Sykes out to stretch lead

9:21am Thursday 17th July 2008

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Stourbridge speedster Richard Sykes travels to the Isle of Man this weekend to face 110 miles of the fastest closed road rallying that this country has to offer when he competes in the Rally Isle of Man.

Sykes plans to extend his lead in this years Silverstone Tyres British Rally Championship Challenge, as he currently sits at the top of the table with a narrow two point lead.

Although the rally star regards this to be his favourite event of the calendar he knows he will have a tough battle on his hands as he takes on main rival David Harrison on his own turf.

Sykes said: “After the disappointment of my own home event, The Rally of the Midlands, we need to focus on building on the maximum scores we took from the first two rounds.

“This time David will be on his own territory and he will have driven these roads many times each week and this will obviously give him an advantage.

“But we also can't discount the other championship contendors as this is far from a two horse race and to be in the lead after the mid point of the championship will give us a massive boost when we return to the mainland for the remainding rounds.”

The Manx International event is unusual in that it encompasses two rounds of the championship, with an opportunity to score points on Friday and again on Saturday, so it will also be a tactical battle to ensure finishes on both days.

Sykes added: “This year will be my third visit to the island and after winning both rounds of last years 'stars' championship double header we will be full of confidence that we are capable of doing it again.

“Friday night’s event will be a dificult one to approach as we know we will have to quick from the start but I will also have in the back of my mind we are here for two events and the car has to stay in one piece for Saturdays stages.”

The event will be the last of the tarmac rounds this year as the crews return to the gravel stages of the mainland when they tackle the Neath Valley stages in Wales in mid-August.