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Matt Cotton

Press Release – for immediate circulation
MCRmsport/03/12

“Cotton on to it” at British Rally Championship opener...

British Rally Championship contender Matt Cotton took the silverware back to Cornwall last weekend, when he contested the season opener, Rallye Sunseeker. Cotton from Cornwall and co-driver Glyn Thomas from Somerset, finished a creditable 12th overall and 2nd in class against a strong international field which assembled in Bournemouth to compete over 65 hard fought stage miles. The championship is one of the most highly regarded in the world and due to the new 2 wheel drive only format, has attracted entries from esteemed manufacturers such as Ford, Renault and Citroen.

Driving a Ford Fiesta ST in the AVS Motorsport team and returning to international competition for the first time in 4 years, the South West pairing had a tall order ahead of them when the event started with an autograph session in Poole Harbour on Friday night. The pair had only ever competed together once before and Matt had the added challenge of driving a left hand drive rally car for the first time. But the apprehension before the event was soon to disappear as they started the first special stage in the New Forest.

The first loop of stages took crews to the sandy forests of Wareham where they set some competitive stages times despite a few moments on the first stage; “I really needed to settle into a good rhythm in the first few stages to build my confidence to be able to go on the attack in the afternoon” said Matt. “But we had a big scare on the very first stage when we hit a large section of standing water at high speed which forced us into the greenery at about 70mph”.

Remaining focused through the rest of the day would become key to a good result and as the day progressed, so did their pace; “The Fiesta is a great car and I still have a lot to learn about how it performs” said Matt at the last service of the day. “I’m really pleased we are getting quicker as every stage passes and we have managed to set several fastest stage times today. It’s encouraging that we can come back to the championship after a long break, and still be on the pace of the more experienced drivers”.

As dusk fell on Bournemouth pier the remaining competitors and cars gathered to large crowds along the seafront, to spray champagne at the ceremonial finish celebrations. As a testament to the tough conditions on the stages only half of the original entries managed to make it through the day. But the team drove over the finish ramp to celebrate a fantastic result for their first rally of 2012. “It’s a great start to the season and this result it better than we could of hoped for” said Glyn at the finish. “We had a lot to overcome today and our pace improved every stage we did. We are really looking forward to the next round of the championship in March where we can really start to push”.

Matt lies in 12th place in the British Rally Championship, 2nd in class 8 and 7th in the Fiesta Sport Trophy. Matt also helped AVS Motorsport to 3rd place in the team’s championship standings.

-Ends

Keep up to date with Matt’s progress both on and off the stages by visiting www.mattcottonrallying.co.uk, following us on Twitter, or finding us on Facebook.

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MSA Euroclassic

Sign up for this year's MSA Euroclassic now! The Clerk of the Course & Event Manager is our Club President Peter Wellington.

2012 will be the 20th year of this iconic event which mixes challenging roads, sightseeing and motor sport venues old and new and will take place from 25th September to 2nd October.

The route is scheduled to start from León in Spain, having arrived on the overnight ferry into Santander, and will travel through Northern Spain and South-Western France before culminating with two nights in the beautiful spa town of Vichy, France. Highlights of the run are anticipated to include visits to the Jarama, Albi and Charade Circuits and check points in Salamanca and at the Pic du Midi in the French Pyrenees.

As always, we have listened carefully to the feedback from participants on our previous events and are incorporating as much as possible to offer a truly spectacular route for 2012, including the return of some stunning town centre and overnight halt locations.

We are also continuing the popular format of including a rest day, which this year will give participants the opportunity to spend a full day exploring the vibrant city of Madrid.

We intend that the 20th anniversary MSA Euroclassic will truly be one to remember. We look forward to welcoming you to León.

Full route and entry information is available at www.msaeuroclassic.co.uk

For more information and photography, please contact International Motor Sports on 01753 765100.

Classic Tour of Cornwall

Details will appear soon.