Smith and Wylie claim the glory for XS Racing

News from XS Racing (Chesterfield)

Victories for Steven Smith/John Nichols and Drew Wylie/Howard Pridmore were the headline results for XS Racing on round five of the Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship, the Isle of Man Historic Rally on 10/11 July. On the toughest rally of the season, the XS team worked superbly to bring five of the six cars entered to the finish line.
 
The annual event on the closed public roads of the Isle of Man is the most demanding rally on the calendar. The tight and often bumpy lanes of the island test cars and drivers to the limit, and with 150 stage miles packed into two days it is a fierce challenge.
 
The XS Racing team took six cars to the island and the only one not to make the finish was the Sunbeam Tiger of Jonathan and Graham Gale. The Tiger was battling for the lead of category one early in the rally when it slid off the road on the third stage and was too badly damaged to continue.
 
At the head of the action were Smith and Nichols, having their first rally of the year on one of their favourite events. However, a spin early in the first stage nearly brought their rally to a premature finish and left their Porsche 911 with cosmetic damage. But Smith then started a fight back and came into his element when conditions turned wet and foggy during Saturday. He swept ahead of the Escort Mk1 of David Stokes to take a resounding victory in category two. "Steven came back very strongly," said team boss Jon Cropper. "He's at his best when he has to fight back into contention."
 
Success also came to Wylie/Pridmore who dominated class C3 in their Ford Escort Mk1. With a trouble free rally they won the class again to move into fourth place overall in the BHRC standings after five of the eight events. At the finish back in Douglas, Wylie was nearly two minutes clear of his class rivals. "Drew turned in a stunning result," said Cropper.
 
Third in C3 after a clear run was the XS Escort Mk1 of Andrew Siddall/Captain Thompson, while Peter Egerton/Jamie Edwards were fourth in C3 in their Escort. They had a troubled start when electrical gremlins struck on the way to the first stage of the rally, but later got going even though they were running late on the road and had to regularly pass cars on the stages.
 
The final car from the XS stable was the Porsche 911 of Peter Smith/Graham Wild, which came home third in class C4 despite losing some time after sliding into a ditch.
 
"The overview of the event is that it went as well as we could have hoped," said Cropper. "The Isle of Man is longest and toughest event of the year and to only have one car fail to finish – after an accident – is a great result for the team. Everyone worked very hard."
 
The next BHRC event is the Harry Flatters Historic Rally on the Epynt ranges in mid-Wales on 1/2 August and XS Racing will enter up to four cars, including those of Drew Wylie, Peter Smith and Andrew Siddall. But before that, there will be a change of scene for the team as it fields a Porsche at a Paddock Club track day at Silverstone.
 
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.