China round four: The Kaiyang Rally

Just two weeks after Rally Isle of Man, TQ driver David Higgins and co-driver Ieuan Thomas are on the road to China again.

The TQ-backed team will be attempting to take their fourth win in a row on the Chinese Rally Championship as they enter the Kaiyang Rally in their WY rally team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9.

“We’ve only done the Kaiyang once before,” says David. “Last year we ran first on the road and a spectator ran across in front of us. The road has drops on either side into fields so we dropped two wheels off and punctured.

“On the second day we were quickest on every stage but the gearbox went so we did not get to finish the rally. This year we’ll be aiming to keep up our record of winning every round so far. The main concern is that the stages are quite abrasive on the tyres because they’re either extremely fast or extremely twisty.”

The team leave Britain today (Tuesday) to prepare for the recce ahead of the rally on 4th to 6th August. The rally begins with a spectator stage on Saturday.

So far this year David and Ieuan have won the Shanghai Rally, the Huairou Rally and the Liupanshui Rally in China which puts their WY rally team firmly at the top of the points table.