- Round two of rally series to take place at Somerset Stages Rally on Saturday 12 April
- Entry confirmed for Land Rover sponsored Race2Recovery ‑ world's only disabled rally team
- Three new teams and two novice drivers to make this their first ever competitive rally drive
Whitley, Warwickshire, Thursday 10th April 2014: The second round of the Defender Challenge by Bowler rally series will take place this weekend on Saturday 12th April at the Somerset Stages Rally. The rally will mark the introduction of a number of new teams to the series, including the Land Rover sponsored Race2Recovery team of injured soldiers and civilians who made history when they became the first ever disabled team to complete the Dakar rally.
The Somerset Stages Rally is the South West's premier forest rally, with teams starting in Minehead at 08:00 before competing across Exmoor National Park and the surrounding area. The event incorporates a number of classes, including the Defender Challenge by Bowler series along with the ASWMC Championship, BTRDA Championship and MSA English Rally Championship.
The Defender Challenge by Bowler rally series, launched this year, incorporates racing across seven rounds, with teams required to compete in a minimum of five rounds. The series aims to provide a pathway for both novice and experienced drivers to progress to top rally raid events such as the Dakar. Three new teams have been added to Round two, including Race2Recovery whose entry has been supported by long‑term sponsor Land Rover.
Race2Recovery is using the series as a platform to train up new injured recruits to the team and to gain further rallying experience ahead of future Dakar challenges. Team founder, retired Captain Tony Harris, has been confirmed as the team's driver for this weekend's race. He will be partnered by co‑driver Rich Mitchell, a rally enthusiast who in 2012, along with his wife, donated all their wedding gifts to Race2Recovery's fundraising campaign for the Tedworth House Personnel Recovery Centre.
Speaking ahead of Round two, Tony Harris said: "I'm delighted to be behind the wheel for Race2Recovery's entry into the Defender Challenge by Bowler. Our primary sponsor, Land Rover has been with us since the beginning and played a huge role in us completing the Dakar in 2013 and 2014. We're delighted they have extended their support by enabling us to compete in such an exciting and unique rally series.
"Race2Recovery was set up to provide injured soldiers with a platform to help their recovery and inspire others who may be recovering from injury or illness. Our entry into the Defender Challenge by Bowler allows us to expand the team to train up new recruits, enhance our rallying experience and also widen our new recruits to people who have been injured or ill in all walks of life, not just in the military. It also provides us with a great chance to compete on home soil in front of the UK rally fans who have been so supportive of our team to date."
Other new entrants featuring in Round 2 of the Defender Challenge by Bowler include [
- Rob and Jonny Harford ‑ a father and son team who both have experience of racing Land Rovers, Rob will be driving and Jonny navigating
- Simon Armstrong ‑ the co‑driver of Andrew Wicklow who is building up driving experience to develop his co‑driving skills. Navigating will be Aynslie Morris.
- Matthew Mills ‑ a long term Land Rover fan, this will be Matt's first rally despite other off road experience. Navigating will be Jon Chester from Bowler.
Round 1 of the series, which took place in March at the Mid‑Wales Stages Rally, saw five teams battle through extremely wet conditions with driver Edd Cobley and co‑driver Allan Jackson claiming a well‑deserved first place after finishing with a time of 66.16.5. Highlights of the action can be viewed online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry6akXMvYeU
People wishing to find out more information about the Defender Challenge by Bowler should visit: www.bowlermotorsport.com. Updates during the race can be found on the @LandroverUKPR twitter feed.
‑ENDS‑
CONTACTS
LAND ROVER PR CONTACT: Kim Palmer kpalmer@landrover.com
07795 666 169
PR CONTACT: Jim Williams, Fast Track jim.williams@fasttrackagency.com 07814
068349
IMAGE CAPTION
A Bowler‑modified Land Rover Defender competes in Round one of the
inaugural Defender Challenge by Bowler series at the Mid Wales
Stages rally event ‑ 02/03/2014
NOTES TO EDITORS
Defender Challenge by Bowler race schedule:
| 2 March | Mid Wales Stages, Newtown, Wales |
| 12 April | Somerset Stages, Minehead, Somerset |
| 7 June | Dukeries Rally Southwell, Nottinghamshire |
| 19/20 July | Welsh Hill Rally Walters Arena, Swansea |
| 30 August | Woodpecker Stages Ludlow, Shropshire |
| 24/25 October | Rallye Sunseeker Poole, Dorset |
| 22/23 November | Borders Hill Rally Dumfries, Scotland |
Defender Challenge by Bowler standing after Round one:
| Position | Car | Driver | Co‑Driver | Time |
| 1 | 301 | Edd Cobley | Allan Jackson | 66.16.5 |
| 2 | 303 | Damien Taft | Simon Taft | 78.13.5 |
| 3 | 305 | Andrew Wicklow | Simon Armstrong | 79.05.9 |
| 4 | 304 | Steve Richards | Kevin Handley | 96.58.9* |
| 5 | 302 | Richard Hayward | Matt Lister | Stage 4** |
*includes time penalties **finished Stage 4 but outside of time allocation to progress to Stage 5
About the Defender Challenge by Bowler:
The Defender Challenge by Bowler is a one‑make rally series operated by Bowler Motorsport designed to act as a feeder series to the annual Dakar rally and other global rally competitions.
Continuing the strategic partnership announced in 2012 between Land Rover and Bowler Motorsport, the Defender Challenge will see competition‑prepared Land Rover Defenders being used in a one‑make, seven round, rally series taking place across the UK. The series will be regulated by the MSA (Motor Sports Association) and each Defender Challenge car will be FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) compliant enabling competitors to compete internationally.
The ultimate aim of the series is to provide a route for teams to progress to top rally raid competitions such as the Dakar and the Africa Race, a pathway previously non‑existent for drivers and teams aspiring to compete in the world's toughest races. Competing in the Defender Challenge by Bowler are drivers with experience of races such as the Dakar, the Dubai Desert Challenge, and drivers for whom this will be their first stage rally. For Damien Taft, this was his first motorsport event since representing the UK in the 1994 Camel Trophy. In addition, Richard Hayward is a previous Dakar competitor and a second place finisher in the former London‑Dakar race. Other drivers, such as Steve Richards and Andrew Wicklow, were racing in their first ever stage rally event, both with the aim of developing their skills and gaining the required license to compete in the Dakar.
All competitors drive Bowler‑prepared Land Rover Defender 90 vehicles that have been expertly modified for safety, performance and durability. The modifications to the competing Land Rover Defender 90 vehicles include a full MSA / FIA certified roll cage, fire extinguisher system, racing seats and harnesses, light‑weight Bowler wheels, a full Bowler racing suspension system with bespoke springs and heavy duty racing dampers and an engine tune to 175hp that delivers 450Nm of torque.
The Defender Challenge is a 'class' within existing rally events where total entries of all classes will be between 80 and 130 cars (including the Defender Challenge cars). These events vary in distance and duration, but all will give the team (driver, navigator, service crew) an introductory experience of national level motorsport. Completion of the series will gain the driver their National B rally license, and attendance at some of Bowlers' overseas races will allow this to be converted into the International license required for events such as the Dakar.
About Land Rover:
Land Rover is supporting the Defender Challenge by Bowler series. Since 1948 Land Rover has been manufacturing authentic 4x4s that represent true breadth of capability across the model range. Defender, Freelander, Discovery, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover and Range Rover Evoque each define the world's 4x4 sectors. Land Rover products are currently sold in approximately 180 global markets.
About Bowler Motorsport:
Bowler is a market leader in the production of racing and high performance all terrain vehicles, and has been since 1985. The UK pioneers in Rally Raid cars, Bowler has continually competed at the highest levels and, during this time, has designed, developed and produced some of the most innovative, durable and exciting all terrain vehicles ever seen.
The Bowler Wildcat, Nemesis and now the EXR have all been proven in the toughest race in the world ‑ the Dakar. Each evolution of Bowler has refined the knowledge and experience gained from the previous one.
Based in Derbyshire in the UK, Bowler uses both technology and craftsmanship to deliver vehicles with style, strength, performance and an unrivalled spirit of adventure.
About the Dakar Rally:
The Dakar, an incomparable human adventure whose history has been built in the finest deserts of the planet, is amongst the major sporting challenges of our era. Both a race and a test of navigational skills, it involves not only the leading riders and drivers of the rally raid discipline, but also amateur competitors, who often take part to make their dream come true or to rise to a challenge, behind the handlebars or steering wheel of their bike, quad, car or truck. Fifty nationalities come together each year for this mixture of competition and solidarity whose television coverage is seen by a billion viewers in 190 countries.
The Dakar Rally (or simply 'The Dakar', formerly known as 'The Paris‑Dakar') is an annual Dakar Series rally raid off‑road race, organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. The race originated in 1978, a year after racer Thierry Sabine got lost in the desert and decided that it would be a good location for a regular rally event. Originally, the rally was from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal. However, due to politics and other factors, the course, including origin and destination, has varied over the years. After cancellation of the rally in 2008, the 2009 Dakar Rally was run in South America (Argentina and Chile) ‑ the first time the race took place outside of Europe and Africa. It has stayed in South America since 2009. The race is open to amateur and professional entries with amateurs typically making up about 80% of participants.
Despite its name it is an off‑road endurance race, called a rally‑raid rather than a conventional rally ‑ the terrain the competitors traverse is much tougher and the vehicles used by teams and individuals are true off‑road vehicles rather than the modified on‑road vehicles used in rallies. The majority of the competitive special sections are off‑road, crossing dunes, mud, camel grass and rocks among others.
The recent Dakar 2014 course stretched over 9000km of the world's toughest terrain, beginning in Rosario, Argentina on 5th January, with the course winding north through Argentina, into Bolivia and finishing in Valparaiso, Chile on 18 January.
