Brown has one eye on the title as season finale’ heads to Wales

Photo: Manxman Photos

Steve Brown in action in his Nissan Micra kit car

Rochdale rally ace Steve Brown will head to Wales for the second time this year as he contests the final round of the REIS MSA Asphalt Rally Championship, The Old Forge Garage Mewla Rally. Returning to the very stages on which he debuted his new-for-2015 Nissan Micra Kit car back in March, Brown will now bid to secure the class B9 title across the unforgiving Epynt Military Ranges this weekend and will enter a final round battle for victory.

With just one non-finish during the season, Brown has been pleased with the performance of his newly built 1400cc kit car. The 27-year-old has been developing the Nissan over the course of the year and was looking to use the final two rounds of the championship to build on the consistency he has found with the unique machine.

With the original final round of the series The Cheviot Stages being cancelled due to army exercises, the penultimate round in Wales now becomes the last in the series and Brown will need to go all out if he is to grab the 2015 class title.

Jane Edgington will re-join Brown in the co-driver’s seat across the military ranges as regular co-driver Paul Stringer is unavailable and the duo will look to draw on all their previous experience in Wales to secure the much needed maximum points haul.

“I’ve done Epynt several times now but it does seem like every time I go there it feels different” explains Brown. “We had a good result on my debut with the new car at the start of the season so now I need to combine that result with the speed I have built up through the year and we should be fighting for the class win.”

Brown currently sits five points behind of the leader in the standings and the title chase will all rest on the 80 mile blast.

He said: “Of course it’s a disappointment that the final round has been cancelled as it means I have a tough challenge ahead of me if I am to take the title. Having said that, if you told me at the start of the year that I’d be so close to winning the series I wouldn’t have believed you so it’s certainly a positive that I’m even in this position at all. But I’m not giving up yet. It’s a tough ask but I`ll try my very best from the first till the last stage and let the stage times decide the winner this weekend.”

The Old Forge Garage Mewla Rally takes place on Sunday 30 August and is based at The Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells. The event contains 11 special stages across the military roads near to Llandovery in mid Wales.

Brown is supported in 2015 by Questmead Ltd, Mintex, Fuchs Titan, PIAA, 710 oils, Power Maxed and SIX80 Limited.