Reigning British Rally Champion Mark Higgins regained the lead of this year’s championship following victory on the Ulster Rally in Northern Ireland, taking BRC honours by exactly a minute over Gwyndaf Evans in wet conditions.
Higgins made a solid start to the event, setting the third fastest time amongst the BRC runners through the opening stage of the rally, before moving up to second in class after stage two when Guy Wilks experienced mechanical problems in his Mitsubishi. The battle for the victory then came down to a straight fight between Mark Higgins and Gwyndaf Evans. There was little to choose between the two crews, with just two seconds separating them after three stages, stage six saw both teams post identical times. Higgins then won stage seven to move to within three seconds of Evans, the eighth stage of the rally proved to be decisive when Evans lost thirty seconds to Higgins.
Photo: Jacob Ebrey
The lead gained on stage eight proved to be insurmountable, Higgins showed real pace over the closing stages of the rally to extend his lead to the minute barrier. Rob Swann came home fifth, in his N12 Impreza from Prodrive, ahead of Higgins’s team mate Wyn Humphries in sixth.
A delighted Mark Higgins realized the importance of the victory “we need as many wins as possible,” said Mark at the finish, “because the Championship allows two dropped scores at the end of the season and Guy (Wilks) is still ahead if you take that into account now.”
The win moves Mark Higgins into the lead on 59 points, ahead of Stobart Teg - Sport team mate Wyn Humphreys by 3 points, while fellow Impreza driver Rob Swann moves up to third in the standings.
The Ulster Rally also forms part of Irish Tarmac Championship; again it was Subaru who took the honours in this series, occupying all three positions on the podium, Kris Meeke took victory in his S11 Impreza World Rally Car, ahead of Eugene Donnelly in second and Eamonn Boland in third, both of whom were driving S12 Imprezas.
The BRC now returns to England for round five, the Trackrod Rally takes place in Yorkshire on 06.10.07, where the Subaru drivers will be looking to keep the pressure on their championship rivals.
