evans and their main championship rival Mark Higgins, the Rally GB set to decide the outcome of both the driver’s and team’s titles.

After a spectacular ceremonial start in Cardiff on Thursday evening, the rally got underway from Swansea early on Friday, with three stages in the Neath and Rhonda Valleys run once in the morning and again in the afternoon. With fog and rain on the agenda conditions were exceptionally tricky and it was destined to be a mixture of caution and bravery that would prove to be the order of the day.

At the service halt following the first trio of stages, the BRC leader-board showed Higgins six seconds ahead of Wilks, who was in-turn 10 seconds ahead of Evans. Both Mitsubishi drivers reported that despite the conditions all was going well except for experiencing a little too much oversteer. However, once the technicians had done their stuff, the two Lancers handled perfectly and Wilks emerged from SS4 just over a second ahead of Higgins.

Evans was also quicker and, when Higgins succumbed to a puncture on SS6 his fate was sealed. But in true rallying tradition, things are never that easy, as half way through the last stage of the day Wilks’ light pod removed itself from the front of his Mitsubishi, leaving him with only dipped-beam to negotiate the remaining eight miles of Rheola Forest in the dark and foggy conditions.

Although dropping time, Wilks returned to Swansea 3.2 seconds ahead of Evans, the team delighted to claim first and second in round six of the British Championship. The result meant that Mitsubishi had secured enough points to claim the British Team’s Championship and Wilks needing to finish third or higher in round seven to claim the Driver’s title. It also meant that for Evans a second British crown was now out of reach, but he was assured of third place, whatever happened during the next two days.
Such was the pace of the two red Evos, Wilks and Evans started day-two an impressive first and second in the PWRC class, ahead of all the regular Production World Rally Championship runners!

With the fog lifting, but the wind and rain increasing, conditions were little better for Saturday’s six stages in the forests on the Brecon Beacons. Needless to say, team tactics were to hold stations and for the initial loop of three stages that’s exactly what happened.

At the service halt in Swansea Wilks’ only problem appeared to be a soft brake pedal, but for Evans things were not quite so straight-forward. Having taken a jump in SS8 at high-speed, the resulting heavy impact on landing had damaged a number of components, the most significant being the transmission casings.

Although there appeared to be no change in his car’s handing, the mechanical injuries manifested themselves on stage 11, when Evans lost all gears on junction eight and frustratingly his car coasted to a halt.

Thankfully for Wilks, all went according to plan and he made it through the forests unscathed to the final test of the day, the spectacular indoor stage in Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium. And he didn’t disappoint, with a near perfect display of car control in front of 1000s of spectators.

Wilks finished the day 8.6 seconds ahead of Higgins in the British Championship standings (calculated from Saturday’s stage times only) and one-minute seven seconds ahead in the PWRC rankings, whilst holding a position of 14th overall.

With two runs through Brechfa and Trawscoed Forests, split by a mid-morning service in Swansea, Wilks headed-off for the final push on Sunday morning. Aiming to keep out of trouble and perhaps driving a too-steady pace, he struggled to find a rhythm in the first stage, but did by the second. In doing so, he extended his lead over Higgins – even following a heart-stopping moment when his car’s ignition master-switch shut itself off for no reason one-mile from the end of SS15.

With just routine checks at the service halt, the whole team held their breath whilst Wilks and Pugh negotiated a repeat of the morning’s two stages. But their fears were unfounded and following a trouble-free run they headed to Cardiff to win round seven of the British Championship by nearly a minute ahead of a troubled Higgins, where they received a Champion’s welcome on the WRC finishing ramp in front of hoards of spectators and the media.

After passing post-event scrutineering, to check the car’s conformity to the technical regulations, with flying colours, it was confirmed that Mitsubishi were the 2007 British Teams Champions. Wilks and Pugh were crowned British Rally Champions, having scored a maximum of 100 points during the season, for winning five events out of the seven rounds and the team won the final round of the Production World Rally Championship and finished this WRC qualifying event an impressive 13th overall. Not bad for a weekend’s work.

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 and Sega Rally.

Guy Wilks
What a result! It really means a lot to me to become British Champion – and to do it with five wins this season, plus beat all other PWRC competitors on this event, is a real bonus. I joined the Mitsubishi team this year knowing that their commitment and attitude to winning the British title was second to none. So, together with Gwyndaf I am delighted to be able to win the double for the team. I have to thank everyone for their support and hard work this season to enable Phil and I to achieve what we have done this year.”

Gwyndaf Evans
We were fully on course to make it a one-two for Mitsubishi in the BRC and PWRC, so it was a great disappointment not to finish. But you have to look at the bigger picture and I’m delighted that the work we did on Friday helped secure the Team’s title and allow us to claim third in the British Championship. I know how much this has meant to the whole team. I really must thank Mitsubishi for a great year and there is no doubting the commitment of everyone involved. I’ve have to admit that I have been pleased to still be on the pace of the championship front-runners, which means I’m now considering my options for 2008!

Paul Brigden – Team Principal & General Manager - Ralliart
This has been a superb weekend for the team and I am absolutely delighted to have secured both the Driver’s and Team’s titles. We have worked for this result over the past four years and to eventually achieve it is a great feeling. Although it wasn’t our priority, it was also satisfying to dominate the PWRC category as well. We’ve had a dream-team this year in Guy and Gwyndaf - both of them capable of winning the British title. We’ve now set the bar very high for next season. My thanks go not only to Guy, Phil, Gwyndaf and Huw for the jobs they have done in the cars, but to ADR Motorsport, our sponsors and supporters for what has been a fantastic season.

Wales Rally GB
Tesco 99 Octane British Rally Championship - Round Six Results

ENDS

Notes for Editors
Guy Wilks is 26 and lives in Darlington, Co. Durham.
Phil Pugh 36 is and lives in Tywyn, Gwynedd.
Gwyndaf Evans is 48 and lives in Dinas Mawddwy, Gwynedd.
Huw Lewis is 50 and lives in Machynlleth. Gwynedd.

For further information please contact:

Mitsubishi Motors UK Press Office:
n.reglar@mitsubishi-cars.co.uk
Tel: 01285 647200

Paul Brigden, General Manager - Ralliart
p.brigden@mitsubishi-cars.co.uk
Tel: 01285 647680

Mitsubishi Motors UK Motorsport Press Officer
Simon Slade, RPM Promotions
simon@rpmpromo.com
Tel: 01935 424873
Mob: 07966 153555