Protyre News

It’s a three-way battle of drivers fighting for the right to be crowned the 2018 Protyre MSA Asphalt Champion. Jason Pritchard and Daniel Harper will go head-to-head for the prestigious BTRDA Gold Stars in the final round – the Ford Parts Cheviot Stages Rally, on Sunday 28 October, while Championship leader, Wayne Sisson watches on from home sitting out the title decider.
 
The Ford Parts Cheviot Stages Rally, organised by Whickham & District Motor Club and Hadrian Motor Sports Club and run in the memory of Keith Knox, takes place over 60 stage miles on the Otterburn Military Ranges in Northumberland, which is one of the largest live firing MOD ranges in the UK. The event will be based at an area known locally as The Airstrips.
 
The AMS Arnside Motorsport Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10 driver has a strong 100% finishing record this year – consisting of two thirds, two fifths and a seventh-place points finish. With Sisson looking to drop his current lowest score of 24 points in the mandatory ‘one dropped score rule’, he feels that there is little point contesting the event, as realistically, he will be unable to improve on his overall points tally. He also needs both Pritchard and Harper to retire (or at least finish way down the leader board) for himself and co-driver Max Freeman to be crowned champions.
 
“I’d have loved to have done the Cheviot Rally and to finish the Asphalt Championship with a clean sheet, but having looked at all the possibilities there isn’t really any benefit in me going,” said Sisson.

“At the very least I’ll finish in the top three overall in the series, which I’d have happily taken at the start of the season. I’ll be watching the live coverage on the internet with Howard Davies and the Special Stage crew from the warmth and comfort of my front room, and hoping for a ‘phone call!”
 
Pritchard and Harper, both tied in second place, each have a low score to drop. For Pritchard, it’s the one point he picked up on the Rally van Wervik and in Harper’s case, it’s a zero after he was forced to miss the Tour of Epynt through illness. Taking these dropped scores into account, the maximum number of points Pritchard can finish on is 141, whereas for Harper it’s 142…it just couldn’t be closer!
 
Otterburn will be new expereince for Pritchard as he competes there for the first time in his Ford Focus WRC05. Historically a difficult and deceptive venue, it will be a great challenge for Pritchard and co-driver Phil Clarke, who usually seem to excel on unfamiliar territory.
 
Harper boasts a slight advantage at Otterburn having taken sixth place there on last year’s Tyneside Stages. With a win, a second and two third-place finishes on the last four Asphalt rounds, Harper and co-driver Chris Campbell are on a fantastic run of form, in their Minisport team run John Cooper Works Mini WRC.
 
He may not be in for a shot at the titles but Damian Cole has a great chance for another Cheviot Rally win, in his Get Connected Ford Focus WRC05, making an appearance for the first time since 2015. The Abergavenny driver has 24 wins in the car, six of which on Otterburn. With a record of five consecutive Asphalt Championship titles, he is surely one of the favourites for this round! Cole will be out to end his season on a high after a mixed year of results and will be accompanied by co-driver Jane Nicol, Scottish Champion and Wales Rally GB National winner due to his regular co-driver, Jamie Edwards, being unavailable.

Protyre Motorsport

Protyre Motorsport will take a vast selection of tyres to the Cheviot Rally, including Pirelli, Michelin and Hoosier and will be operating an on-event fitting service for all registered Championship contenders.

So, how can I watch all the action?

The Cheviot Rally will be streamed live on the Special Stage Facebook page, compete with commentary from Howard Davies and special guests. The live streamed footage will remain on-line for fans to view after the event, while edited highlights will be televised on the Sky/Freesat Front Runner channel, on the Motor Trend On Demand channel and on the Special Stage Facebook, YouTube and App platforms shortly afterwards.

Top 10 seeds Ford Parts Cheviot Stages Rally

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