PODIUM FOR GOULD ON JIM CLARK
24/05/2009
Pirelli-backed driver Adam Gould has secured his first ever British Rally Championship podium after a fault-free drive on the Jim Clark Rally, round three of the series.
Gould finished third on the all-asphalt event held around the Scottish Borders town of Kelso, close to the home of motorsport legend Jim Clark, at the wheel of his TEGSport Subaru Impreza WRX. Although it was only Gould's first-ever asphalt rally at the wheel of a four-wheel drive car, the 21-year-old did not put a wheel wrong throughout the two-day event, following on from his excellent fourth overall on the opening round of the British Rally Championship in Wales.
The Jim Clark Rally is well-known for being one of the most demanding events on the entire series, with six night stages on Friday preceding a full day of action with 11 stages on Saturday. The stages are fast, narrow and deceptive, with plenty of bumps and several solid obstacles by the side of the road to catch out the unwary. The Jim Clark Rally is the only event in mainland Britain to be held entirely on closed public roads, and as such it attracts a huge public following.
This challenging rally held fond memories for Gould and his co-driver Sebastian Marshall before they even started it, as it was on last year's Jim Clark that they received their Pirelli Star Driver nomination, leading to this year's season in a state-of-the-art Group N Impreza. Marshall had another big hurdle to overcome prior to this year's event, having returned to Newcastle University to sit some examinations in between the recce last Thursday (May 21) and the ceremonial start in Edinburgh on Friday evening (May 22), leaving Gould to complete the shakedown on his own.
Despite lacking the experience of many more seasoned competitors on the event, Gould demonstrated once more that he was able to mix it at the pinnacle of British rallying. Having started off at a good pace, he gradually increased his speed as his confidence grew while still maintaining a comfortable margin of error.
"This is definitely the biggest result of my career so far," said the Bristol-based driver at the end of the epic event. "The most encouraging thing about it was that there was a clear progression; we were getting quicker and quicker throughout the second runs on the stages without taking stupid risks. It wasn't entirely perfect as we had a couple of spins that were simply down to inexperience, but we brought the car home without a scratch on it and felt really confident all weekend. The first three events of this season are all about learning, so by the end of the year I hope that we will be closer to the ultimate pace we are aiming for."
Gould and Marshall's result on the Jim Clark Rally will stand them in good stead for the next two rounds of the British Rally Championship, on the Isle of Man and in Northern Ireland, both of which are held on bumpy asphalt.
"It's really encouraging to get this result before two more asphalt events, and the good news is that from what I could see our Subaru should actually be slightly better suited to those two events," added Gould. "I'm hoping to fit in some testing before the Manx, and that should help our prospects as well. It's been a brilliant weekend in Scotland, but there's just one disadvantage to finishing on the podium, which is that there are only two ways to improve on it! And of those two ways, there's only one that I'm really interested in, which is the top step..."
The Isle of Man International Rally, round four of the British Rally Championship, takes place from July 10-11 in the island's capital, Douglas.
