Next weekend will see the JR Motorsports Rally Team double its attack, when former British Rally Champion Gwyndaf Evans will drive a second Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X in the ToddsLeap.com Ulster International Rally, round five of the MSA British Rally Championship.

The experienced Welshman joins the team’s regular driver David Bogie to form a two-car line-up for JRM.

David and his co-driver Kevin Rae have had a season of mixed fortunes so far. After recording fourth and third places on rounds one and two, a non-finish on round three and then a spin which put them out of contention on round four, they are looking forward to getting back into the JRM Evo X and putting in a performance which is more commensurate with their abilities.

“The past two events have been frustrating, but after rejoining the Isle of Man Rally on the second day we managed to get some miles under our belt and work on the set-up of the car”, said David. “The Evo X is still a new entity in terms of its development, but I don’t think it’s far away now and it would be great to get another podium finish this weekend.”

The team has stated that they see the ongoing development of the car as a vitally important issue and this is exactly why Gwyndaf has been drafted in for this event: “Having previously driven for the Mitsubishi UK works operation in 2007 and 2008, our team’s experience of working with Gwyndaf coupled with his enormous wealth of knowledge makes him an ideal addition to the line-up”, said a spokesman for JR Motorsports.

Having tested David’s car at the end of July, Gwyndaf said: “I was really impressed with the Evo X. It’s a fast car and with a few changes to the set up I’m sure it won’t be long before we see it winning rallies. I was great to be asked to drive a Mitsubishi again and, although I realise that my main role is one of development, I still enjoy competing in the British Championship, especially when there’s the prospect of getting a good result in store.”

Having won a round of the Scottish Rally Championship last week, David Is keen to convert his pace from Celtic gravel onto the Ulster asphalt and will also test his JRM Evo X this week. He will again be co-driven by Kevin Rae, with Gwyndaf enlisting the services of WRC regular Chris Patterson.

This year’s Ulster Rally sees a change of host town from Armagh to Antrim and the introduction of stages that have not been used on this event for a number of years. The rally gets underway on Friday afternoon and features six stages before the overnight halt. A further eight stages follow on Saturday, the total of the two days providing a competitive distance of 127 miles.

JR Motorsports’ 2009 British Rally Championship campaign is supported by: Oakbank Services, exe-tc competition suspension, Lico, Opie Oils, PPG Transmissions and Carbonetics Clutches.

British Rally Championship positions after round four

Drivers
1 Keith Cronin 76 Pts
1 Mark Higgins 76 Pts
3 Alistair Fisher 57 Pts
4 Dave Weston Jnr 26 Pts
5 Jonny Greer 38 Pts
5 Martin McCormack 38 Pts
7 David Bogie 33 Pts
8 Adam Gould 31 Pts
8 Tom Walster 31 Pts
10 Euan Thorburn 30 Pts

Teams
TEG Sport Pirelli 114 Pts
JRM Lico 83 Pts
Revolution Wheels 64 Pts