PRESS RELEASE: 18the August 2010

Swift Sport Cup round four International Rally NI 20th - 21st August 2010

Swift Sport Cup Rally NI preview

The 2010 Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship’s Swift Sport Cup can be wrapped up in Ulster by series leaders Mikko Pajunen and co-driver Janne Perälä who have dominated throughout the season.

International Rally NI, part of the Toddsleap.com Ulster Rally, forms the penultimate round in the series and the last chance for crews to show their mettle on asphalt.

With a Pirelli Star Driver nomination on the second round of the series under their belts, Pajunen and Perälä have continued to look like seasoned campaigners in the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship, although like so many others, the infamous Rally Isle of Man weather caught the pair out last time out.

Every round of the championship has been new to the Finnish crew and at the start of the season they confessed that their Achilles heel was asphalt, having little experience on sealed surface events. As a result the Antrim lanes will be yet another challenge, further complicated by the memory of their crash on Manx “tar”.

However all they need is a finish in Ulster as their opposition this year has steadily dropped by the wayside, unable to stay on the Finns’ pace. The exception is that of seventeen year old Tom Clark who joined the championship on round three, the Jim Clark International Rally as soon as he was old enough to hold a UK driving licence.

While never expected to immediately match the more experienced Finn’s pace, he settled in well in the Scottish Borders. But like Pajunen he was caught out on the Isle of Man, leaving a void where there should have been a Swift Sport Cup podium.

There is still a mathematical chance that Clark could steal the title, as the final round in Yorkshire counts for points and a half. But his rival would need to retire from both events and the youngster surely wouldn’t wish that on his fellow Suzuki driver.

Catch TV coverage of the Swift Sport Cup crews from International Rally Isle of Man, along with other classes and a preview of this weekend’s rally on Sky Sports’ Rallyzone programme tonight. (Full listings HERE).

For more information on the Swift Sport Cup visit www.swiftsportcup.com

 

PRESS RELEASE: 5th July 2010

International Rally Isle of Man 9/10 July 2010

Swift Sport Cup Rally Isle of Man preview

The 2010 Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship’s Swift Sport Cup is looking like a one horse race ahead of International Rally Isle of Man, as Finnish hotshot Mikko Pajunen and co-driver Janne Perälä have dominated the series since the start of the season.

Their first year in the BRC was always going to a be a learning one, but with experience on the gravel roads of Finland the opening Bulldog Rally North Wales perfectly suited the pair, even catching Manxman David Harrison and reigning BRC Challenge co-driver John Connor on one of the longer Welsh stages.

Any chance of a fight on the Pirelli was ended when Harrison was caught out on a tricky left hander, rolling the little Suzuki down a step bank. Although there wasn’t substantial damage, it put paid to his event and severely dented an already tight budget.

Pajunen went on to finish just outside the top ten overall, impressing the Pirelli Star Driver judges and winning him the Pirelli “yellow jersey”, his nomination to the end of season shootout for 2011 BRC funding.

Another newcomer to the Swift Sport Cup and the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship was youngster Tom Clark. He and Aggie Foster might be new to the series, but despite the youngest competitor in the BRC only turning seventeen a week before the rally, they have competed in Latvia for some time now, where drivers can compete from fourteen years old. A mature drive for one so young netted second behind Pajunen, the Fin quickly coming to terms with asphalt.

Both crews will have much to learn on the Isle of Man and although local lad Harrison will be in a different car, he will no doubt be keeping an eye on the crews in the Swift Sport Cup.

International Rally Isle of Man is based at the TT grandstand above Douglas from where the event starts and finishes. A ceremonial start will take place on North Quay’s harbour side pedestrian area on Thursday evening from 8pm with the action starting at 10:30 on Friday morning. The final stage blasts past the TT Grandstand at around 3:45 on Saturday, the winners spraying champagne on the podium at 4pm.

 

PRESS RELEASE: 20th April 2010

Swift Sport Cup round two preview

Pirelli International Rally - 23/24 April 2010

Swift Fins favourite, but Manxman ready to fight

A dominant display of driving on the opening round of the 2010 Swift Sport Cup means that the favourite for victory on the second round of the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship, the Pirelli International Rally, must be Finnish duo Mikko Pajunen and Janne Perälä.

However David Harrison and John Connor, the only other crew contesting the Suzuki based one-make championship, had a serious wake-up call in Wales in March and will certainly not want to be caught out again on the Cumbrian event.

There are still some difficulties for the Fins to overcome before the start in Carlisle on Friday though, the dust cloud from the erupting Icelandic volcano meaning a long drive and ferry crossing, as flights into UK air space remain disrupted.

However Manxman Harrison should have no such problems crossing the Irish Sea, so he and his Midlands-based co-driver will take advantage of a relaxed recce of the stages, both having contested the event in previous years. Like Harrison, Connor has made the step up from the BRC’s support series, the BRC Challenge combined youth and experience making a successful new partnership for 2010.

Pajunen and Perälä are contesting their first season in the UK, so each event is a new experience, but judging by their pace on Bulldog Rally North Wales, the Swifts will be worth watching in the forests of Kershope and Kielder on Friday and Saturday.

PIRELLI INTERNATIONAL RALLY

The Pirelli International Rally is based entirely at the Carlisle Racecourse from where it starts at 18.30, heading out for three stages in Kershope Forest. The event re-starts at 07.00 on Saturday with three loops of three stages, before returning to Carlisle for the ceremonial finish just before 19.00.

For more information on the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship’s Swift Sport Cup visit www.swiftsportcup.com

 

PRESS RELEASE: 12th February 2010

2010 Swift Sport Cup is GO!

Final details have been confirmed for the 2010 Swift Sport Cup which offers on-event prize money, an end-of season prize and of course a place in the Pirelli Star Driver shootout for the highest placed Junior driver.

The one-make Championship package will include on-event support from Monster Sport Europe (MSE), which will attend each of the events with a parts truck and technical assistance for Swift Sport competitors. The series also enjoys TV coverage on Sky Sports’ BRC Rallyzone programme and has its own dedicated website www.swiftsportcup.com

The competition has been fierce in the last two years, any one of three drivers in with a chance of taking the title on the final rally of 2009 in Yorkshire. This is an ideal way of taking the step up from a national Championship and with reduced entry fees for R1 class cars, is the best value per mile rallying in the UK.

Interested 2010 drivers include:

Mikko Pajunen (Junior)
Nick Everard (Junior)
Matt Barker
Kari Hytönen
Raimo Mattsson
Pierre Perrin
Jamie Brown
Lewis Roper

Car options :

One new car is still available to purchase direct from the Championship. Kits will be available from MSE, allowing competitors to build their own.
Hire cars available (Both LHD/RHD) +44 (0) 1621 819228, www.workscars.com
Second hand cars are available on the open market.

Swift Sport Cup car specification:

Engine: 1600cc Group N (FIA N2), Sports exhaust
Gearbox: 5 speed manual with closer ratios & LSD
Chassis: Weld in FIA roll cage, FIA seats & harnesses
Suspension: Adjustable front & rear

For further details and information see: www.swiftsportcup.com

 

PRESS RELEASE: 27th October 2009

Third season for British Rally Championship’s Swift Sport Cup

The British Rally Championship will continue to run the Swift Sport Cup in 2010, offering great on-event prize money, an end-of season prize and of course a place in the Pirelli Star Driver final at the end of the season.

The on-event prize money continues, with the top placed driver taking £500, £300 for second, £200 for third and £100 for the remainder of finishers down to fifth place.

The one-make Championship package will include on-event support from Monster Sport Europe (MSE), which will attend each of the events with a parts truck and technical assistance for Swift Sport competitors.

The series will also continue to enjoy TV coverage on Sky Sports’ BRC Rallyzone programme and have its own dedicated website. The highest placed Junior driver will receive an automatic nomination to the Pirelli Star Driver shootout, with all registered drivers eligible for nomination at any time during the six events.

Ian Robinson, formerly of Suzuki GB, will continue to be involved and provide co-ordination between competitors and the Championship on each of the six events that make up the 2010 Series.

Augmenting the presence of the Swift Sport Cup rally village, each registered competitor will be issued with a Swift Sport Cup awning and groundsheet for their use throughout the season.

The competition has been fierce in the last two years, any one of three drivers in with a chance of taking the title on the final rally of 2009 in Yorkshire. This is an ideal way of taking the step up from national Championship and with reduced entry fees for R1 class cars, is the best value per mile rallying in the UK.

Car options
- Two new cars are still available to purchase direct from the Championship
- Kits will be available from MSE, allowing competitors to build their own
- MSE can hire a car for one event or the whole season

Second hand cars are available on the open market

Swift Sport Cup car specification
- Engine: 1600cc Group N (FIA N2), Sports exhaust
- Gearbox: 5 speed manual with closer ratios & LSD
- Chassis: Weld in FIA roll cage, FIA seats & harnesses
- Suspension: Adjustable front & rear

For further details and information about the Swift Sport Cup cars for sale, contact Ian Robinson

2010 regulations will be available soon at: www.swiftsportcup.com

For more information, up to date news and images from all the events on the MSA British Rally Championship, visit www.rallybrc.co.uk or its support series, the BRC Challenge at www.rallybrcchallenge.co.uk