Bogie prevails in Pirelli International Rally

Scottish driver David Bogie has extended his lead at the top of the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship drivers’ standings with his second win out of three rounds on the Pirelli International Rally in Carlisle on the weekend of April 29 and 30. Now leading the pack by seven points, the 23-year-old from Dumfries has performed consistently well throughout this season, taking first on Rallye Sunseeker in February and second on the Bulldog International Rally North Wales last month.

Using Pirelli’s Scorpion K6 gravel tyre, Bogie and co-driver Kevin Rae claimed nine fastest stage times in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX to win by more than one minute. “Winning the Pirelli International Rally is fantastic,” said Bogie. “I can’t believe I’ve had three podium finishes out of three rounds and two of them in first place. I just hope that I can continue in this way throughout the year. The next few rounds are on asphalt, which changes everything, but with the help and support from the guys at my team ProTec, I’m sure we’ll give the others a run for their money.”

Pirelli Star Driver and Bulldog winner Elfyn Evans also drove well, holding second place until stage five and setting one fastest stage time. Despite his speed, the 22-year old from Machynlleth, Wales had to settle for fourth overall in his Subaru Impreza after losing time on stage six with damaged brakes and suspension. However, things were much worse for 23-year old Adam Gould from Bristol, who had previously held third in the championship. He suffered from rear suspension failure on the first night of the rally and retired before the Saturday stages began.

There were no such problems for Skoda Fabia Super 2000 drivers Robert Barrable (Swords, County Dublin) and Jonny Greer (Carryduff, County Down) who finished second and third respectively. The two-litre normally aspirated cars have been upping their pace against the turbocharged machines, such as Mitsubishi’s Lancer and Subaru’s Impreza, on recent rounds and Barrable claimed two fastest stage times to underline their continued improvement.

The Pirelli International Rally took place in the Kielder Forest complex in Cumbria, which is notorious for its fast gravel roads lined with deep ditches and trees waiting to catch out unwary drivers. As well as the main Pirelli International Rally, four other supporting rallies took place during the weekend. Simon Moore and Emma Morrison won the Pirelli Challenge Rally in their Renault Clio; Graham Waite and Gill Cotton took the Pirelli Historic Rally laurels in their Volvo Amazon, while David Newall and Peter McLean won the Pirelli Tour of Cumbria aboard a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX.

Pirelli has sponsored the event for 20 years and Carl Naylor, Pirelli Tyre UK’s motorsport manager, commented: “This rally never fails to disappoint, it’s exciting and always throws up some interesting results. Our congratulations go out to David Bogie and his team for winning the rally, and, of course, Robert Barrable and Jonny Greer for taking second and third respectively.”

All the competitors in the British Rally Championship use Pirelli’s control asphalt and gravel tyres, similar to the control tyres used in the World Rally Championship between 2008 and 2010. These tyres, the manufacturer notes, have a failure rate of less than 0.02 per cent.