by Geoff Mayes
Andrew Hockridge is looking forward to the tarmac debut of his new rally car, a Citroen C2R2, as the Welshman heads across the waters to the Isle of Man for his first taste of the tough and tricky tarmac lanes around the island.
Hockridge, who is co-driven by fellow Welshman Tony Derrick in the Gino's Pizza Cheese supported Citroen, has never contested on the Isle of Man before. And with the island presenting unique challenges for competitors, and hosting the third round of the 2008 British Rally Championship later in the year, Hockridge is keen to gain as much experience as possible, hence this weekends visit.
This weekends RBS Manx International Rally counts towards a number of championships, and although it does not offer points towards Hockridge's campaign, it presents the ideal opportunity to dial the little Geoff Jones Motorsport run Citroen into the bumpy tarmac nature.
The pair scored a triumphant victory on the recent Pirelli International Rally, the opening round of their 2008 British Rally Championship campaign; the little GRH Foods and Camsport backed Citroen taking both the C2R2cup victory, as well as finishing second overall in the two wheel drive category.
Whilst Hockridge has no expectations of repeating that performance this weekend he will be hoping for a good clean run.
“Neither Tony nor I have ever competed here before, and so we don't really know what to expect,” he said. “Geoff Jones is coming along to offer advice and we are basically treating this weekend as a high speed test. We just need to gain as much information as possible so we are prepared when we return in July.”
Both Hockridge and Derrick have prior experience of competing on tarmac, thanks to their road rallying backgrounds, but this weekend offers the pair the advantage of making their own ‘pace' notes ahead of the rally.
