6 May 2024
150 Cars to Start!
NEWS FROM MANX AUTOSPORT
Monday 6 May 2024
Stellar entry for Manx Rally
An incredible entry of 150 cars will line up in Douglas on Friday May 10 for the start of this year's Manx Rally.
The challenging two day rally on the closed roads of the Isle of Man will be one of the highlights of this year's UK rallying season as contenders in two major championships battle over more than 130 miles of spectacular special stages.
Demand for entries on this year's event far exceeded all previous events with more than 200 entries placed initially. That field has now been whittled down to 150 starters, all eager for the chance to compete on one of the most iconic asphalt rallies in Europe.
Building on the long and proud history of rallying on the Isle of Man, the 2024 Manx Tally will run from mid-morning Friday until mid-afternoon on Saturday and includes stages running into the darkness of Friday evening.
Crews from all over England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales will travel to the island to compete in an event that is a double-header round of both the Protyre Asphalt Rally Championship and the Fuchs British Historic Rally Championship. In addition, the rally is a round of the HRCR Stage Masters Challenge, the Mini Rally Challenge and the Manx Rally Championship.
To match the quantity of entry, there is outstanding quality right across the field and the entry is headed by 2023 winners Callum Black and Jack Morton in their state of the art Ford Fiesta Rally2. Black said: “The Manx is one of my favourite rallies with great stages and it’s just a great couple of days of rallying. It'll be good competition and we’ve just got to be on it from the get-go.”
Leading the chase of Black will be James Williams and Ross Whittock in their Hyundai i20 Rally2 and a gaggle of other strong contenders including Neil Roskell, Mark Kelly and Steve Wood. The top seeded local driver is Steve Ormond-Smith who starts his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX as car 15.
Meanwhile, in the strong historic field, major interest will focus on the progress of local hero Mark Higgins in the Triumph TR7 V8 from David Appleby Engineering. Higgins is a five times winner of the Manx Rally, having been born and bred on the island. Higgins said: I remember Tony Pond driving a TR7 V8 when my dad was doing the rally in his Ford Escort back in the 1980s. So it’s quite an iconic car on the Isle of Man. I love the Isle of Man and I love the stages but doing it in a car of the 1980s is going to be very different.”
Ranged against the mighty Triumph will be the Porsche 911 of Seb Perez and a gaggle of rapid Ford Escorts including those of Will Rowlands, Adrian Hetherington, Will Onions, Rob Smith and more.
The 2024 Manx Rally will be based at the TT Grandstand in Douglas. As befits an Isle of Man event, the route takes in some of the classic special stages for which the Manx is renowned, including sections like Brandywell, Druidale and Balladoole.
The finishers are due back at the TT grandstand from around 2.30pm on Saturday, when there will be the traditional champagne spraying as another Manx Rally winner is crowned.
Issued by Paul Lawrence (07778 547918) on behalf of Manx Auto Sport.
For more details, please visit the website at: manxautosport.org or e-mail: manxautosport@gmail.com