by Rob Wilkins


Guy Wilks will be after a repeat performance on the International Rally Yorkshire this weekend and a commanding win, like he took on the Pickering-based round in 2007, would be well timed.

Since winning the Pirelli back in April, the Mitsubishi man hasn't stood on the top of the podium since. Indeed while he was second on the Isle of Man and more recently on the Ulster, with Mark Higgins having won the last three tarmac rounds, the pressure is definitely mounting.

Wilks though isn't bother about that and is convinced that he still has a good chance of retaining his crown.

"We are going to approach the Trackrod the same as always," he told Crash.net Radio in an exclusive interview at the recent Castle Combe Rallyday. "We are going to try and win it. It is as simple as that. That is what we always try and do in the British championship.

"There is a bit of pressure on. We have not had so much luck - myself and the team - over the last three tarmac rounds. But we are still in with a shout of the championship.

"Everybody seems to have, not written us off, but think that it is going in Mark [Higgins]'s direction. I am going to do my best to stop that."

Asked if he thinks it is still open, he insisted that is the case, although he did add that he definitely needs to collect some wins.

"We need at least two wins out of the last three rounds and for Mark to finish lower than second. But we will see how it goes," he continued. "It is one of those things. We have never slackened off the pedal, the team or myself or Phil [Pugh] and David [Moynihan].

"Obviously I have had a different co-driver in the car and David is going to continue on the Trackrod. Phil is not quite 100 per cent fit. But that is not an issue.

"We won last year on the Trackrod and I am definitely looking forward to it. The Trackrod is a very fast event. There is a lot of straights and very high-speed. A lot of people say it is just straights and junctions. But it is a little bit more than that."