R 5 BR C COMPETITORS CAN’ T COMPETE INWR C2ON RALLY GB
British Rally Championship R5 competitors will not be able to compete in the WRC2 section on Wales Rally GB this year.
The event is a round of the BRC this year, for the first time since 2008.
WRC2 competitors use a different control fuel than the BRC, meaning mixing competitors would not be possible.
Also, some BRC competitors who use tyres that aren’t Wrc-registered would be ruled out of competing as well.
“The drivers can’t have priority seeding and run in WRC2,” explained BRC championship co-ordinator and Rally GB clerk of the course Iain Campbell.
“There’s a few reasons really: one is to keep them in a similar place on the road, but the other reason is we have Vital fuels as our control fuel, and if you run WRC2 you have to run Panta [company] fuel.
“The other reason is someone like Marty Mccormack wouldn’t be able to buy a WRC2 entry as he runs on Kumho tyres, and they aren’t currently registered for WRC2 competition. We do [have to compromise]. The fuel and the tyres are the obvious ones and the two championship regulations don’t align.”
CA1 Sport team boss Martin Wilkinson and his driver David Bogie both wanted to register for WRC2 for the event. “The attraction of Wales Rally GB being included in the British Championship is that you can go and compete against the best in the world,” said Wilkinson.
“But if the rules and regulations mean that you can’t, there’s no point going to compete on Rally GB.”
Bogie added: “It’s a bit disappointing. Every driver wants to pit themselves against the best. I realised it could have been an issue but I was hoping the organisers could find a way around that, and to incorporate it as one big battle.”
All BRC competitors will have to do the international event.