Pirelli National Rally - 19th April 2008

The Leaker Direct-backed rally team of Alick Kerr and Drew Sturrock are making their second trip of the season south of the English Border for the Pirelli National Rally. Kerr (19) and Sturrock (18) are heading to Carlisle to contest the second round of the 2008 M-Sport Fiesta Sporting Trophy on Saturday, 19th April.

Whilst things didn't quite go according to plan on the first Sporting Trophy round - the Cockermouth-based Malcolm Wilson Rally - at the start of March, Bothwell teenager Kerr brought his Ford Fiesta ST home seventh from fifteen trophy starters to get the season off to a solid start.

‘We found the conditions very tricky as the stages were slippy due to the heavy rain the previous day,’ commented Kerr, who sat out last weekend's Scottish Championship Border Counties event to prepare the car for the Pirelli.

‘It was difficult to get into a rhythm which was reflected in our stage times.’
Saturday's rally will be Alick's first ever Pirelli, but he is looking forward to the challenge.

‘This will be my first time on the Pirelli, but we might have done some of the stages before on other events, so hopefully they will be similar," admits the foundry engineer.

‘This will also be the first rally for me with a new style of route notes that Drew has been using. I've never driven on them before, though, so I'll just have to play Colin McRae Rally on the computer to try to get used to them!’

Alick's Laurencekirk co-driver Drew Sturrock is upbeat about heading into the famous Kershop and Kielder forests for the Pirelli, having enjoyed success on this event last year.

‘I did the Pirelli National with Peter Mayland in the Proton in 2007 and we won our class, so hopefully this year will go well too,’ reckons Sturrock, who accompanied Alick to Norway for a pre-season test at the famous John Haugland Rally School.

‘The trip to Norway was a great bonding session for Alick and myself, and it's amazing how well we're getting on considering the first time we sat in a car together was in the snow in Norway!’

As well as being the second round of the Fiesta Sporting Trophy, the Pirelli weekend also encompasses the first round of the world-famous British Rally Championship, which attracts competitors from all over Europe and beyond. Whilst the big boys will be fighting it out on a larger international event, the Fiestas will still get the chance to rub shoulders with some of the country's top rally stars, giving a great opportunity to showcase sponsor Lanarkshire based Leaker Direct Ltd.

Further information on the team can be found at http://www.alickkerr.com