29.06.2004 The six Fiat Stilo Rally Cup UK contenders will venture into Scotland again for round four of the Fiat Stilo Rally Cup, the Jim Clark Memorial Rally

The six Fiat Stilo Rally Cup contenders will venture north of the border again for round four of the Fiat Stilo Rally Cup.

The Jim Clark Memorial Rally uses the tarmac lanes around Duns, the birthplace of one of Scotland’s most famous motorsport heroes. Clark was equally happy in race or rally and the Stilo competitors will have much to live up to on the UK’s only mainland closed road rally.

Chris Davies and Nathan Parry lead the series with wins on home soil in Wales and on the Scottish. They will compete for the first time using sticky Pirelli slicks and tarmac suspension, pushing hard to maintain their lead.

The young Welsh driver successfully tested at Chobham in Surrey on June 22, trying different combinations of tyres and brakes at a Fiat press day there.

Scots Willie Bonniwell and co-driver Ian Fraser took the first win of the season, but retired on the Scottish in June. They will be trying to uphold National honours, and although from the west coast of Scotland, Oban and Tobermory respectively, they should have strong local support.

Also flying the flag for Scotland will be Dumfries mechanic, Tom Metcalfe. He will be joined again by co-driver Kirsty Riddick after an excellent second place on their home event in Dumfries. They have benefited from others' misfortune and now hold third  place in the series.

The only English crew in the Stilo Cup is Shaun Woffinden/ Howard Pridmore. They will be on a mission, having retired on the previous two rounds. Their retirements were both unfortunate, neither causing serious damage to the cars, but both leaving them sidelined, as spectators.

Davies’ fellow countryman, Paul Tod, continues with Iestyn ap Dafydd alongside. The Welsh duo will want to build on their fastest stage times in Scotland, when they blitzed the opposition on the final two stages. But it was too little too late for the pair, as they had spent several stages stuck in second gear, and finally finished fourth.

They also attended the test and press day, getting to grips with their car in asphalt trim on new Pirelli slicks.

Adding some Mediterranean sunshine to the event will be Catalan driver Joan Roca, and fellow Spanish co-driver Jordi Barrabes. They have suffered on each round with mechanical problems, but competed on the Jim Clark Rally in 2003, and are the only crew to have used a Rally Cup Stilo on asphalt this year.

Some 150 cars will be starting from the well known Kelso National Hunt racecourse at 3.40pm on Friday 2nd July. 

This international event comprises 22 special stages set over some 160 miles of closed public roads in Berwickshire, with a 5pm finish on Saturday afternoon. Centralised service throughout the two days is at Charterhall airfield to the north east of Kelso.