CONVERTED R5s GET BRC BOOST
The British Rally Championship will allow right-hand-drive converted R5 cars to score points towards its overall championship this season after a change to the regulations.
No current R5 manufacturers have a homologated version of the machines, but companies such as Dom Buckley RSC and Philip Case Rally Sport have built variants of the car to suit competitors who prefer to drive from the right-hand seat.
These cars are not homologated and previously breached BRC regulations for its top class, but now the series will change that to open the category up.
BRC championship manager Iain Campbell said: “We’re permitting homologated R5 cars that have been converted to right-hand drive. Does that get us one, two, eight entries? I don’t know. But what it does do is remove an excuse to not enter our championship.
“There’s so much conjecture about these R5s, but actually no one has put up their hand and said ‘I’m coming to the BRC with one of these cars’. I know the Irish Tarmac Championship are trying to do the same thing as well: neither of us had a particularly fantastic year in terms of R5 entries.”
Donnie Macdonald (Ford Fiesta R5, RSC) and Alan Carmichael (Hyundai i20 R5, PCRS) have rallied right-hand-drive conversions in competition.
Campbell adds though, that the cars will be evaluated and permitted into the championship on a case-by-case basis to protect competitors using the left-handdrive homologated cars.
“We will, as a championship, need documented evidence of how the build was done, we will have to see the original homologation papers of the car, and only then will we make a decision on whether the car will be accepted,” he added.
“We have to ensure that nothing has changed in terms of the mechanics or the performance of the car, just the position of the driver and the steering wheel on the dashboard. We want to ensure the engineering integrity as well as the original homologation as much as possible.”