Jiangning Rally report

David Higgins and Ieuan Thomas have narrowly missed out on victory in the opening round of the 2009 Chinese Rally Championship, the Jiangning Rally.

The crew thrilled spectators by fighting with event winner, Jussi Valimaki from Finland, from the start, until David hit problems on Saturday.

“We finished second by 36 seconds, but we lost 45 seconds on Saturday with a problem otherwise things could have been different,” said David at the finish. “We broke a rear shock absorber and lost the time over the next three rough stages. The roads on the event were quite rough with big rocks throughout.”

It had been seven months since the last round of the Chinese Rally Championship in 2008.

“It was great to get back onto the stages and out with the team again,” said David. “And there's not much time before the next round, we're back in three weeks for the Huairou Rally at the start of July.”

Although David does not qualify for the overall drivers' championship, he has picked up second place points for the WY Rally Team in the teams' championship.

The Huairou Rally takes place from 3rd to 5th July.

Jiangning Rally Update: Sunday finish

David and Ieuan finished second overall on the Jiangning Rally in China this morning.

The crew missed out on winning by 36 seconds after losing 45 seconds with a damper problem yesterday.

After prize giving, it's back to the UK for the team for a brief stay before the Huairou Rally on July 3-5.

Jiangning Rally Update: Saturday

With the super special and six stages of the Jiangning Rally completed, David and Ieuan lie second overall behind Jussi Valimaki overnight.

David and Jussi provided spectators with a thrilling fight until David and Ieuan broke a rear shock absorber on their Mitsubishi Lancer E9, and lost 45 seconds over the following three rough stages.

The boys are one minute ahead of third placed driver Juha Salo.

The rally finishes with four stages tomorrow.

Jiangning Rally update: Friday

With the super special behind them, David and Ieuan lie second on the Jiangning Rally, 1.4 seconds behind Jussi Valamaki from Finland.

David and Ieuan were running 30 cars behind Valimaki on the rough road which was cutting up badly after each car.

Jiangning Rally update: testing

David and Ieuan have been in China for a few days now and have completed their pre-event test for the Jiangning Rally.

David has reported back to say they have had a good test of the Mitsubishi Evo 9 with the WY team, but says the roads were wet during the test and the weather is expected to be very dry during the rally.

The Jiangning is a new event on the Chinese calendar for 2009, and the conditions on the stages are said to be difficult - very tight with large rocks throughout.

The rally begins on Friday.

The 2009 Chinese Rally Championship begins

After a seven month break between Chinese Rally Championships, David Higgins returns to the far east this week to prepare for the season opening Jiangning Rally.

It has been three months since David and his co-driver Ieuan Thomas competed together, on the Bulldog Historic Rally in a Ford Escort Mk1 after a pre-event accident where a piece of metal pierced through David’s hand, and work commitments at the family rally school, ruled them out of the Pirelli Historic.

“It will be great to get back into a rally car after so long and fantastic to finally get back out on the stages in China after the huge break between championships out there,” said David. “As usual with China, we will have a hefty test of the Mitsubishi Lancer E9 before the rally when we get out there with the team, and we are with the WY rally team again this year so we all know each other and work together well.”

David and Ieuan remain a force to be reckoned with in the championship having won a record number of events over the last two seasons. Such was their success that they were awarded with the Honour of China last year for their impact on the country. This month the Jiangning Rally will be a new test for everyone involved.

“The Jiangning Rally is a new event for all of us in the Chinese championship,” added David. “That’s always a good leveller across the field, we have no idea what it will be like apart from knowing there will be a super special on Friday, six stages on Saturday and four stages on Sunday. I like the challenges doing a totally new event in a championship bring with it and that’s important to the competitors to keep the championship refreshed and more interesting. One challenge that I’m not looking forward to though is the heat, it’s already 38 degrees out in that area of China and could get even hotter. That could make things very difficult – especially for two guys who are more used to the weather we get on Rally GB in Wales.”

Although David has not been competing in a rally car recently, he has completed a few kart races, having always been a promoter of kart racing as a way to hone your skills for rallying between events and an enthusiast kart competitor since his early childhood on the Isle of Man.

The Jingnang Rally takes place from Friday 12th June until Sunday 14th June, based in Jiangsu.