by Geoff Mayes
Last year the Jim Clark International Rally saw one of the closest ever finishes in rallying, when, after 120 miles of fierce competition Subaru pilot Mark Higgins and Rory Galligan, at the wheel of a Mitsubishi, were tied on times at the finish with the rally going to the former by virtue of a tie break. The big question now is: Can 2007 produce as close a battle?
Whilst some might have argued that the 2007 MSA Tesco 99 Octane British Rally Championship had lost some star players when the Mitsubishi Evo Challenge moved away, in light of the opening round, the championship would appear as strong as ever.
Guy Wilks might have dominated the rally, winning over 80 per cent of the stages but don’t discount Mark Higgins, triple British champion, or even 2006 Evo Challenge winner and former champion Gwyndaf Evans. Both of these drivers will be pushing Wilks hard all the way and with a battle royal developing behind them, in the shape of Phillip Morrow, Wyn Humphries, Rob Swann, Nick Kenny and plenty more talented competitors, all are in with a chance at upsetting the form book.
The Toyota S2000 of David Higgins had a fairly disastrous start to its British Championship campaign, being OTL before the rally had even begun, but the team are confident that the car will go well on the tricky tarmac roads around Kelso this weekend, and as a result could be a dark horse.
With Conrad Rautenbach, the winner of the Super 1600 class last time out, skipping this round, the battle between the S1600 screamers will be fought out by Darren Gass and Stefan Davis, with George McDonald as a potential interloper, given his local knowledge.
Davis experienced a character building opening round at the wheel of his Ford Puma but will be hoping lessons learnt with the car will help him have an easier time on the
Jim Clark.
