Bogie and Thorburn target BRC winposted in RSCOT04 | 03 | 2016
THE REVITALISED BRITISH Rally Championship roars back into action tomorrow in the Welsh forests with Scots aces, David Bogie and Euan Thorburn, two of the favourites to lift the title.
Bogie, a five-times Scottish champ, who won the British title the last time it was run with four-wheel drive cars in 2011, will pilot a CA1-prepared Skoda Fabia R5 (pictured).
And the 28-year-old from Dumfries, who won the Red Kite Stages by 41 seconds two weeks ago on his first outing in the car, is looking forward to getting back into action.
"I’m getting more and more comfortable in the Fabia R5, but there is definitey more to come," Bogie, co-driven by Hawick's Kevin Rae, said today.
"The first round of the BRC isn’t going to be easy: you only have to look at the quality of the drivers who’ll be there.
Related: David Bogie targets second British Rally title
"It’s going to be a battle royal on the first round, because everyone wants to finish on the top step of the podium. It’s going to be a case of keeping out of trouble and driving at a very quick pace."
Thorburn meanwhile, who won the 2014 Scottish Rally Championship, will pilot a Peugeot 208 R5. And the Duns-based driver is looking forward to the Welsh forests.
"It's going to be tough," he admitted, "but you wouldn't expect anything else in the BRC. We're up for the challenge, and looking forward to mixing it with the top guys."
While 54 crews from 11 countries will tackle the opening event — the Mid-Wales Stages, based in Newtown — the man both Bogie and Thorburn will need to beat is Elfyn Evans.
The Welshman comes into the event having dominated the opening two rounds of the WRC2 in the World Rally Championship in his Ford Fiesta R5. Interestingly though, it was Evans who Bogie pipped to the 2011 BRC title.
This weekend's battle will take place over 70 miles of forest stages, finishing back in Newtown on Sunday afternoon.
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Jim McGill