Milton Keynes driver S D Roy will return to action in the British Rally Championship (BRC) when he contests round three, the Rally Isle of Man, this weekend (17 – 19 July).

Roy will be reunited with former co-driver Brad Magnus as a one-off for the event with regular navigator Bob Stokoe away on holiday as he competes on the full 165-mile asphalt rally for the first time in his 1800cc MG ZR car, run by M3 Motorsport.

Indian driver Roy has done the Rally Isle of Man twice before when he did the supporting lower-powered BRC Stars 1400 Championship in a 1400cc MG and finished both times but faces a new challenge this year as he has never taken part in the full event. 

The task will be all the more greater as it will only be his third time out in the M3 Motorsport MG ZR. He made his debut in it across the tarmac on the previous round of the BRC, the Jim Clark International Rally, in May when he finished 30th overall to claim his first points of the season in the series.

He then went on to give the car a run out on the Rally of the Midlands in June in preparation for the Isle of Man event and finished 39th overall as he looked to gain more experience in the machine.

Now Roy is aiming to get more points in the bag in the BRC as he returns to the infamous and challenging closed roads of the three-day Rally Isle of Man.

“I’ve only ever done the shorter version of the Rally Isle of Man and not the full rally so I’m going to play it a little safe and the target is to get to the finish,” Calcutta-born Roy said.

“I’m looking forward to the event. We want to be competitive but the stages are very technical, I like them but they’re a little too technical for me. I’m a bit more familiar with the car now having done two events on tarmac and it’s been going really well so I’m more confident with it now.

“I’m also grateful to Brad for stepping in to co-drive whilst Bob is away and it will be good to sit with him again.”
 

The Rally Isle of Man gets underway on Thursday evening.