Alister McRae to drive for MML Sports at Rallyday
Friday, 14 August 2009 00:00
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X Grp N
Former British Rally Champion and Mitsubishi works driver, Alister McRae, will drive the MML Sports Ltd Mitsubishi Lancer World Rally Car and EvoX Group N rally car at this year’s Rallyday.
Alister has a long association with MML Sports, having driven for the Mitsubishi works team in 2002 and also, on a personal level with MML Sports’ Managing Director, John Easton. Before joining Ralliart Europe, which went on to become MML Sports in 2008, John was Chief Engineer on the Nissan rally program and was instrumental in Alister’s early career success with the Japanese marque.
Alister is returning to the UK from his home in Western Australia for the event and is looking forward to driving both the Lancer World Rally Car, which he has already sampled and the Group N EvoX, which will be his first taste of the MML Sport version.
“I’m looking forward to being back at Castle Combe for Rallyday this year,” said the Scot. “The last time I was there was in 2005 and I thoroughly enjoyed it, so it should be fun this year. In fact, especially as I will be driving the two Mitsubishi rally cars. I have a huge amount of fond memories of the World Rally Championship with Mitsubishi and it will be fantastic to catch up with the team and drive the WRCar and the EvoX.
“I actually drove the WRCar at Goodwood on the gravel stage a few years ago, just before Mitsubishi withdrew from rallying and was impressed with it. I gather that MML Sports has carried on making improvements to it, so I am looking forward to seeing how it drives now, as I’m sure it’s still a very good car.
“I’m also keen to see what the Group N car is like. I know Guy [Wilks] has driven it and was impressed, so I’m looking forward to that also.”
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution WRC05
Managing Director of MML Sports Ltd John Easton is also pleased that Alister will be returning to the Mitsubishi fold, albeit for just the one day. “I’m delighted that Alister will be driving both the Lancer WRCar and the Group N EvoX at this year’s Rallyday. I’ve personally known Alister for some 15 years and have worked with him for almost as long, so it will be a pleasure to see him driving our cars again.
“Not only is Alister an extremely competitive driver, he’s also a showman and at an event like Rallyday, will make sure that the fans are treated to a display to remember.”
This year’s Rallyday takes place at Castle Combe racetrack in Wiltshire on Saturday 19 September. For more information, go to www.Rallyday.com.
The FIA confirmed last Friday (24 November) that the Toyota Corolla-based Super 2000 car has been homologated and will therefore be available for competition on Wales Rally GB, where Alister McRae has been entered in an example.
Delays in the homologation application have occurred due to a variety of reasons, not least the newness of the S2000 formula. These led to delays in official acceptance of the car since it was first presented to the FIA in the summer. However, local rules had allowed the car to compete since early 2005 in its native country.
McRae's car is being run on the Wales Rally GB by RED and is the first Super 2000 to run on an FIA World Rally Championship event in Central Europe, although two Fiat Punto Super 2000 cars took part in Turkey. From the start of 2007, Super 2000 cars will be eligible to compete in the Production car World Rally Championship, competing against the Mitsubishis and the Subarus.
McRae completed a two-day test of the Corolla and said he was pleased with the outcome, working to adapt the car's set-up to suit Welsh forests as opposed to blind rallying found in South Africa. He and the team will be looking to assess the car's competitiveness against the Group N runners, including the British Rally Championship field and several P-WRC regulars.
-FIA WRC
Hot off the heels of the announcement that British team RED is to become the worldwide agent for the Toyota Super 2000 rally car, the team has announced that Alister McRae will drive the car on this season's finale, Wales Rally GB.
McRae will give the car its competition debut outside South Africa, where it has already proved successful, with Serge Damseaux winning the last round of the South African Rally Championship.
McRae has already been announced as development driver for RED as it moves the Toyota's gravel development forward and begins to assess the car for tarmac applications. He's also driven the car in South Africa and is looking forward to gauging its performance against both Group N and Super 1600 machinery.
"In Group N, you tend to drive to the car's limits but the Super 2000 cars need to be driven harder, with more commitment. It will be good to see how the car compares in terms of pace with the Group N cars. I think they [British Rally Championship drivers] will be as quick as the Production car World Rally Championship drivers on home soil."
Rally GB is the final round of the Junior World Rally Championship but is not a round of the P-WRC. However, as the final round of the British Rally Championship, a strong Group N entry is expected.
"Some of my best results have come on Rally GB," said McRae "And to be out there this year in a car which is new to the WRC is very exciting." Super 2000 cars will run in class N4 of the WRC from next year and drivers will score points for the Production car World Rally Championship.
-WRC.com
The former British Rally Champion set fastest times on five of the twelve special stages. "It was a good fight against the S2000"s cars and unlucky for Serge Damseaux in the Toyota S2000 who was trying to make up time and went off the road on the penultimate stage, retiring from the rally. The event was well organised and the sun was shining. The S2000's were not as good as I thought they would be. Looking at how quick the car has been in the Italian Rally Championship I was expecting them to be quicker. I was going to test Serge's car on Monday morning, not sure if that will happen now but I certainly hope I get the opportunity to drive one of the 2000's before I head home. The roads have been very good they certainly make a driver work. The last 10kms of the last stage was cancelled which I am pleased about as the roads were very rough and it would have been easy to damage the cars. World Championship rallies are now sprint events and just because the rally is in Africa you don't need Safari type roads,"said Alister McRae after scoring his second international rally win of the year.
Neil Allport, former New Zealand Rally Champion who built and prepared the Mitsubishi Evo 8 which Alister drove was a very happy man after the stress of the days leading up to the rally. With a big smile on his face he recalled, ""The car was due to arrive in Durban on 11th May and when I arrived in the City on 18th May I was told that the boat from Auckland to Singapore had broken down. I was then given daily predicitions that the boat would arrive the following morning. The boat docked the Wednesday afternoon prior to the rally and we tested Alister's car two hours before scrutineering. Fortunately he was happy with the car.
I brought the Team from New Zealand and to win a rally in Africa with one of the most famous names in rallying will stay with us Kiwis for a long time."
Alister returns to China in July where he leads the Chinese Rally Championship.
