Paul Tod is determined to build on his Jim Clark Rally junior category win when he contests the 5th Fiat Stilo Cup round, the Manx International Rally, this coming weekend (29-31 July).

The Manx rally is the most prestigious of the BRC, and is based in Douglas, Isle of Man.  Using the island’s infamous lanes as well as large parts of the TT circuit, the event also includes two stages through the streets of Castletown.

Rally HQ and central service will be at the TT Grandstand, and the final stage of the 180 mile event will finish there, in the heart of Douglas!

“This event will be unlike anything we’ve ever experienced,” says Tod. “We learnt some important lessons on the Jim Clark, and have been working since to put them into practice.  We proved then that we had the speed to push for an overall cup win, so we are quietly confident of a good performance this weekend.” 

Meanwhile, Paul Tod’s Fiat Stilo Cup car proved to be a real hit when it appeared at the Fiat trade stand at the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show last week. The car attracted hundreds of interested admirers during the 4 day event.

“It would have been nice to start her up and let people hear her running,” says Paul, “because she sounds as good as she looks.  But even as a static display, people from all walks of life were really interested and we both enjoyed chatting with them, and answering their questions. 

"A lot of people were surprised to see a real rally car, and were really interested in the display of photographs of the car in action. The level of interest caught us all out, mind, we’d had some posters printed for the event, but they all went on the first day!”