Issued at 23:30      18-04-2008

Reining British Rally Champion Guy Wilkes got the defence of his crown off to a solid start with a scintillating performance on the opening leg of The Pirelli International Rally 2008.The Darlington man was quickest on all four stages in Kershope Forest the head back to Carlisle with a 24 second lead over Finish star Juho Hanninen while Mark Higgins overcame a frustrating night to climb up to third spot.

The night’s dramas stated even before the cars reached Stage 1. Mark Higgins’ MG2000 Sport suffering a leaking oil seal. The crew managed a roadside repair but collected a 20 second penalty booking in late at the Stage Start. Despite his problems, Mark was still 2^nd quickest through the opening stage, behind Wilkes but ahead of his brother David who exited the stage with body damage to his Subaru Impreza. Phillip Morrow’s Evo 9, was another car with body damage, while both Rob Swan and James Wozencroft complained of no anti-lag systems. Darren Gass survived a spin, while Supradip Roy’s MGR160 was reported off the road.

While Wilkes sped through the 2^nd Stage, with Hanninen his closest challenger, Daniel Barry (EVO 9) James Wozencroft Subaru and Nicki Bjerg Suzuki Swift, all collected punctures. Victor Henriksson (Fiesta ST)  suffered a complete lack of brakes, Stefan Davis (Puma) had to get pushed away from the start line, Nathan O’Connor put his Citroen into a ditch and Martin McCormack’s similar car stopped for 6 minutes after loosing 2^nd & 3^rd gears.

Wilkes survived a slight off on the last stage of the night, complaining his lights weren’t quite right for the conditions while Mark Higgins problems continued when the gear knob came adrift!! Darren Gass lost about 10 minutes when he went off, Daniel Barry (Evo 9) also visited the Keshope ditches but managed to keep the car going.

Wyn Humphreys’ Subaru was suffering from an anti-lag problem while Stefan Davis crawled through the stage his car suffering transmission problems. He was caught and passed Martin Roberts’ Citroen C2R2.

The cars face a daunting day tomorrow with 10 more stages ahead of them including two trips to the infamous “Killer Kielder” complex.

Results after Leg 1

1. Guy Wilkes / Phillip Pugh                    Evo 9                            29:30.8

2. Juho Hanninen / Mikko Markkula       Evo 9                            29:54.8

3. Mark Higgins / Rory Kennedy            MG 2000 Sport            30:50.2