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Wozencroft enjoys 'fantastic' weekend

James Wozencroft notched up a career best result on the Jim Clark International Rally last weekend, the second round in the 2008 Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship.

Wozencroft was on the pace of the front runners all weekend in his Revolution Wheels Rally Team-run Subaru Impreza N11 and aside from two quick spins, did not put a foot wrong, setting eleven top five BRC times in total, including two third fastest times in SS8 and SS17.

In the end he finished sixth overall and fourth amongst the BRC crews following a good battle with Jonathan Greer's Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. He is now fourth overall in the championship standings, with 24 points on the board.

"What a fantastic weekend," said 'Wozie'. "It was a bit of a learning curve but Chris [Ridge – my co-driver] and I drove at our own pace.

"We were pleasantly surprised to be up with the likes of David Higgins. We made a few silly mistakes but it is all part of the learning process."

Wozencroft's team-mates Rob Swann and Karl Simmons didn't fare quite so well however, and both finished quite a bit further down the leaderboard.

Swann struggled with a series of punctures on the debut of his new Subaru Impreza N14, but was pleased to be on the pace until he suffered the ignominy of rolling at high speed on the final stage when he was caught out by a fifth gear jump. Fortunately Swann and co-driver Darren Garrod escaped uninjured and continued to the finish, albeit now down in 18th and 14th of those registered to score BRC points.

"We were really unlucky to get caught out over that bridge, but thankfully we are both okay," noted Swann. "The car is good but there is definitely still work needed to get her perfect, but there is massive potential!"

Karl Simmons meanwhile finished slightly better in his N12 and was enjoying a pretty strong run until an ambitious assault on the famous Langton Watersplash caused the air filter to become saturated with water, leaving him with a loss of power for two stages.

Brake problems on Sunday, caused by a faulty cylinder, caused a heart stopping moment as he was forced to spin to stop the car, ending up beached on a bank for some time. However he got it to the finish, ending up 12th overall and eighth in the BRC.

"The Jim Clark is a brilliant rally and always one of our favourites. It's just a pity that the problems at the end cost us two places, but thankfully we emerged unscathed, albeit a little shook up! Apart from that we are really happy with how the weekend went," he added.

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James Wozencroft/Chris Ridge Subaru Impreza
Jock Armstrong / Kirsty Riddick. Subaru Impreza. Merrick Forest Stages - the penultimate round of the 2009 Hankook MSA Scottish Rally Championship [Pic credit: LindsayPhotoSport]
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