Rally-Driver.com: Preview, round six: Isle of Man Historic Rally

Preview, round six: Isle of Man Historic Rally
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Julian on 26 July, 2006 12:00:00
 
Round six of the 2006 HRCR Classic Stage Rally Challenge takes the classic crews
back onto asphalt for two and a half days of action on the awesome closed public
roads of the Isle of Man. The Isle of Man Historic Rally starts from Douglas on
the evening on Thursday 2 August.
Right now, there seems little that is going to come between the Escort Mk2 of
Gareth Lloyd/Ryland James and another title for the category 3 cars (1975-1981),
as they have won all five events to date. It has been a mighty performance from
the Welsh crew and they will be strong favourites to make it six out of six on
the Isle of Man.
However, the big challenge will surely come from Manx-based Martin Freestone,
who has newly-married Joanne Oakey on the notes in his Escort Mk2. The rivalry
between these two crews is as fierce as it is friendly and will be a feature of
the rally.
So too, will be the pace of the new young sensation in the Classic category,
Arwel Evans. The young Welshman has been a revelation this season in his largely
standard Escort Mk2 RS2000 and he will now make his Isle of Man debut. Given his
speed on recent events, he could even give Lloyd and Freestone another car to
watch out for.
Aiming to mix it with the front-running Classics will be Terry Brown/Den
Golding in their Escort Mk2, with veteran Brown competing on the Isle of Man for
the first time in several decades. Meanwhile, rivalling young Evans in the
2-litre class D3 will be Mark Clifford/Mark Harmer and Chris Shooter/Bev LeGood.
Finally, variety to the Escort pack will be provided by brothers Michael
Pedley/David Pedley (Triumph TR7V8) and father and son crew Adrian and Daniel
Seabridge (Sunbeam Lotus).
The Isle of Man Historic Rally is organised by Manx International Rally Ltd.
For more details about the event, please visit the website at:
http://www.mir.co.im
The historic rally starts from Douglas on Thursday evening and covers 22 stages
before the finish back in Douglas on Saturday afternoon.