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Marty McCormack and Phil Clarke added another superb win to their Citroen Racing Trophy bid this weekend at the Jim Clark International Rally. The 3rd round of The British Rally Championship was based in the Scottish Borders town of Kelso and saw the competitors tackle 150 tarmac miles over closed public roads.
The ceremonial start on Friday evening attracted a huge crowd in Edinburgh's city centre, followed by six stages, two of which were through the town of Duns. After the first 4 stages Marty had a 13sec lead over his nearest rival Jason Pritchard but after suffering time loss behind another competitor on two stages Marty had lost his advantage over Jason resulting in the pair being dead level at the end of Friday night's stages.
The first of Saturday stages saw Marty take a commanding lead of 12.6 seconds despite a moment on the 3rd corner when he had a half spin due to cold tyres. The day continued with Marty and Jason battling stage wins over the next 4 stages. On Marty's return to service before the final loop John McKillop (Chief Engineer) tweaked the suspension settings on the Citroen Max and as Marty commented later "everything about the car felt great". He went on to set quickest two wheel drive times on SS16 and 17 adding 24 seconds to his lead before the final stage through Duns, finishing 43 seconds ahead of his R2 rivals.
Marty also clinched 9th overall in the British Championship standings and second 2wd behind the vastly experienced Finnish driver, Matti Rantanen in a Renault Clio R3. Marty now currently leads the R2 class, the Citroen Racing Trophy and the British Rally Championship Junior Category.
The next round of the Championship for the team is the Isle of Man rally in July.
Martin would like to take this opportunity to thank Outdoor Services, Millers Oils, Carella, Ace Fixings, PPP Salvage Auctions, TFR Refrigeration and all the other people who contribute in any way.
Regular updates on Marty's progress throughout the year can be obtained at www.martymccormack.com
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For immediate release 27th May 2009
Citroen Racing Trophy / C2R2 Cup round three
Jim Clark International Rally 22/23 May 2009
McCormack makes it C2R2 in a row
Martin McCormack and Phil Clarke took their second victory in the Citroën Racing Trophy on last weekend’s Jim Clark International Rally, extending their lead to four points in the 2009 C2R2 Cup.
The all asphalt event certainly suited the powerful C2R2 Max Kit cars, with seventeen fast and furious stages split over Friday evening and Saturday of the Bank Holiday weekend. Northern Irishman McCormack’s goal was evident from the start of the event, building a lead of ten seconds over 2008 Champion Jason Pritchard by the end of the second stage, despite catching a car on stage two.
Pritchard and co-driver Andrew Edwards nearly didn't make the rally start though, the young Welshman having had an altercation with a post in the pre-start holding area, after the automatic barrier narrowly missed the rear of his car. The distraction forced him to hit a concrete post, damaging the car’s radiator and it was his rival McCormack and Suzuki driver Nick Everard who came to the rescue.
Andrew Hockridge and Rich Mills posted a pair of cracking times through the Duns spectator stages after spinning on the day’s opening test. They were quickest of the Citroëns here, albeit just half a second clear of McCormack on the first Duns run, a tenth on the second.
Mark Gamble and Steve Link were having a dreadful time on the fell roads of Bothwell and Abbey St Bathans, the rear end of the car unstable and wayward. By the end of the night the Wolverhampton driver was still perplexed by the direction to take on car set-up, also losing out on power as he had not yet switched to the Max engine.
By the close on Friday night though, Pritchard had pulled back time and astonishingly he and McCormack were tied on the same tenth of a second, after nearly three quarters of an hour of flat-out rallying.
The opening stages of Saturday morning heralded more early sunshine, McCormack again setting the pace from Pritchard, who responded now his radiator was fully repaired. But the Welshman had luck against him, losing intercom and a bolt from his gear linkage, caused him to drop back as the day progressed. A 100mph spin also rattled Pritchard, but he managed to claw back some time in the changeable conditions, although McCormack’s winning margin was 43 seconds after 150 miles of competition.
Gamble eventually resolved the handling problems and stopped bouncing off the banks, not with a cunning suspension tweak, but the addition of intermediate tyres on the rear of his car. His eventual third place was little solace for the Midlander, now trailing second placed Pritchard by four points in the championship.
He had more luck than Hockridge though, who had a high speed encounter with a gate-post while trying to avoid a baled chicane. The Welshman managed to scrub enough speed off to avoid contact with the bale, instead aiming for an opening into a field. But he clipped the left hand wheel on the post, bending the wishbone and leaving the steering decidedly toed-in. The resulting damage was not repaired fully until much later, mechanics finding a bent hub which caused the brakes to become spongy for several stages.
McCormack’s victory brought with it a cheque to the tune of €2000 from Citroën Racing, a €1000 bonus for his second place in the front wheel drive category on the rally. Pritchard took €1000 for second with Gamble taking third place and €500 for his perseverance.
The next event in the C2R2 Cup calendar is the Isle of Man International Rally on July 10th & 11th, where the French pocket-rockets should shine again, but you can catch the action from the Jim Clark International Rally on Max Power and Motorsport Mundial from Saturday 20th June. Click HERE for TV listings.
The C2R2 Cup and Citroën Racing Trophy UK are supported by Citroën UK.
For more information visit www.c2r2.co.uk
CITROËN RACING TROPHY UK/C2R2 CUP AFTER ROUND 3
Pos - Name - Nationality - Total
1 - Martin McCormack - GB - 58
2 - Jason Pritchard - GB - 54
3 - Mark Gamble - GB - 50
4 - Andrew Hockridge - GB - 30
For more information on the MSA British Rally Championship visit www.rallybrc.co.uk
or its support series, the BRC Challenge at www.rallybrcchallenge.co.uk
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