Garry Pearson’s British Rally Championship campaign resumes after its summer break at next weekend’s Grampian Forest Rally [August 9-10], and the Scotsman has his sights set on a podium result.
Pearson and co-driver Daniel Barritt lie fourth overall in the championship after three rounds, boosted by a popular podium on home ground at the Jim Clark Rally.
It had been a steady season up until then as Pearson, the 2023 vice-champion, got to grips with the M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2 on a variety of different stages in all sorts of conditions.
The Grampian, based in the Aberdeenshire town of Banchory, marks the resumption point of the BRC, and Pearson is ready to continue his strong momentum into the second half of the season.
“I’ve really enjoyed the break in competition – it’s been important to rest, recharge and reset for the rest of the season where all the prizes will ultimately be won,” Pearson said.
“It was fantastic to get a podium at the Jim Clark which lifted us to fourth in the championship behind a Junior World Rally champion, a European champion and multiple British champion, so we’re in very good company,” he added.
“We are hoping to use that result as a springboard for our campaign, and the Grampian should be a good event for us. I have a bit of experience in Scotland and certainly like to try and challenge for another podium.”
Pearson has entered the Grampian Forest Rally four times before but this year’s event offers a twist with two stages on Friday evening before a further seven on Saturday wrap up the action.
The forest stages are generally quite fast but offer drivers a mixture of everything, so Pearson is looking forward to the challenge.
“The Grampian is an event I like that rewards commitment, but there are equally some narrow and more technical stages,” he said.
“We’ve obviously rallied a lot in Scotland over the years and the nature of the stages up here are very different to England or Wales, so I’m very glad the championship has a round in our forests. Hopefully we can use that to our advantage.
“I feel like I’m getting quicker by the stage in the car, which means there’s definitely more still to come. We haven’t driven on gravel since April so will have a small test ahead of the event just to get up to speed, but I’m really looking forward to it.”
