Yorkshire: Alastair Fisher event summary

Alastair Stars in New JRM Evo 10

It was a weekend of firsts for Co. Tyrone's Alastair Fisher on the Trackrod Rally, the final round of the Dulux Trade British Rally Championship. It was Alastair's first time driving for a professional team, JRMotorsport, his first drive in the JRM National specification Mitsubishi Evo 10 and on this first appearance he picked up valuable points for the team, helping JRM secure the team prize in the BRC. The Team UK member drove a fabulous rally with regular co-driver Rory Kennedy, to finish second behind JRM team- mate the legendary Welshman Gwyndaf Evans. "It was an unbelievable weekend" said Alastair. "I was really pleased with how we got on and to finish second to Gwyndaf was fantastic for us and the team. I enjoyed driving the car after adjusting my driving style to cope with the extra slippy conditions and working with the JRM Team was a great experience. JRM put a lot of effort in for the weekend and we did what we needed to do for the team. It was a tough event, very slippery but the power and torque of the new car was really impressive down the straights."

Alastair was fresh from victory two weeks previous with his own Evo 9 on the Lakeland Stages event and before the Trackrod he had 50 miles to help acclimatise to his new mount for the weekend. "On the test we changed the suspension and differential settings and found a positive set up. In saying that the test was dry and the event was wet and very slippery, as everyone found out." Nevertheless Alastair was impressed with the JRM National specification Evo 10. "It was an enjoyable car to drive. It had good power and was very stable at high speed, a slightly different car in characteristics to the Evo 9 with more of a revving engine for example. It was fantastic also to work alongside Gwyndaf and on the test and rally we were comparing notes on the Evo 10. It was all great experience."

The Trackrod got underway on Friday night with the 16 miles of Langdale in darkness. It wasn't a perfect start for Alastair and Rory dropping 15 seconds with an over shoot, ending the stage and therefore the day in fifth place but much more was to come. On stage 3 Alastair took the JRM car to its first fastest time and by the end of stage 4 Staindale, they were up to second overall behind their team-mate Gwyndaf Evans, Craig Breen having rolled and lost time on that stage. It was a position Alastair was to hold and on stage 6 Staindale 2, he set another highly impressive fastest stage time as he built his confidence with the new car. The combination had started to gel on the often fast Yorkshire forest tests which saw the Evo hit 135 miles per hour at one point! However Alastair showed his maturity to finish a fabulous second and help wrap up the team title for JRM, Alastair also earned the Pirelli Star Drive yellow jersey for his efforts. "It was job done for u, and I really enjoyed the event. There was a great team spirit within JRM and now we also have qualified for the Pirelli shoot- out."

Now the focus is back to the Citroen Irish Tarmac Rally Championship with the final round in Cork this weekend. Alastair is already Irish Tarmac Group N Champion and the Evo 9 is currently being prepared at McGarrity Motorsport for this sixth and final round. Alastair still has a chance of the outright Irish Tarmac Championship title, and the young Team UK driver cannot be counted out, especially if the weather conditions play in his favour.

-source: alastairfisher.com