XS Racing has excellent run on the Isle of Man
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Although the team's championship leading Porsche
911RS of Steven Smith and John Nichols was sidelined when Nichols sustained a
back injury, the team's other three cars ran faultlessly on the toughest rally
in the calendar. "It if hadn't been for John's unfortunate injury I'm sure we'd
have had all four cars to the finish," said team boss Jon Cropper.
Smith/Nichols were leading the historic rally by
23s at the end of the opening leg and were planning to consolidate that lead on
the second leg. However, a heavy landing on the first stage of Friday morning
left Nichols with a back injury and they were forced to pull out of the
rally.
Frank Cunningham and Arron Forde - Image Paul Lawrence
Frank Cunningham and Arron Forde - Image Paul Lawrence
A great deal of interest surrounded the debut of
the Mk1 Escort BDA that XS had built up for Irish crew Frank Cunningham and
Arron Forde. Even though the car was brand new, it successfully finished the
rally with third place in class and Cunningham was very happy with the debut of
the new car. "We were really pleased that the car went so well on its maiden
outing on the toughest event on the calendar," said Cropper.
Also finishing third in class were Peter Egerton
and Russ Langthorne in their XS Racing Escort Mk1. "It was very slippery at
times, but we really enjoyed it," said Egerton after a trouble-free
rally.
Peter Egerton and Russ Langthorne - Image Paul Lawrence
Peter Egerton and Russ Langthorne - Image Paul Lawrence
Class victory, and fourth overall in the Classic
category, was a great result for brothers Michael and David Pedley in their
Triumph TR7 V8, which was also tended by the XS Racing team.
Before the Isle of Man event, XS Racing had been
busy at the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed where the team looked after the
ex-works Audi Sport Quattro of Steve Perez. To make the occasion truly
memorable, rally legend Hannu Mikkola took to the wheel of the car for the event
and drove it for the first time since he rallied it in 1985.
"He said the car was fantastic and gave us a
glowing report on the car," said Dan Sutherland of XS Racing. "He set some
astonishing times and said that the suspension was better now than it had ever
been. It ran superbly and we just filled it with fuel during the
weekend."
XS Racing specialises in all types of historic
rally preparation and parts supply across a wide range of cars. XS Racing can be
contacted on 01246 233777.
More at: www.xsracing.net
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