We were hoping to possibly upgrade to another car for Wales Rally GB, albeit within the same class, but unfortunately with the engine problem in Ulster and the gearbox problem on the Trackrod any budget we had to buy another car has been eaten up. That means we'll be going to Wales with the MG again, but we feel confident we can set some good times. We know we've got the speed to get a good result; we just need a little bit of luck and a bit of reliability.

In a way we are stuck between a rock and a hard place, though. We've got to make it to the end of the event to get the points and think about the championship, but at the same time it's Wales Rally GB and as such the biggest shop window in the country. If we can go there and set some cracking stage times, you never know who's watching. That's the only way you're going to progress, by really impressing the right sort of people in the right environment.

I'd like to go there and push flat-out to try and beat some of the Fiesta Sporting Trophy guys who have been following the World Rally Championship all year and are in the same class as us. Obviously we want to beat the other guys in the class too, but I think we're going to have to go with a bit of a calmer approach, just concentrate on getting the car to the end of the event and not worry too much about the WRC guys out there.

It's all set up very nicely now in the standings with the dropped scores – Lorna Smith in the Suzuki is on completely equal points to me at the top, with James Wozencroft in the other Suzuki just one point behind us – so there's everything to play for!

Catch you later,

Matt

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