Podium finish for David Higgins despite problems in China

David Higgins has decided to remain in China after the Jiangning Rally to take part in tests of his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X with the WY Rally Team, after being forced to contest the event without testing on gravel beforehand.

David and his co-driver Ieuan Thomas took third place points for the team on the event, despite their testing problems which began a month ago when David was unable to travel to China to take part in an essential testing in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X due to the volcanic ash cloud canceling their flights.

"That was going to be the first gravel test we've ever done in the car," said David. "When it didn't work out, we thought we could try to overcome the situation by trying to fit in a gravel test when we arrived for the rally last week, but we only managed to fit in 7km before the fuel tank split. Then any time we got in the car after that was to check the fuel tank was okay, not to set up for gravel, so we went into the event blind as to how the car would react in comparison to the Evo9 we had last year."

During the opening superspecial stage the crew set a good time but the car ran wide, and the main stages on Saturday got off to a good start, despite David feeling the car set up was still too soft.

"We were lying second overall when a damper broke and the car went wide on the next bend, hitting a rock and pushing the body of the car onto the tyre," explained David. "We lost about one and a half minutes and dropped to fifth. We pushed back up to fourth overnight, then on the opening stage on Sunday the rear diff broke on the car so we did the first two stages in front wheel drive.

"However, once we got sorted we did set the fastest time on the final two stages, showing the car can do what it needs to if we have the right preparation for an event. If we had been able to test beforehand, we know we would have had the best set up possible, and taken a much better result. Us staying on in China to do more testing will give us a better chance on the next event - and hopefully the ash cloud will be long gone by then too!"

The Jiangning Rally was won by Mark Higgins, with Jussi Valimaki second.

Jiangning Rally Update: Sunday, end of event

After a disappointing start to their day when the rear diff on their Mitsubishi broke on the first stage, David and Ieuan have finished third overall on the Jiangning Rally.

After doing the first two stages in front wheel drive, they went on to set fastest times on the final two stages of the event.

Mark Higgins won the event, with Jussi Valimaki second.

Jiangning Rally Update: Saturday

News just in from David in China reports a bad day at the office.

The first two stages ran smoothly enough despite the car set up being too soft, leaving David and Ieuan lying second behind David's brother Mark.

But in stage four a damper broke on their Mitsubishi and the car went wide on the next bend, hitting a rock and pushing the body of the car onto the tyre, losing the crew 1m30s and dropping them down to fifth overall.

Over the last two stages David and Ieuan fought back in their usual style, moving up to fourth. Third was in sight, but unfortunately the boys missed out on the position after they gained 20s of road penalty time when they were working on the car.

Mark Higgins leads overnight, with Jussi Valimaki second and Patrik Sandell third.

There are four stages left to run tomorrow, more news after the finish.

Jiangning Rally update: Superspecial

News just in from China that the superspecial opening stage of the Jiangning Rally is over.

Patrik Flodin currently leads the event, with David and Ieuan joint second with Jussi Valimaki, and David's brother Mark fourth. David says the car felt good, but ran very wide on the first bend.

More news after Saturday's six stages tomorrow.

Jiangning Rally update: Recce

After a rather trying start to their current Chinese adventure, David and Ieuan have managed to squeeze in a brief gravel test in their Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX ahead of the opening superspecial stage tomorrow night.

However, this was just enough time to ensure the new fuel tank was good to go, and the team did not have time to make any set up changes to the car.

With the recce complete, David says the stages are extremely rough and it is sure to be a hard rally ahead.

More news after the superspecial stage tomorrow.

Jiangning Rally update: Testing - not good!

As you will recall, David recently missed out on the chance to go and test his Mitsubishi Lancer EvoX on gravel in China because of the volcanic ash cloud causing his flights to be cancelled.

So it has been a day day for the team in China today, with reports coming in from David to say they only managed to do a 7km test in the car before the fuel tank split.

Now David's first decent mileage on gravel in the car will be during the superspecial stagge of the rally on Friday.

Testing times ahead for David in China

David Higgins returns to China this week for round two of the Chinese Rally Championship, the Jiangning Rally.

The event takes competitors to the Nanjing district of China, and gives them their first taste of gravel in the 2010 season. Having already missed one testing opportunity in China due to the volcanic ash clouds, David may be forced to hit the Chinese gravel for the first time on the first stage.

"Even though we did the rally last year, it will be new ground for us this year because it's our first gravel rally in the Evo X," says David. "And we may not get to have a good test before the rally because our test was supposed to happen last month and I was unable to travel to China to do it because of the UK airports being shut due to the volcanic ash clouds."

Last year David and his co-driver Ieuan Thomas finished second on the event after suffering a burst damper on their WY Rally Team Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9 they drove last season.

"Jiangning is a really tough rally with a mixture of twisty sections and very high speed stretches," says David. "The roads are narrow with lots of hazards and dangers at the side of the road so being neat on the stages is a must. These are the kind of stages I love driving on. But competition will be as tough as ever with PWRC leader Patrik Flodin, Patrik Sandell, and my brother Mark all out to show what they can do on Chinese gravel."

Last year's event winner Jussi Valimaki will be competing as David's team mate with the WY Rally Team this year, but will not be scoring team points as he is only hiring the car.

The event takes place from 14th to 16th May. David will be updating his
website as usual throughout the event.