After a seven week break the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship will resume next weekend when round four takes place in Ceri forest near Newtown in Wales.
Justin Birchall goes into the event leading the title race on 248 points after a win at the previous round in Scotland. Along with several other BCCC drivers, Birchall used the mid-season break to demonstrate his car to the thousands of people who attended the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
In second place, 24 points behind Birchall on 224 points is Adrian Marfell. It is Marfell's first season in the BCCC but he has scored good points on all three rounds so far in his Fouquet-Nissan.
Third place is held by Ryan Cooke who has had a consistent season, taking his Milner LRM-1 to fourth place on each of the three rounds.
Competing in the BCCC for the first time in several years is Lee Mansfield in his Xylo Racing Milner R5 and he lies in fourth place. The last round took its toll on the car though and he faces a race against time to be ready for Ceri.
"We've replaced three suspension arms and the rest have been rebushed," said Mansfield. "One of the dampers was damaged and is being rebuilt and we've also had the gearbox out, rebuilt the steering rack, fitted new steering arms and new front brake discs. After our brush with the scenery we've had to repair the bonnet, door, cab and windscreen too. We still have a lot to sort so there will be a few late nights. We're booked in to Staffordshire Signs for new graphics on Thursday so that's our deadline!"
Another driver who has been busy with his car is Martin Gould. The 2016 champion retired from the last round with engine problems on his Buxton 4x4 Rivet and delays getting parts have meant that it's not certain what car he'll be in at Ceri.
"It's touch and go whether the Rivet will be ready," commented Gould. We had issues getting race engine parts at short notice, the rebuild is on the go but if it's not complete will bring our Mattserati. This won't be ideal as it's not as quick as the Rivet. Hopefully we can join the party again and get back to winning ways."
In the National B BCC Trophy championship Paul Rowlands won at Forrest Estate to make it three different winners in the first three rounds. Rowlands heads the leaderboard on 246 points and, after scoring good points on all three event, Jon Damrel is in second on 225.
Freelander Challenge champion Pat Masters has made a good start this season with two wins in the three events. Masters has 166 points, 33 ahead of second placed Ian Morson. Graham White, who has one victory this season, is in third on 110.
The Clubman category has attracted a strong entry including Rick Mann, Toby Jefferson, Greg Clement, Paul Harris and Phil Ibbotson.
The event starts at 10am on Saturday with action continuing until around 5pm. Sunday’s runs will commence at 9am and the event is expected to finish around 3pm. Spectator information is available on www.marches4x4.com. Pictures from the event will be online at facebook.com/msabccc on Sunday evening.
