BRADFORD District racer Liam Clark admits that his meteoric rise in the world of rallying owes much to the driver he has been pursuing all season.
Clark, just 24, is in only his second year behind the wheel of a Fiesta, although both of the models he has campaigned are very different to the versions found in showrooms.
This year the Haworth native has switched to an almost works-spec car and said: “The R2 is 170hp whereas in the R5 you’ve got 300hp underneath you - it’s a completely different animal.”
The uprating has enabled Clark to push hard among the overall leaders of the eight-round nationwide BTRDA Series, including Champion-elect Elliot Payne, a friend and rival from nearby Harrogate.
Payne, in a similar Fiesta, won this weekend's Filey-based Trackrod Rally Yorkshire round of the championship 12 months ago and, after four wins in the previous six rallies, stands on the verge of becoming the first driver in the competition’s 71-year history to win the BTRDA title three years in succession.
Handbrake issues blighted Clark and highly rated Scottish co-driver Emily Easton-Page’s efforts at the most recent Woodpecker Rally but they still arrive at tomorrow’s five-stage North York Moors forest event lying fifth in the points table.
Clark said: “Being our most local event, we are going all-out on the Trackrod and it would be great for both us and Elliot to finish on the podium as both cars are run by Alan Causey Automotive in Carlisle.
“That’s not coincidence as Elliot and I are good friends and, if it wasn’t for him, we probably wouldn’t be in the car we are in now.
“Elliot’s help, along with his dad’s (three-time Trackrod winner Charlie Payne), has guided us onto the right path and Al has set the cars up brilliantly, which means we can both be confident and that has shown by the results we’ve had.”
Clark will be joined on the Trackrod Motor Club (Leeds) organised rally by Bradford drivers Dave Forrest (co-driven by cousin Jamie Forrest) and Paul Rowson (whose co-driver is Mike Curry), both in Ford Escorts and contesting the Historic Cup section which includes an night stage in Dalby Forest this evening.
Staring between the two is Guiseley’s David Dobson (Brian Hodgson) in a 2-litre Escort, while Steeton’s Lewis Hooper Rhys Edwards) campaigns another less powerful Fiesta, thus contesting a different class to Clark, which he has thus far dominated.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here