Pirelli Offers BRC Star Driver Award

Pirelli, the official tyre supplier to the 2007 Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship (BRC), has offered Pirelli Star Driver Award for the first time in 2007. This incentive is offered to all competitors in the BRC to put that extra effort into their own class battles throughout the year. With everyone using Pirelli tyres until 2009 and both Higgins brothers withdrawing themselves from possible selection, the playing field has been levelled for anyone to shine.

The BRC approaches its final round, Wales Rally GB with an exciting climax in prospect. Any one of the top six drivers is still in with a chance of the title, as the final gruelling event has two opportunities for scoring points. When the flag eventually drops on the championship after Rally GB, six Pirelli Star Driver finalists will go head to head in a televised shootout, to find out who will take the Pirelli funded drive in the 2008 Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship.

Guy Wilks impressed the judges on the Pirelli International Rally while C2R2 driver George Thomas went forward as the second finalist for the end of season Shootout. Armagh’s Darren Gass’s mature Manx result meant he joins the others for the final selection competition, alongside fellow countryman Morrow, whose Ulster performance added his name to the list. James Wozencroft was the most recent recipient in Yorkshire, hoping with the others to secure a fully funded drive in the 2008 Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship with a top flight team.

The 2007 season has been a roller coaster for new and seasoned competitors alike, the lead changing three times during the year. Back in April the three times British Rally Champion Mark Higgins was looking for a straight hat-trick and now leads the championship, but former Super 1600 pilot Wilks had other ideas.

As all the tacticians are aware, when the drivers take account of dropped scores, the head of the table has a slightly different look. Wilks and Higgins are separated by just two points with Wilks’ taking three wins to Higgins’ two. 1996 BRC Champion Gwyndaf Evans is third after a frustrating season of “nearly” second places while rookie Wyn Humphreys is fourth, having briefly led the series after Rally Isle of Man. Philip Morrow’s efforts and brace of podium finishes helped him on his way to the Evo Challenge title while Rob Swann missed out on his first podium by 0.6 seconds on round three.