David Meredith Carlisle preview

Meredith makes the next step.

2006 'stars of the future' British Rally Champion David Meredith prepares to make his 4 wheel drive rallying debut as he takes his brand new Mitsubishi Evo 9 to the 2007 season opening Pirelli International Rally, which begins in Carlisle this Friday.

Dolgellau based David won the 'stars' category for under 1400cc cars with a round to spare in 2006, beating off a host of far more powerful cars along the way, and has now made the daunting step up to the premier division with the far more powerful Mitsubishi.

I had a really good season in 2006 and enjoyed competing in the British Rally Championship. I have built the car up myself and there is still a lot of development work to be done. I don't expect to be on the pace of the top runners but am just looking for a good clean run!

Adding a touch of glamour to the pairing will be Carlisle based beauty Jemma Bellingham, who will be co-driving David during his 2007 campaign.

The 2007 Pirelli International Rally starts from Carlisle on Friday 20th April 2007. The cars then tackle a series of night time stages through the infamous 'killer' Kielder Forest before an overnight break back in Carlisle. Saturday sees the crews once again tackle the world famous forest complex before the ceremonial finish early in the evening after nearly 2 days of tough and treacherous rallying.

The 2007 Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship will be featured on Sky sports in the week after each event with a dedicated time slot given to the 'stars' category.

-credit: geoff mayes