Matt sets the pace in British Rally Championship class

Welsh rally star Matt Edwards is setting a cracking pace in this year’s, MSA British Rally Championship 2 Group N Class, as he leads by 65 points after three rounds.

Matt, a Morris Lubricants Motorsport Programme ambassador, used his joker when winning the Pirelli Carlisle Rally in May to collect double points – 50 – to move further ahead in the championship in his Mitsubishi Evo.

Co-driven by Will Rogers from the Forest of Dean, the experienced Colwyn Bay driver is looking for another win in the next round, the RSAC Scottish Rally, in Dumfries on June 25 to further cement his leadership.

Matt Edwards in action in the MSA British Rally Championship 2 in his Mitsubishi Evo.

Having been a rally driver for 12 years, Matt is keen to make a big impression this season in the hope of stepping up to the main MSA British Rally Championship. But to do that he needs to find more sponsors to add to Swift Caravans and Motorhomes and Morris Lubricants, as competing with a car of equal quality at the very top of the British sport is very expensive.

“I want to try and get into the British Championship in a top flight car and see how I do,” said Matt, 31. “I don’t want to go through life wondering where I stand in the big scheme of things.

“I am doing well at the current level and I don’t mind being beaten at a higher level but it’s not knowing that I don’t like.

“I don’t feel that I’ve got anything to prove because I have been around for a long time and won lots of rallies and classes, but it’s finding a way of taking that next step up. The only problem is that the next level is five steps up and there’s nothing in between.”

The signs that Matt can compete against the best in Britain already look good. He was recently given a drive in an M-Sport car on a non-championship round in Carlisle and was leading 130 cars, including some BRC drivers, until being forced to pull out on the penultimate stage due to an electrical fault.

“It just shows the potential we have, given the same standard car” he added.

Matt is no stranger to rally success, having won the National Championship a couple of times, the Welsh Championship, the National 1400cc Championship class and several rounds of the British Historic Championship.

As for his ambassadorial role with Morris Lubricants, which sees the company supply all the lubricants he needs for rallying, he said: “Rally cars use a lot of oil and it’s a great help to have quality product support.

“The biggest surprise I’ve had is the brake fluid from Morris Lubricants, which has DOT4 on the can but it’s performing to racing capability. It’s a big, heavy car and takes some stopping.

“As a matter of course I change the engine and transmission oils after every rally. I like to think that I combine quality products with looking after the car to ensure that we have optimum performance.”

Morris Lubricants is soon to launch two new high performance brake fluids: MLR Racing brake fluid for motorsport and Brake Fluid DOT4 ESP for electronic stability programmes in new cars.

Following the Scottish Rally, Matt’s remaining championship rounds are the Nicky Grist Rally at Builth Wells from July 9-10, the Ulster Rally from August 19-20 and Rally Isle of Man from September 15-17.