We are going to Chatsworth – that is going to be our 50th Birthday party. We are going to have a mega party on the Saturday night. We are going to bring some old champions and old cars from the past.
But in terms of the Pirelli it is just a matter of getting the registrations in and getting the media all lined-up and the TV packages and everything – and then onwards and upwards.
Crash.net:
Darren Gass won the inaugural Pirelli Star Driver competition and the works drive that goes with it. Will that scheme continue in '08?
MT:
It will, absolutely - and every single registered competitor of this year's Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship will be eligible. It just shows what a phenomenal prize that is. Darren has got himself a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 for the championship, run by ADR Motorsport, as an independent team. His involvement with Pirelli will see a significant amount of activity probably also outside the British Rally Championship too. The prize and support is fantastic, and that will continue this year and the lucky winner will get a fully funded drive in 2009.
Crash.net:
Last year the battle for the BRC title went to the wire, competitors could only count their five best scores from seven and the Rally GB was a double-header. Will that format stay the same?
MT:
It will and I think it worked well. It was a bit fraught at times on Rally GB but it was a success and the competitors seemed to like it. We will keep the same format.
Crash.net:
Pirelli came in as a control tyre in 2007. Was that deemed a hit?
MT:
It was and I think some of the competitors as well, who perhaps when we announced it were not in favour, have since changed their minds on that. All along we made the decision because it was good for the sport and it was good for the competitors, particularly those that have got aspirations to go on to bigger and better things. It was important and we have seen the benefit of it. We have other initiatives in the wings – you have heard about the eco-tyre. That will be very important to British rallying and that is coming from Pirelli and the British championship. We have other initiatives that we will be announcing this year as well.
Crash.net:
What are competitor numbers looking like for this year? Will we have more people out or will it be roughly the same?
MT:
I don't know. I think rallying is a pyramid structure and obviously at the top, as we are in the UK, there would be something wrong if we were matching similar numbers to the national series. If you want me to hazard a guess I reckon we will have more than last year and we will have significantly stronger competition in the lower classes. In Rally 1 with the Suzukis and in Rally 2 with the Citroens and we have got interest from other manufacturers', which we have had meetings with here at the Autosport show. That is brilliant news for the championship and with the interest of some new and exciting drivers at the top end I can see it growing this year.
Crash.net:
How do you plan to keep taking the BRC forward this year and beyond?
