Steve Brown dominates Rally Isle of Man despite car issues

Photo: Martyn's Photos

Steve Brown recorded an overwhelming class N1 victory at the Rally Isle of Man

Steve Brown and co-driver Paul Stringer recorded an overwhelming class N1 victory at last weekend’s Rally Isle of Man, despite two mechanical problems.

Rochdale-based Brown ended the first day with more than one minute ahead of his rival in second place, finishing with the fastest time in the N1 class.

“It’s certainly been one of the hardest rallies I’ve ever done and to overcome our issues to win the class by three minutes is really rewarding,” he said of his victory.

On day two of the event, Brown’s Nissan Micra snapped a driveshaft during the final stage. The offending item was fixed ahead of the final five stages on day three.

An early start to the third day proved to be a blessing disguise as a gearbox problem was uncovered and the transmission quickly changed.

Despite amassing a minute of penalties, Brown completed the final stages hassle-free, recording a start to finish victory on the island.

Having recorded a class win back in 2015 on the Manx National event, Brown was looking to repeat last year’s glory on what is dubbed ‘one of the toughest rallies’ on the European rallying calendar with over 160 competitive miles across closed public roads.

Brown said: “It really has been a fantastic weekend across some of the best roads there are.
“Huge thanks must go to the team for all their hard work, Paul for his faultless notes and to all our backers for allowing us to compete here.

“It’s been amazing.”