The British Rally Championship rolls into Duns in Scotland this weekend as the town hosts the Jim Clark Rally and it’s a round that 2014 Pirelli Star Driver Daniel McKenna and co-driver Arthur Kierans are looking forward to with relish.
The Monaghan pairing took an impressive 2nd overall on the season opening Pirelli Richard Burns Foundation Rally on their first BRC event in the Pirelli backed DGM run Citroen DS3. However, with the Jim Clark Rally taking placed on closed, tarmac roads, Daniel is hopeful of an equally good result on the fast stages in the Scottish borders. “Tarmac is my preferred surface so I’ll be looking to be on the pace from the start in Scotland. Getting a 2nd place in Carlisle on the previous round has given me the hunger to get another strong result this weekend. Having driven the Citroen earlier in the year on the Circuit of Ireland I have a good feeling with the car and the Pirelli tyres on tarmac and hopefully that will continue in Scotland.”
Daniel and Arthur start their Jim Clark weekend with the ceremonial start in Duns town centre on Friday evening followed by 52 miles of special stages. Saturday morning and afternoon sees the crews face a further 85 miles before the podium finish in Kelso town centre. The rally is unique as it is the only closed road rally in England, Scotland or Wales and it’s named after the legendary Formula One champion Jim Clark, who originally hailed from the area. Clark was also known to compete in rallies and 2 years after his untimely death in 1968, the Jim Clark Rally came into being. It’s been a fixture on the BRC calendar since 1999. “The rally has a very rich history and Irish drivers have featured strongly on the event these past 15 years. Hopefully I can do the same” commented Daniel ahead of this weekend.
You can follow Daniel’s progress this year by following him on Twitter @DMKMotorsport and Facebook at Daniel McKenna Rallying.
