Protyre News
Nice car - try not to crash!
By Paul Evans
Rallying an immaculate 1974 Escort RS2000 isn’t easy, especially when stage start marshals reminder driver Mike Pugsley that ‘it’s a beautiful Mark 1, don’t crash it’ all the time!
But the Welshman takes it as a compliment and it doesn’t appear to slow him down either, as he’s won back-to-back Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt Rally Championship class B12 titles in 2018 / ’19.
Mike has owned the 46-year old car since 2013, and prepares it himself in his Bedlinog garage. Despite its age (the car, not the driver), it is super-reliable and hasn’t failed to finish a rally in over three years. However, the cam followers that almost halted that remarkable run on last year’s Old Forge Garage Mewla Rally have been replaced with a different system to ensure that the issue doesn’t happen again.
“Quite often, marshals at the start of a stage say to me ‘that’s a beautiful Mark 1, don’t crash it.’ It’s not the sort of thing you really want to hear before starting a stage,” jokes Mike, who is co-driven by Marc Clatworthy. “We do try our best not to crash of course, but we do push the car as hard as we can as well!”
Click here to find out all about the Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt Rally Championship including, race reports, the Championship schedule, driver profiles and much more!
