British driver Guy Wilks has promised to “fight for every inch of the track” when he makes his debut in the FIA World Rallycross Championship at Lydden Hill this weekend (22-24 May).
The two-time British Rally Champion has joined forces with JRM Racing to form an exciting all-British team, car and driver line up at the fourth round of the ultra-competitive World RX series.
He will drive one of the development squad’s MINI RX Supercars – a race winner at the opening round of the series at Hockenheim in Germany recently – and his 1.6-litre machine will feature a prominent ‘KNE’ (Karting North East) livery – promoting Wilks’ successful outdoor motor and adrenaline sports and corporate event arena in the North East of England.
He will race as number 37 – the same number that rallying legend Paddy Hopkirk displayed on his Mini when he won the Monte Carlo Rally in 1964.
Wilks completed a successful pre-event test at Pembrey in Wales on Monday (see image below) and worked with the JRM Racing engineers to fine-tune the set-up of the MINI RX he will race at the iconic Lydden Hill circuit in Kent.
“Everything about rallycross is new to me – the cars, the tyres, the tracks – but I learned a lot at Pembrey in some difficult conditions,” the 34-year-old explained. “We tried some good things with the chassis and the differentials but, because of the nature of the sport, a good rallycross set up is always going to require a compromise somewhere along the line.
“This weekend is all about finding a ‘sweet spot’ so the car works well in all conditions. There’s still more we can get out of the car and hopefully we can unlock some of that potential during free practice when I get some more experience and apply that learning to what I’m feeling out on the Lydden track.”
Wilks is relishing the chance to race against the best rallycross drivers in the world on home soil this weekend and he’s determined to make the most of his opportunity in front of what is expected to be a bumper Bank Holiday weekend crowd.
“I’m coming into this completely green and I know it’s a massively steep learning curve,” he said. “But I’m determined to fight for every inch of the track and do the best job I can for JRM Racing in front of the British fans.”
JRM Racing is using the 2015 World RX season as a development year, but team principal James Rumsey is looking forward to having a driver of Wilks’ pedigree behind the wheel this weekend.
He said: “It’s early days in our MINI RX development programme but we won the British Rally Championship with Guy in 2008 and we know how talented he. We’re excited to have him in the team at Lydden and it will be interesting to see what he can do with the car in only its second World RX event.”
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