Morrow does it again!
• Swansea Bay Rally - 21st July 2007
• Fourth Evolution Challenge victory of the season
• Another win in the overall Production Class
Phillip Morrow, co-driven on this occasion by Daniel Barritt, won his fourth Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge round of the season, a result which gives the talented Lisburn rally driver a 16-point lead in the championship and puts him in a strong position for the title – and the first prize of a Mitsubishi works drive in 2008.
The Swansea Bay Rally featured six stages in the forests surrounding the Neath and Rhondda valleys, the 60-mile route using many of the same roads as the Wales Rally GB, Britain’s round of the World Rally Championship.
In other years Phillip has revelled in the dry and dusty conditions associated with this event, however, the recent severe weather had left the gravel roads extremely slippery – the organisers even having to cancel one of the stages because of marshals and safety crews not being able to make it to South Wales due to the conditions.
Having already won three rounds of the Evolution Challenge, Phillip was set for another good result, but with his main rivals Sebastian Ling and Julian Reynolds living in South Wales, he was expecting to come under more pressure this time round.
Stage one, a 12-mile run through Margam Park saw Phillip emerge a little surprised to be leading the Mitsubishi runners by nine seconds, having collected a slow puncture towards the end of the stage. It transpired that Reynolds had run wide on a corner and the subsequent vibrations caused his car’s emergency ignition switch to cut-out the electrics momentarily. Ling’s problems were more terminal however, as he too had ran wide, but clipped a bank and flipped his car over.
Although leading, Philip knew that Reynolds would be on a charge to make up for lost time - and he was – but the young Ulsterman maintained his pace and his eight-second advantage.
Following the service halt of the day, crews embarked on the longest stage of the event, 17-miles through Rheola Forest. Knowing this would be the place where the rally could be won or lost Phillip blasted through the stage to record a time 23 seconds quicker than any other Mitsubishi crew. His advantage was augmented when a transmission shaft broke in Reynolds’ car who took over two minutes longer than Phillip to complete the stage.
With just one stage to go following the second service halt, Phillip was not in the market to spoil his one-minute 21-second advantage and drove at a relatively safe pace during the second run through Margam Park.
At the finish, Phillip and Daniel were delighted to have won by an eventual one-minute 48-seconds, their performance also seeing them win the event’s Production Class and claim an overall position of fifth. Phillip also scored maximum points towards the PIAA Junior Award – and, most importantly, he now occupies a commanding position in the race for the Evo Challenge title and the first prize of a Mitsubishi works drive in 2008.
At the finish Phillip said: “I really pleased with the way things went today. My luck has certainly changed for me so far this year. This result has certainly made things easier for the rest of the season. I didn’t expect to win by such a big margin on this event, but when others were having problems I was fortunate to be able to keep out of trouble, which took some doing in the tricky conditions.”
For the sixth round of the Evolution Challenge the series moves away from the Hankook Championship and into the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship. It will then be Phillip’s turn to play on home soil, the event being the all-asphalt, Armagh-based Ulster Rally on 31st August and 1st September.
Phillip’s 2007 campaign is supported by Morrow Fuels, Pirelli Tyres, Lyons European Haulage, Lagan Motor Factors, DGM Motorsport, Kelly’s Toyota, Proflex, PIAA, Speedline Corse, AMS gear kits, BADMC and RPM Promotions.
| 
