NEWS: Scot John MacCrone fired-up for Jim Clark Rally
30th May 2013


Scots rally ace John MacCrone returns to his favourite surface this weekend when he tackles the Jim Clark Rally, the second round of the British Rally Championship.


(John MacCrone and co-driver Phil Pugh in their Culina Palletforce Racing Citroen DS3 R3.)

Run completely on closed-off public roads, the 23-year-old from the Isle of Mull is looking forward to upping the pace on the Borders tarmac between Duns and Kelso. “Tarmac is my preferred surface and it’s what I grew up with on the Isle of Mull,” MacCrone, who will again drive his Culina Palletforce Racing Citroen DS3 R3, said “The roads on the Jim Clark are much different, however, with lots of junctions and fast sections. It’s important to carry speed through the slow corners so you get the maximum drive up the following straight. “In contrast to gravel driving style, you really need to keep the car straight on tarmac: you don’t want it moving at all because that's when you start losing time. Braking is always in a straight line and you think more about the racing line through a corner and try to be more precise. The Jim Clark Rally is one of my favourite events of the year. It's probably one of best know rallies in the UK, and it always attracts a big entry list and huge crowds at the side of the stages."

The Jim Clark Rally — run over 16 stages and 195 timed miles — is the only event to be held totally on closed-off public roads on the UK mainland. The tarmac-based Mull Rally on the Hebrides in October. And MacCrone, again co-driven by Phil Pugh, is looking to build on his excellent performance in the BRC opener, the Pirelli Rally.

"We finished the Pirelli with top three-fastest times in three stages, culminating by being quickest in the event's final stage," MacCrone, who recovered from a puncture — which relegated him from third to 14th — to finish fifth, continued. "We're heading into the Jim Clark looking to pick up from where we left at the Pirelli. It's no secret that tarmac's my favourite surface, and hopefully we can be on the pace right from the start and mix it at the top of the leaderboard."

But MacCrone acknowledges that tyre choice is likely to play a crucial part on the opening leg, which consists of a loop of three stages each run twice on Friday evening. "We've six stages, including two runs on the spectator special in Duns, the new stage at Tweedside, plus two runs through the longest stage of the rally, the 16-miler at Abbey St Bathans," the Scot explained. And there's no service between any of the stages, so the tyres we put on for the start of the first stage have to get us right through the evening. Make the wrong tyre choice, and you can scupper your whole rally. Get it right, and you're in with a chance."

The crucial decision will be made around an hour before the start of the first run through the 1.2-mile spectator special stage. And with the weather forecast hinting at showers, finding elusive grip on the slippery tarmac surface will be pivotal. MacCrone, who will be tackling the Jim Clark Rally for the third time, knows patience will be crucial.

"You don't want to throw it all away on the Friday evening," he stated, "but at the same time you've got to be fast enough to be in contention. We've a good idea what the pace is that will be needed, and if we can achieve that, then we should be in a good position for the final 10 stages on Saturday."

Note: The Jim Clark Rally starts at 7pm in Duns on Friday, May 31, with six stages. It restarts at 8am in Kelso on Saturday, June 1, when a further 10 stages are run. The podium ceremony is in Kelso at 5.28pm.

Press release issued on behalf of John MacCrone by McMedia



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NEWS: Culina Palletforce Racing Prepares To Tackle Tarmac
30th May 2013


While the MSA British Rally Championship has switched to Tarmac for this weekend’s second round at the Jim Clark Rally in the Scottish Borders, the Culina Palletforce Racing team has also been switching things around to prepare for the event.



The team’s first rally of the 2013 campaign was on gravel where the Citroen DS3s were faced with rough forest tracks through Kielder Forest. But, as we now head to the closed public roads around Kelso and Duns, the cars will look decidedly different and more like their road-going counterparts.

For CA1 Sport, the preparation experts behind the Culina Palletforce Racing team, it means a raft of changes to get their pair of DS3 rally cars into Tarmac specification.

“The main thing people will notice is that the cars have more traditional wheels and tyres rather than the chunky gravel tyres we use for the forests,” explains team manager Martin Wilkinson.

“We’ve changed from 15 inch gravel wheels and tyres to 17 Tarmac versions. The tread pattern of the tyre is also much different as it doesn’t have to cope with gravel. On the rally we will use a slick tyre for dry conditions and an intermediate tyre in case of rain.

“And because we have bigger wheels, we can use bigger brakes. We’ve changed the front discs and that gives us better braking performance.


(Culina Palletforce Racing team manager Martin Wilkinson)

“The other visual feature is a Tarmac car sits much lower. Within the suspension we’ve changed the dampers, springs and anti-roll bars. The dampers have less travel and are stiffer as they don’t need to deal with the rough conditions in a forest. A lower car allows us to drop the centre of gravity which makes the car more stable and generates increased traction.

“Generally you want a Tarmac car more precise as drivers adopt more of a circuit racing driving style and need the car to respond and react immediately to any input.”

Driving style on sealed surfaces also changes. Where a driver can slide the car around corners on gravel, they usually try to keep it as straight as possible on Tarmac as any sideways movement usually scrubs off all-important speed. And that’s what team driver John MacCrone will be aiming to do when the Jim Clark roars into action on Friday evening.

“Tarmac is my preferred surface and it’s what I grew up with on the Isle of Mull,” said MacCrone. “The roads on the Jim Clark are much different, however, with lots of junctions and fast sections. It’s important to carry speed through the slow corners so you get the maximum drive up the following straight.

“In contrast to gravel driving style, you really need to keep the car straight on Tarmac – you don’t want it moving at all as that’s when you’re losing time. Braking is always in a straight line and you think more about the racing line through a corner and try to be more precise.

“My pace-notes don’t change much as they have a Tarmac base style but I’ve been concentrating more on getting my slow corners right as it’s too easy to be aggressive and drop time in the low speed sections.”

The Jim Clark Rally kicks off at 7pm on Friday evening with crews taking on a total of six stages on Friday and a further 10 on Saturday before finishing back in Kelso at 5pm.

Report: Courtesy of Culina Palletforce Racing


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