Rally Team Scotland kicks of its 2011 MSA British Rally Championship campaign this weekend with the Rallye Sunseeker in Bournemouth. After a successful inaugural season in 2010, the team returns to the championship with a renewed sense of optimism, confidence and determination.
Its crew, John MacCrone and co-driver Stuart Loudon, have both been selected for the MSA’s prestigious Team UK training programme and it’s hoped this extra development and coaching will help the pair grab some more solid results this year.
Last season’s campaign was the team’s first foray into the British series and, even though it was meant to be a learning year, 21-year-old MacCrone still punched in some stunning stage times. But this year he is hoping to build on that experience and confidence as he returns to each rally for a second time with a complete set of pacenotes to strengthen his speed.
However, this weekend’s Rallye Sunseeker enters the BRC for the first time so all crews will be on a steep learning curve as they race through the forests of Dorset and Hampshire. After a Ceremonial Start on Friday night, crews face 11 timed special stages as the real action kicks off on Saturday.
MacCrone will again use the Palletforce-backed Fiesta R2 and, with a new emphasis on the R2 class from series organisers, he will face a raft of crews all battling for two-wheel-drive supremacy. The two-wheel-drive runners will be given preferential road conditions by starting at the front of the field and organisers are hoping this move will boost the numbers of crews taking part.
MacCrone and Loudon, however, are relishing the challenge and feel well prepared after a series of physical training sessions with the Team UK training squad. They have visited the Porsche Human Performance Centre in Silverstone to help concentrate on their fitness and mental preparation for the rally.
As well as chasing class honours MacCrone and Loudon will join Craig Breen and Gareth Roberts to score team points for the new M-Sport Ford squad in the BRC Teams Championship.
John MacCrone, Rally Team Scotland driver, said: “I’m really looking forward to getting back into the car and back out on the stages again. I’m feeling a lot more prepared now than any other year and the Team UK fitness sessions mean we are both in really good physical shape. They have also helped me prepare mentally and I’m looking forward to the challenges that this rally, and the entire season, will bring.”
– Credit: Glenn Patterson and www.rallybuzz.com