Weekend Rally News – February 26

Andrew Cowan, with fellow Scot and former Rover works rally driver Logan Morrison, were invited guests at the celebrated annual Ecurie Cod Fillet lunch at last week’s Race Retro exhibition.  

Andrew Cowan with fellow Scot and former Rover works rally driver Logan Morrison.The ECF is a popular group of established old timer rally drivers and their colleagues.  

A special welcome was given to Willie Cave, who began his international co-driving career in the late ‘fifties and who is now 90 years old.

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The delayed start to the 2017 Prestone MSA British Rally Championship will be the Border Counties Rally on March 17/18 in South Scotland.  

A feature this year is  that all categories will permit open tyre choice for 2017, with five registered tyre manufacturers – DMACK, Hankook, Kumho, Michelin and Pirelli.

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Despite a disappointing season in the series last year, Swedish driver Fredrik Ahlin returns to the British Rally Championship this season, this time with added support from Skoda Sweden and continued help from LeoVegas

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Marcus Gronholm has recently been testing a Fabia R5, invited by Skoda Motorsport to give an experienced outsider’s impartial opinion of their latest version car.

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Fredrik Ahlin returns to the British Rally Championship this season.Fabis R5s finished one-two on the Haspengouw Rally in Belgium with Kris Princen beating Vincent Verschueren, with Dutchman Kevin Abbring third.  

The former Hyundai team driver Abbring was back again for the first time since 2014 driving a 208T16, now for the Peugeot Belgium-Luxembourg team

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Congratulations to Mads and Beate Ostberg on the safe arrival of their son Mons.  

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Norway, Fabia R5 driver Ole Cristian Veiby scored a final stage victory in the Numedalsrally, his first ever win in his native Norway, beating four Fiesta R5s.   

First car on the road, Eyvind Brynildsen, lost the lead acting as snowplough on the last stage after 5-6 cm fresh snow fell on the stage.

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Mattias Adielsson won the Ostersund Winter Rally in a Fiesta R5, after the lead changed on both the two final stages.  It was the first full championship rally in Sweden this year.

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All four top WRC teams have been testing recently in south Spain, on the foothills of the high Sierra Nevada mountains.  

Conditions approximated those on the forthcoming Rally Mexico, the only reported mishap being a remarkably harmless roll by Toyota driver Latvala.
 
- Martin Holmes

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