With the top three crews separated by just 15 points the
scene is set for tough battle to see who will head the title race as the
Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship reaches its halfway point next
weekend in Scotland.
A win in round one at Pikes Peak and second at round two in
Ebbw Vale means that it is GSR 206 Evo 9 driver Martin Cox who presently heads
the leaderboard on 166 points. Only 5
points behind is Andrew West who is looking to build on the win he took at
round two in his Milner R5. In third place is Britpart’s Paul Myers on 151
points.
Hoping for better luck at round three is Warrington’s Mike
Moran. After clutch problems at round one Moran suffered a broken gearbox on
his AT 4x4 Indy Challenger which put him out of round two.
“The clutch issues at round one caused undetected damage to
the gearbox which resulted in it
stripping second gear within ten metres of leaving the start line of the first
run of round two,” said Moran. “We have a brand new gearbox being shipped
across from America which should arrive in time for round three.”
“With a fourth
place and a retirement we are in a poor place on the leaderboard compared to
previous years, we have nothing to lose so will be on the attack in Scotland as
we need gold!”
The Freelander Challenge category is led by Ben Gott who has
taken his Race2Recovery car to two wins so far. Ian Linford, who is new to the
Freelander Challenge this season, was setting good times in his Team Sheepie
car at round two before exhaust problems
forced him out of the event.
“I was pleased with the times we were setting at Ebbw Vale,”
said Linford. “Unfortunately the exhaust developed some issues on the later
runs of day one and it got steadily worse. With no spare we had to retire. We
also damaged the rear bumper. Both the exhaust and bumper have been fixed and
Team Sheepie is ready to rock in Scotland!”
After two events in Wales, Forrest Estate in South West
Scotland will be the setting for round three. The venue has been a fixture on
the BCCC calendar for many years and it has a mix of fast gravel tracks and
tough quarry sections which always test car and crew to the maximum. Forrest
Estate is located near St John’s Town of Dalry, postcode DG7 3XS.
As usual the event will last two days with the action taking
place from 10am to around 5pm on Saturday and 9am to around 2pm on Sunday.
Limited spectator car parking is available at the picnic area which is situated
at the end of the public road in to the venue. It is quite a walk to the course
so be prepared – it is advisable to bring some insect repellent also as the
beasties can be a bit vicious! Further spectator information is available on www.marches4x4.com.
