by Rob Wilkins
Mitsubishi's Guy Wilks has said that he will need to re-address the balance straight away when the BRC heads to the Isle of Man next month for the third round in the 2008 Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship.
Wilks, who got his title defence off to the perfect start on the Pirelli International Rally by taking a dominant win, wasn't so lucky on the more recent Jim Clark and he was forced out in SS4 after his Lancer Evo IX caught fire in the fourth stage.
While that the incident left him 'gutted', the 2007 BRC champion is determined to bounce back and thinks it will actually make the Cirencester-based squad stronger, as it bids to once again win both titles.
"It was bad enough we had a problem, but ultimately it wasn't as bad as the end result - the fire and the car being totally wreaked," he told
Crash.net Radio recently. "I am going to be reverting back to last year's car now, although the team is going to up spec it. I don't have a problem with that.
"It is an Evo 9 and people harp on about so and so has a three year old Subaru or a four year old Subaru. But the Evo 9 is three or four years old as well. Obviously this year's car was a brand new one and we are going to have a year old car. But it doesn't make much difference. It will still be a good car.
"The next event is the Manx and we need to do what we did last year. We are in the same position as 2007 - with a win and a dropped score.
"We need to re-address the balance straight away on the Isle of Man. We go there - it is not pressure as such, but we know what we have to do. It is just a case of getting on and doing it - and making sure we win.
"Things like this always pull people together too. When you have a bit of a drama or a travesty like this, you have got to all pull together tighter and get on with the job. I think it will only make us stronger. We have just got to get our heads down and fight back."
Asked about the Rally Isle of Man, which runs from July 17-19 and includes 170 competitive stage miles, Wilks added that it is 'very demanding'.
