Bird Kicks Off 2022 In Style With Brands Hatch Victory
Cumbrian driver Frank Bird continued where he left off last month by once again dominating the latest round of the Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship with MSVR which took place with the MGJ Engineering Brands Hatch Winter Stages Rally yesterday.
The event formed the fourth qualifying round of the series and following his victory on the opening round at Oulton Park in November and round three at Donington Park last month, 22-year-old Frank, from Penrith, along with Lake District-based co-driver Jack Morton once again weren’t headed and took the win by over a minute.
In the Dom Buckley Motorsport-prepared and Frank Bird Poultry-backed Ford Fiesta Rally2 with assistance from Hager, Fuchs Titan Oils and Aico, despite a misty and icy start, the pair led from the off and comfortably won all eight stages around various roads at the famous Kent venue.
In doing so, Bird retained his MGJ Engineering Brands Hatch Winter Stages Rally crown after victory on the event last time it
was run in 2020 and along with Hexham-born Morton, the pair's winning tally now stands at fourteen outright victories and three MSN rounds in a row.
Frank Bird: “What a fantastic way to start the year. I spent most of the morning blowing the cobwebs off as I’ve not driven in over a month but once we got into the groove, it all came together, and I felt comfortable in the car. It was very slippery all day, so I didn’t take too many risks and came out with the win. The car never missed a beat and as ever, thanks to Jack on the maps, the whole team headed by Neil Buckley and of course my dad and our loyal sponsors.”
Results – The MGJ Engineering Brands Hatch Winter Stages Rally
- Frank Bird/Jack Morton (Ford Fiesta Rally2)
- John Stone/Tom Woodburn (VW Polo R5) +1 min 17 secs
- Neil Roskell/Andrew Roughead (Ford Fiesta R5) +1:22
- John Griffiths/Tom Rogers (Ford Fiesta R5) +1:46
- Andy Scott/ Laura Connell (Ford Fiesta) +1:48
- Joshua Davey/Tamsyn Davey (Darrian T90) +2.26
Images courtesy of Russ Otway and SMJ Photography.
