Jonny Greer delighted with best ever BRC finish on the Pirelli International

Photo: Roy Dempster (www.roydempster.com)

Jonny Greer delighted with best ever BRC finish on Pirelli

Jonathan Greer picked up his strongest finish in the British Rally Championship with 5^th at last weekends Pirelli International Rally (18^th/19^th April), the compact event which packs a full recce and over 100 miles of stages into two days is a popular one amongst drivers although always treated with a pinch of caution as the famous Keilder forest that makes up the majority of the stages are known to bite.

Jonathan (20) from Carryduff, Northern Ireland started the event in the now familiar Mitsubishi Evolution 9 which he will compete in for a second season with Irishman Anthony O’Conaill (20) calling the notes.

With the event starting at 18:30 on the Friday from Carlisle Racecourse the 40 car field completed two stages in the fading light, without time to test prior to the event start Jonny’s aim was to get through the night stages without losing too much time and to settle into the car again. 8^th Overall after the 17 miles was a good effort from the duo and with 7 crews separated by 30 seconds they were very much in the thick of things for Saturdays 10 stages.

“ The competition is fierce, so many cars covered by small margins, we are still well in the fight which is ideal”

Come Saturday morning the battle that played out for all of 2007 between Jonathan and fellow Northern Irishman Alastair Fisher when they both competed in the two wheel drive Ford Fiesta was ready to recommence. So even has their pace proved to be that the two actually tied as championship winners in the 2007 Irish Fiesta Trophy with Fisher eventually taking honours after a tie break that went all the way back to the First round.

0.6 seconds was the margin between the two before the start of SS3 in the favour of Greer and after 5 of Saturdays stages the margin which never stretched much more than a couple of seconds stood at 1.3 seconds still in favour of Greer. SS8 proved a pivotal moment in the rally with Rally leader Guy Wilks Proton S2000 going on fire the stage plus the two following were cancelled. With Wilks' retirement Jonny moved up to 4^th Overall.

That left two stages remaining and as the cars left final service the light was again beginning to fade making for an interesting conclusion. The pair fought tough over the final 17 miles with Jonny eventually losing out by a small margin, a bitter blow after being in front for most of the event. However ending the day with 5^th Overall was nothing to be disappointed marking Jonny’s best finish since making the step up to 4 wheel drive in 2008.

“I’m really pleased with my pace over the course of the event and delighted with 5^th place and our strong position in the championship. I’m much more confident in the car and the pacenotes than i have been all year so I am in good spirits for the next one” stated Jonny at the event finish.

Jonny currently lies 6^th in the BRC and will next be in action on the 3^rd round the Jim Clark Rally on 23^rd/24^th May.

Jonny Greer/Anthony O’Conaill In-car SS6 Pirelli International Rally 2009