by Rob Wilkins


TO HEAR THE INTERVIEW IN FULL WITH STUART JONES: CLICK HERE


MG Super 2000 Sport 'works' driver Stuart Jones has enjoyed a strong start to the season in the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship, and following a sixth place finish on the Pirelli and a fantastic runners-up spot on the Jim Clark, now lies second in the standings. Crash.net Radio caught up with the Welshman recently and got his thoughts ahead of the next event in the BRC, the Rally Isle of Man...


Crash.net:
Stuart, you've had a great start to the season with the MG, how are you going to tackle the Rally Isle of Man?

Stuart Jones:
I think with the same approach we have done on the previous two rounds. I am not going to try and go out and set the front running pace straight away. But I think on this rally we aim to be a bit closer than we were on the other two.

Crash.net:
You did the Rally Bohemia recently, how much will that help you ahead of the third round in the BRC?

SJ:
That was very successful for us. We didn't get a result but we weren't there to get a result. We just fine-tuned the car set-up on tarmac. It was more valuable miles for me and more experience making notes. All-in-all it was very good.

Crash.net:
What is your target for the Manx?

SJ:
I would like to see if we can push for a top three finish and if we can do that we could come away from the Isle of Man leading the championship. That would be good.

Crash.net:
How difficult an event is it?

SJ:
For me I think it is very difficult. It is very important for me. You need very accurate and very descriptive pace notes because there is so much happening on the roads. If you miss one small thing it could end in an accident.

Crash.net:
You are currently second in the BRC standings, 1 point behind the leader, David Higgins. Do you consider yourself a title contender?

SJ:
I think so. We are getting stronger all the time. To be second at this point is good. It is very positive. Every time we drive the car we find a little bit more speed in it and a bit more speed in me too. As the season goes on we will only get stronger.

Crash.net:
The result on the Jim Clark, when you took the runners-up spot, that must have been a big boost?

SJ:
It was and definitely towards the end of the event, we were setting good times and we were very competitive. We didn't expect that with the huge straights there. We thought we would lack top speed. So we were over-the-moon with that.

Crash.net:
You started using the MG Super 2000 at the end of last year. How much has it come on?

SJ: