Cathcart returns with a second in class
Editorial Department • Published 16 Feb 2012 13:00
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Matthew Cathcart ended a two year absence from a rally car with a second in his class finish on last weekend's Wydean Rally.
The Enniskillen driver was using the event as a warm up for his assault on the British Rally Championship, where he will pilot a Fiesta R2 alongside local rival Alastair Fisher and a host of top driver from across Britain and Ireland.
Despite being only 20 years old Matthew, who comes from a family steeped in rallying, has already proved his speed on the Northern Ireland forests, and he showed his long layoff has not blunted his speed with his performance on the snow bound gravel tracks of the Wydean Rally.
"The conditions were brutal," said Matthew. "The stages were just pure ice and it was tough to know where you were going. At times it was a bit hairy and there were a lot of guys in the hedge, but we had no big problems. We were going to change to an ice tyre because the guy who won the class was on them, but we stuck with the Pirelli tyre because that is the one you have to use on the BRC and we wanted to get a feeling for what it might be like on the Sunseeker if the conditions are the same."
The BRC has changed its format this year and is only open to two wheel drive cars.
With four wheel drive vehicles being excluded the front runners are expected to come from a mix of Renault, Citroen, Skodas and Fiestas, and the action kicks off with Rallye Sunseeker next weekend. Matthew hopes he will be able to trade competitive times with his more experienced rivals.
"The British Championship is going to be very competitive because all the top guys are out," he said. "I think the more events I do the more experience I will get, because this is the first time in a car and I had no testing before the Wydean. The Sunseeker is in just over a week and I'm hoping to go hard on it. I am just looking to make a good start to the championship and go as hard as I can. Hopefully if all goes well I can be competitive and maybe win the class."
This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 16 Feb 12
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