DirtFish rally journalist Luke Barry will get his first taste of what it’s like to be a rally driver when he fulfils a childhood dream and enters the Jim Clark Rally this May.
Barry, Motorsport UK’s Young Journalist of the Year for 2022, has been part of the DirtFish Media team since its inception in 2020, and previously worked for well-renowned UK motorsport newspaper Motorsport News.
There’s therefore little he doesn’t know about rallying, but Barry’s in-car experience is limited to a sole outing as a co-driver around Oulton Park in 2021, a couple of passenger runs during test sessions and a brief chance to drive a Rally3 car earlier this year.
The decision to contest the 2023 Jim Clark Rally and enter the hotly contested Junior British Rally Championship – will enable him to gain a deeper understanding of the demands of competition, but also offers the chance to tick the biggest item off his bucket-list.
Barry will drive a Ford Fiesta R2 from EDSL Sport in both the Jim Clark and Jim Clark Reivers Rallies.
“I could’ve been responsible and put the savings into a mortgage, but life’s too short,” Barry said. “And plus, you can’t drive a house!
“I’ve always been completely obsessed with rallying, so I always say I’ve never got anything to complain about as somebody is paying me to write and talk about rally cars and drivers.
“I firmly believe I’ve got the best job in the world – but if there’s one job that comes close to beating it, it’s actually being a rally driver.”
