Isle of Man based co-driver Rob Fagg heads across the water once again, but this time the opposite way to Ireland where he will contest the Ulster International Rally this weekend. Competing once again alongside Scottish youngster David Bogie, the pair will be tackling the event as part of the Mitsubishi Evo Challenge.

Bogie and Isle of Man Sports Aid recipient Fagg have had a mixed year so far experiencing both the highs and lows of rallying. At the start of the season they picked up points on the opening round of the challenge and following that they finished 4^th overall and 1^st in Group N on the Malcolm Wilson Rally. Fourth place

on the second round of the Evo Challenge added more points to their tally and the weekend after they achieved their best result to date with 3^rd overall on the North Humberside Rally, collecting Group N honours also in the process.

Their luck was to turn though as they arrived in the Isle of Man for Robert Graham & Co Chartered Quantity Surveyors backed Rob’s home event of the season, the Manx National Rally. Early in the event the pair were caught out in slippery conditions and retired from the event after a collision with a

David and Rob over the jump on Margam 1 with a rear right puncture.

 wall damaged their Evo 9’s suspension. The next round of the series bought another retirement after only 3 miles.

After a seven week break David and Rob resumed there championship in the Oakbank Services backed Kumho Tyres shod Mitsubishi Evo 9 on the Swansea Bay Rally. Despite dropping time with a puncture and a spin on the last stage they achieved their first podium of the Evo Challenge.

It’s now back on to tarmac and with the Pro-tec Motorpsort run Evo fully re-prepped after it’s last outing, Bogie and Fagg arrive in Ulster with the aim of bringing the car to the finish and not only collecting further points, but proving that they have the pace to mix it with the front runners of the championship.

Again in Ulster the main opposition will come from championship leader Phillip Morrow, Seb Ling and Julian Reynolds. Also in the frame for honours will be Neil McCance who won the only other tarmac event in the series, the Manx National. McCance is a renowned tarmac driver and will be in the fight.

Bogie has show he has the pace on tarmac already this year with two strong runs on the Jim Clark National and Reivers rallies back in May. He has also demonstrated pace in previous years while contesting event sin a Vauxhall Corsa. There is not doubt that the pairing will be disappointed if they are not up there fighting for the podium.

Prior to the event the crew will get the chance to complete a recce, allowing them to run over the stages and make any adjustments to their notes giving them the confidence to commit 100% to them which is definitely a help as Rob explained.

“To be able to pass over the stage prior the event and adjust any notes is a great confidence booster and also a big help to get consistency in the notes.” commented Rob prior to leaving the island. “It means that we should not find any surprises during the event and the notes should allow us to commit to the corners with confidence.”

Rob is supported in 2007 by the Isle of Man Sports Aid Foundation, C Tarleton Hodgson & Son Ltd, Robert Graham & Co Chartered Quantity Surveyors, www.Mexperience.com, NickyGrist.com, Euromanx – Isle of Man’s Airline, Advanced Autosport Technologies and Manx Telecom.

Media
29/08/2007