Scott Faulkner Rallying has won the 2019 British Trials and Rally Drivers Association Production Cup. The Professional Motorsport World Expo-backed team took the title in its first season in the BRTDA championship.
Over the 2019 season, Scott Faulkner and Gareth Parry achieved a total of four class victories with the C1-R Motorsport-supported Mitsubishi Evo 9 Group N, including an impressive overall third place at the Plains Rally, beating more powerful cars and more experienced drivers.
Heading into the championship’s final round, the Trackrod Rally in Yorkshire, Scott Faulkner Rallying sat one point behind closest rivals Pat Naylor and Ian Lawrence. It was a winner-takes-all situation.
At the end of stage 1, Faulkner and Parry were 0.8 seconds ahead. Due to heavy rainfall, the track was more slippery than usual. However, the Mitsubishi Evo 9 Group N’s new-for-2019 Pirelli tires found grip and worked well.
Setup changes made to the Proflex dampers and center differential settings by support team C1-R Motorsport also ensured that the Mitsubishi Evo 9 was competitive.
Naylor and Lawrence broke a driveshaft during the second stage, losing time and giving Scott Faulkner Rallying a 28 second lead ahead of stages 3 and 4. And as Faulkner and Parry continued to put in fast times, Naylor and Lawrence were forced to retire.
With a clear run after stage 3, all that was required of Scott Faulkner Rallying was to get the car to the finish. “When you have no pressure, and all you have to do is get to the finish, you start to hear all sorts of noises from the car that you haven’t noticed before and become convinced it’s going to break down,” explained Faulkner.
Scott Faulkner Rallying completed the race and took the 2019 BTRDA Production Cup win, with the only scare coming after sliding into a bank during the 19km final stage.
Faulkner has attributed much of the success this year to the enhanced funding provided by a revised Professional Motorsport World Expo sponsorship package, which has contributed to significant upgrades to the car. Thanks to vehicle tweaks and team support from C1-R Motorsport, the Mitsubishi proved highly reliable, recording just one DNF after a mechanical failure in the rear differential. His success is also down to his own progression in terms of personal development.
