Simon Bowen arrives at the Dunoon Presents Argyll Rally (21/22 June) leading the Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt Rally Championship standings, thanks to a magnificent unblemished run of four impressive top six finishes.
Co-driven by Craig Simkiss, the Preston driver has been a master of speed and consistency in his Ford Fiesta S2000T so far this year and is currently in pole position for not only the Protyre Asphalt title, but a private test with M-Sport in a Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1.
He faces strong opposition for both those rewards, not least from number one seeds Callum Black/Jack Morton. Last year’s champions got the strong result they so badly needed last time out on the Beatson’s Building Supplies Jim Clark Rally and the 586 Sport crew are now focused on claiming back-to-back Argyll Rally wins in their Pallas Connections Fiesta Rally2.
Neil Roskell is also moving up the Protyre Asphalt leaderboard. Partnered by the 2022 co-drivers’ champion Dai Roberts, Neil has twice finished runner up in the series and will be out to win in Argyll in his ND Civils/Burdens/Witham Motorsport Fiesta Rally2 to boost his current points tally.
Sam Touzel has been on great form this year, with ever better results in his Smart Scaffolding/Express Auto Parts Fiesta Rally2 culminating in his first overall rally win on the recent non-championship L’Etacq Attack Rally on home soil in Jersey.
He will be aiming to continue that excellent run when he and co-driver Aaron Nicolle contest Argyll for the first time.
Darren Atkinson leads class B13 and the Escort Challenge. The Lancaster pilot is also an astonishing third in the overall drivers’ standings, illustrating how hard he pushes his Haldane Fisher Escort Mk2. He’ll be reunited in Argyll with co-driver Phil Sandham.
