David Meredith Carlisle summary

David delighted with 4 wheel drive debut.

Dolgellau based farmer David Meredith was left delighted with his performance on last weekends Pirelli International Rally when he finished his first ever International event sixth in class in his self built Mitsubishi Evo 9.

David, the 2006 'stars of the future' rally champion only put the finishing touches to his new stead in the days leading up to the event and with no chance to go testing was treating the Carlisle based event as an extend test.

Co-driven by Carlisle based Jemma Bellingham, David was very happy to end the opening leg, run in the dark, in eleventh position.

Their learning curve continued on Saturday, and after a cautious start the times improved throughout the day, and by the afternoon the Mitsubishi was regularly inside the top 10.

I cannot believe how well this weekend went. I am very pleased with how the car went and its' been one big learning curve adapting to 4 wheel drive but I've loved every moment of it. I know there are a lot of improvements to come from both the car and myself, and so I am really looking forward to the rest of the season.

Next up for David and Jemma will be the tarmac based Jim Clark Rally in May. Before then the 28 year old farmer is hoping to get some testing in to ensure that the car handles properly on the event.

For more on the championship please visit www.rallybrc.co.uk

-credit: geoff mayes