It was a tough and tricky rally for Team MRF Tyres on the Dayinsure Wales Rally GB but the team successfully completed the rally, the third World Rally Championship event for the Indian tyre manufacturer.
After changeable weather on Saturday, the five stages held on Sunday were run under cool but sunny skies.
The stages totalled around 50km and featured narrow and slippery mud and on the spectacular tarmac stage of Great Orme Llandudno. For Team MRF Tyres, the last stage was cancelled due to a non-competitive incident on the stage.
The team set a good pace all weekend and achieved their goal of gaining valuable data to continue the development of the MRF Tyres product.
For the driver combination of Gaurav Gill and Glenn Macneall, it was a definite change from rallying on the rough and fast gravel roads that made up the previous entries for Team MRF Tyres.
“It is great to reach the end of the rally - it has been a challenging rally because of the slippery conditions and the changing weather,” Gill said.
“Wales Rally GB is much different to Rally Finland and Rally Italy so it was a new experience for us and the team.”
The crews did not return to service on Sunday, rather relying on a tyre fitting zone, meaning that any damage would have to be repaired by the crews.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhgdAMAtMNg&feature=youtu.be
For Gill and Macneall, they would not have to worry about this as they skilfully navigated their way through the stages.
“Like the other days, today was tricky because of the narrow and slippery muddy stages,” Gill said.
“We concentrated on getting through the stages and getting the data needed to develop our product.
“It is a shame we didn’t get to do the second run on Great Orme Llandudno due to the injury of a bike rider and our thoughts are with him. However it was great to be able to rally in front of the massive Welsh crowd.”
The solid result for the team saw the Team MRF Tyres car finish 22nd overall and 12th in the RC2 class for R5 rally cars.
Next up for Team MRF Tyres is Kennards Hire Rally Australia on more familiar roads.
Joining Gill and Macneall in action on MRF Tyres will be the Australian Rally Championship, where MRF Tyres is the control tyre supplier.
It will also be an opportunity for Eli Evans and Ben Searcy to fight for the CAMS Australian Rally Championship crown in their MRF Tyres Skoda Fabia R5. They will be joined by Wayne Morton and Kirra Penny in MRF Tyres colours as they return to the Australian Rally Championship competition.
The WRC Kennards Hire Rally Australia will be held on 15-18 November on the Coffs Coast.
A subscription to RallySport Magazine give you access to all our rally
content from Australia, New Zealand and around the world – with news,
features and experiences nobody can match.
Our team are dedicated to providing an unrivalled experience which
shares, supports and promotes the sport of rallying.
By clicking "Subscribe Now" you agree to receive news, offers and updates on RallySport Magazine.
If you do not wish to receive marketing communications, you can update your preferences in My Account.
We will commence charging your payment method after the 7 day free trial expires.
If you cancel after expiry of your trial, cancellation will take effect from the end of your current monthly subscription period.
You will not be refunded any fees paid to RallySport Magazine unless otherwise set out in the terms and conditions.
Account Created!
Welcome to RallySport Magazine VIP Membership.
Get ready for your rally news experience to completely transform.
Start browsing news, exclusive VIP content or check out your account.
