PRYCE SKIPS THE MANX
Welshman could win British title, but pulls entry for budget reasons
Osian Pryce will miss Rally Isle of Man, making the BRC title fight a two-way battle between Fredrik Ahlin and Keith Cronin.
Pryce has withdrawn his entry for a number of issues, citing budget as the main one, despite having a chance of winning the BRC title aboard his Spencer Sport Ford Fiesta R5.
“The answer to the question are we doing the Manx is no,” said Pryce. “The title is still possible but the problem is it’s a lot of money to go when you’re relying on someone else not to finish.
“Fredrik has to finish sixth on both for us to win, he’s just needs to get around tidy. It’s possible he won’t finish but from our perspective there’s no way we could take that further.
“We’d have to drive flat-out for twoand-a-half days, and hope he didn’t finish. It’s a lot to ask. There’s a few other little reasons as well. Budget isn’t with us at the minute.”
Pryce maintains that although he won’t win the title he targeted at the start of the year, the season has still been a success.
“I absolutely wouldn’t say this year has been a disaster, far from it. We came to the start of the season as the newbies, the boys who had no four-wheel-drive experience in this particular championship and we ran right at the front for the first half of the year; we led the championship and, had things gone our way, we’d have won some rallies and been right in there fighting for the title.”
Also missing from the Rally Isle of Man title battle is Marty Mccormack. Although if problems hit CA1 Sport Fabia driver Ahlin and Cronin, he could be champion, he won’t travel to Douglas with his Derek Mcgeehan-prepared Skoda Fabia R5.
M-sport Fiesta driver Cronin trails Ahlin by 24 points, with a potential 55 on offer to the Irishman. He has his joker to play, which he can play on either leg but not both. The joker adds five bonus points for a win, four for second, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth.