Clark’s dream start and a classic finish
15 June 2008

Aberdeen’s Barry Clark got his three-event FIA World Rally Championship campaign off to a dream start as he finished the Rally of Turkey with an amazing top-10 placing. The icing on the cake came as Clark also collected points for his Argentine-based Munchi’s Ford World Rally Team in the world rally championship for manufacturers.

Competing on his first ‘proper’ event in a World Rally Car and with full reconnaissance under his belt, Clark put in a sterling debut effort on the tough, hot and physically demanding Turkish stages. His new partnership with Irish co-driver Paul Nagle was tested to the limit as the speed tests threw everything at drivers.
The pair’s only concerns were a slight rear suspension issue early on day 2 followed by a heart-stopping engine temperature light which caused a few flutters on the final 30 kilometre stage.

The Scotsman’s plan from the start was to finish every stage to gain maximum experience with the car and gather crucial set-up information on the rough gravel stages. Clark did just that, plus a little more, when he picked up the final manufacturer point for the Munchi’s squad.

It has been a perfect start to Clark’s three-event campaign and he ended up setting some stage times that were only under two seconds a kilometre off the vastly more experienced top WRC crews. The 25-year-old mastered all 19 special stages and over 360 kilometres of high-speed action as he gained invaluable experience in the Munchi’s Ford Focus RS WRC 07.

The chance for Clark’s competition this weekend was made available thanks to his win in the Fiesta SportingTrophy International series last year which kept him in good stead for this WRC event.

Clark will next be in action on the ‘rally of 1000 corners’. This sees a switch from gravel to asphalt for the young Scot as he tackles the Rallye de France-Tour de Corse in October and, with it, a whole new learning experience on the sealed surface.

Munchi’s Ford World Rally Team Driver Barry Clark said:
“This has been a dream rally for me. We set out with the intention of getting to the end and to finish inside the top-10 is amazing. The plan was to stay neat and tidy and that’s exactly how it went and I think that really was the key to our success.
“We did have a few scares though on the final stage when the water temperature light came on and we hit a large rock which took a chunk out of the wheel but luckily we made it back to the finish without any dramas. This result has helped immensely with my experience and confidence and it’s highlighted that I need to make my pacenotes more accurate with the faster speeds of these amazing world rally cars.”

Ford of Europe Motorsport Director Mark Deans said:
“What a fabulous result for Barry on his first proper world championship outing in the Ford Focus RS WRC07. A top-10 finish and a championship point was just reward for a determined yet considered drive. The Fiesta SportingTrophy was a fantastic opportunity for Barry to develop a skill while achieving success and this skill was present today when he drove his Focus RS over the finish ramp this afternoon.”