Brown bids to conquer Rally Isle of Man

Photo: FlatOut.be

Steve Brown in his Nissan Micra kit car

Rochdale rally ace Steve Brown will take on one of the toughest events in the British Rallying calendar as he contests this week’s Rally Isle of Man.

After tackling the Flanders International Rally Challenge in 2016, Brown will now turn his attentions to the three day event and will be vying for class N1 honours across the infamous Manx roads in his unique Nissan Micra Kit Car.

Brown and regular co-driver Paul Stringer are no strangers to the small island in the Irish Sea having scored a class victory at the Manx National Rally there in 2015. But this years’ Rally Isle of Man has been dubbed one of the most challenging events yet.

With three days of competition across 160 miles of closed public roads, the event will also play host to the final round of the MSA British Rally Championship and Brown is hoping to put his experience of the island to good use and bag another class victory in his familiar Nissan.

The 28-year-old from Rochdale has always cited the fondly named Manx as one of his favourite events of the season and is looking forward to getting stuck into the challenging format event organisers have created.

After pre-event reconnaissance and shakedown, the rally proper kicks off on Thursday afternoon with the Douglas promenade spectator stage, but it will be the second test of the day which will provide the biggest challenge of the event as crews will be heading down the mountain road of the Tholt-y-Will stage under the cover of darkness.

Brown however is looking forward to the opening leg of the event more than most. “There is no place on earth like the Isle of Man and to contest classic stages on the island at night is pretty special,” he said. “Luckily we have some fantastic backing from PIAA which means our new lamp pod and LED headlights will be the perfect match for the Manx roads”.

Friday provides an endurance test for both car and crew, as the bulk of the rally mileage takes place with 11 stages throughout the day. Saturday consists of three stages, all over 13 miles in length before a run to the famous TT Grandstand for the finish ramp provides a thrilling climax to the event.

Brown is looking to tackle the event head on and will not be backing off. “Every stage here is unique and you can’t afford to back off, that’s when accidents happen,” he said. “A class win is really the goal and to do that we will have to be on the pace from the word go, so that’s the plan. We haven’t been in the car for a few months having had the summer break but the car is in fine form and I’m really looking forward to this one. It’s going to be a tough but rewarding event I’m sure.”

Brown is supported in 2016 by Fuchs Titan Race, Questmead Ltd, 710 OIL, PIAA and Pirelli.