FLIXTON driver David Mann contests his final event before taking his Group N Subaru Impreza back onto the European stage when he travels to the Scottish Borders to contest the Jim Clark Rally today and tomorrow.
Mann and his long-standing regular co-driver Alun Cook have been planning for months to compete in certain rounds of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, beginning with the Ypres Rally in Belgium in June.
The Jim Clark Rally presents ideal preparation and, as a round of the Dulux Trade MSA British Championship, the quality of the international field should also form a good benchmark to work from.
The closed public road format is also similar to Ypres and, with 335 miles ahead of them (140 of which are competitive and timed to the fraction of a second), Mann and Welshman Cook acknowledge it’s a marathon and not a sprint.
Mann, who is ninth over the start ramp in the border town of Duns, commented: “It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish that counts!
““I’ve been away from this level of competition for a long time now so it’s so difficult to know how we are going to compare.”
The Jim Clark Rally begins today and the final three of the opening leg’s six stages are guaranteed to be in total darkness.
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