The 2016 Mintex MSA British Historic Rally Championship had it’s only double-header of the season out in the Isle of Man last week (15th – 17th September) and the biggest winner of the weekend was 28-year-old Jason Pritchard, who took maximum Championship points across both rounds.
Pritchard and co-driver Phil Clarke got their season back on track with victory, which means the Championship will go all the way to the final round. Pritchard, the defending British Historic Champion, had suffered non-finishes in the previous three rounds but victory in the Isle of Man allows him to set up a final round showdown with his closest challenger, Paul Barret.
This double-header in the Isle of Man for the Mintex MSA British Historic Rally Championship was over 160 miles and is a huge test for drivers, co-drivers and crews, it was crucial for Pritchard to pick up some well needed Championship points and he was determined to get off to the best possible start:
“The last three rounds have been really disappointing but I know how quickly things can change in the world of rallying and I was determined to try and score well so we could try and challenge for the title. “We got off to the best possible start on Thursday evening, competing in darkness is always difficult but we were the quickest car after the second stage and that was a huge confidence boost for myself and Phil.”
After Ryan Barret experienced engine problems on the Friday, Pritchard edged in-front and he knew how important it was that he stayed there until the finish:
“I love competing out in the Isle of Man and I’ve had a number of successful visits to this famous home of motorsport. I tried to build on this previous success heading in to the event, rather than the non-finishes in earlier rounds, and it really did make a difference. “I knew it wasn’t going to be easy over the two and half days and it was up to me to try and claw back those Championship points and I’m delighted with how the event went. “We didn’t have any major issues, at one stage we decided to change the gearbox as a precaution, because it was such a fast and dry event so it was very hard on the gearbox when braking into junctions.”
Pritchard and co-driver Clarke topped the Holton Homes Category K in their Ford MK2 Escort and Pritchard was delighted with how the car performed:
“The car was fantastic and I want to say a special thank you to John at Viking Motorsport for all his excellent work in preparing the car for the event. He has over 40 years’ experience on these cars and he gave me the perfect tools to get the result I needed this weekend.”
Victory now sees Pritchard with a real chance to defend his crown when the final round heads to Yorkshire at the end of the month:
“We are back in with a chance of defending the title and I’ll be concentrating on trying to repeat this success in the next round. I have to thank the team and crew that were there helping me on the rally, who along with Phil were fantastic as always and a special thank you to my sponsors who are a huge help: North Road Garage Builth Wells, FCS Laser Mail, Pirelli and Viking Motorsport.”
