Kelly Wins And Joins MN Title Fight

Series leader West turns an off day into points haul

- Elliot Wood

The fourth round of the Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship was all about tyres, and who could get them working at a sodden Brands Hatch circuit.

In the Pirelli corner were championship leaders Chris West and Keith Hounslow, in their Peugeot 306 Maxi Kit Car, with used tyres on all four corners.

Leading the opposition was Mark Kelly and Andy Baker, in a Ford Escort Mk2 with new Michelin wets.

The first stage was wet, after the first of several showers, with oil also down on the circuit. Grip was at a premium.

West ran first, and he powered his Peugeot through the chicanes and hairpins in five minutes 59 seconds. Kelly ran three cars later, and he went 22 seconds faster than West, whose chances of repeating his 2016 Brands Hatch Winter Stages victory looked decidedly small down in fourth place.

“Tyre choice was up the creek, I was struggling for grip,” said Peugeot driver West.

“Someone’s dropped some oil in there. I’ve not got the budget [for new tyres] so I’ll have to get to the end on what we’ve got.”

Owning a new set of covers was no magic bullet though, as inconsistencies in grip from corner to corner meant that tyre choice was also allied to driver confidence in deciding the timesheet at stage end.