Renault remains in the hunt following rally championship's Carlisle leg
RenaultSport is continuing to challenge for top spot in the MSA British Manufacturers Rally Championship, despite a recent high-speed crash in the Wales leg of the tournament.
Northern Ireland's Mark Donnelly and Welsh co-driver Dai Roberts helped the team go second in the tables, with the help of Peter Taylor and Andrew Roughead in the second car.
The latter pair grabbed Renault's points in Wales and were looking for another strong finish going into last weekend's Pirelli International Rally in Carlisle.
Additionally, Chris Ingram and Garry Pearson - who are driving the Renault Twingos - headed to Carlisle in good spirits following strong legs and, according to the car maker, are looking to fight for manufacturers' honours in the coming months.
However, Peter Taylor was the main focus on the eve of the Pirelli International Rally because he was born locally.
With this experience of the roads, he told the News & Star about how he was going to attack the course.
"The plan is to go flat out from the first stage and I think Friday night will be crucial. There's one stage in daylight and one in darkness," he explained to the news provider.
"Not many drivers like driving in the dark but I think that's one of my strong points so I'm hoping to capitalise on that possible advantage."
It turned out to be a tight finish, with the Citroen Ds3 of Kieth Cronin and co-driver Marshall Clarke taking the honours ahead of fellow Citroen team Jarkko & Petri Nikara.
Mark Donnelly and Dai Roberts came home in third in the Renault Clio, while Peter Taylor's local knowledge saw him finish fifth.
Teams will now have until June 1st, 2nd and 3rd when the Jim Clark International Rally takes place, giving Renault and Citroen a chance to show how well their cars can do on asphalt.
Posted by Louise Salter