Official rally reports of rally driver Ryan Champion

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Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship Round 5 Rally Yorkshire October 7th

CHAMPION TAKES HOME VICTORY!

Ryan Champion and co driver Craig Thorley took a suberb victory on the Pickering based Rally Yorkshire in their Mitsubishi Motors UK Lancer Evolution IX. After a day long battle with Mark Higgins and Jonny Milner, Ryan came out victorious by 10.1 seconds after over 100 miles of competition.

The event featured 108 competitive miles split into12 special stages, two a short spectator-orientated affair around the rally’s host venue of Pickering Showground, the other 10 all challenging tests in the forests on the North Yorkshire moors.

After a successful shakedown a few days before the event Champion was feeling confident, especially as he won the first round of the British Rally Championship in May the last time the competition was on a gravel surface. However, the pressure was on as non-finishes in the previous two rounds meant that to retain any hope of claiming the championship crown Champion had to win and his main rival Mark Higgins had to finish outside of the top 15 - a tall order indeed.

Things started well and the Castleton driver was immediately on the pace, holding second place for the first two stages, just behind fellow Yorkshireman Jonny Milner, also in a Mitsubishi. But it was close, with only 4.2 seconds separating the first five cars and significantly, Higgins was in fourth.

On stages three and four the lead changed. First Gwyndaf Evans took to the front, then Stuart Jones, but an off for Evans saw him drop back and a sheared brake caliper bolt for Jones heralded his retirement. So after stage six – an 18.34-mile run through Dalby, the top three positions read Milner, 0.9 seconds ahead of Champion, followed by Higgins, a further 12 seconds behind, problems with his Subaru’s gearbox hampering his progress.

At the half-way service halt back in Pickering, Mitsubishi team boss Paul Brigden instructed Champion and Thorley to go for the win – and that they did, straight-away taking the lead from Milner on SS7, the second 0.5 mile run through the showground.

With the bit between their teeth, Champion and Thorley never faltered during a repeat run of the morning’s five stages in the North Yorkshire forests. But behind them it was still close and with his transmission restored to full fettle Higgins moved into second on SS10, just 7.2 seconds behind the Mitsubishi crew. Only 0.1 second separated the title aspirants in stage 11 through Langdale, meaning the gap was 7.3 seconds when they headed into Dalby for the last stage. With no intention of losing his lead Champion blasted through the 18.34 mile forest stage to win the event by a final margin of 10.1 seconds. A flawless performance from both car and crew represented a real triumph for the team, but it was not enough to keep Champion’s bid for the British title alive, as Higgins had held on to his second place.
“It’s great to win another round of the British Rally Championship – especially my home event.” said Champion “I’m also pleased to have come out on top with such tough opposition, I can’t believe how close it was throughout the event. It’s a shame we’re now out of the running for the British title, but there was nothing else we could do today other than win and I think we have proved all year just how quick we can be. Everything went 100% for us today, and the car was perfect! Hopefully next year I can come back and win the Championship.” The result in Yorkshire moves Champion into third in the drivers’ standings with one round of the championship left to go – the Wales Rally of Great Britain, which takes place on 1st – 3rd December and also represents the final round of the World Rally Championship.