​Borders rally driver Garry Pearson out to go distance in Belgium in bid to pick up points

It’ll be the Duns driver’s first time at the Ardeca Ypres Rally, round three of his second British championship, and he’s planning to play it safe by aiming to pick up points rather than going all out to challenge for a podium place in his new Volkswagen Polo GTI R5, with Burnley’s Daniel Barritt alongside him.

“I’m really excited to be at the event,” said the 31-year-old.

“It’ll be the first time I’ve been there and the stages look mega.

“There are obviously a lot of challenges. There are certainly places that can catch you out and it's a long enough rally for it to pose a problem for everybody.

“The atmosphere is famous and I’m relishing the prospect of being a part of that.”

Pearson is hoping to get third time lucky as mishap-hit displays in the first two rounds of this year’s championship, March’s Malcolm Wilson Rally in Cumbria and May’s Jim Clark Rally on home turf in the Borders, have left him only just within the top ten of the competition’s standings.

He’s currently ninth on the leaderboard with eight points, 47 shy of French front-runner Adrien Fourmaux’s tally of 55 but still within 17 of a top-three spot.

Pearson travels to Belgium today, June 20, to take a look at the track ahead of Thursday evening’s qualifying stage to determine the road order for Friday’s eight-stage race.

A further ten-stage second leg will follow on Saturday and Pearson is determined to make it to the end of both, a feat he’s yet to pull off this time round, to pick up much-needed points.

“Ultimately, points mean prizes, so we want to get a finish,” he said. “We need to get a finish.

“We enter every rally with that objective.

“It’ll be a long and tough rally, but I think we can conjure up a good plan with a good level of attack that hopefully allows us to get a strong finish and strong points for the championship.

“I’ve got limited experience on Tarmac but I think our pace on the right day and in the right conditions is good, and if we can continue to work on it at such a big and long event as this, then that’ll also help me in the future for the upcoming Tarmac rallies.”

Four further rounds follow this week’s trip across the North Sea.

Next up afterwards are the Modern Tyres Ulster Rally at Newry in Northern Ireland on Friday and Saturday, August 18 and 19, and the Get Connected Rali Ceredigion at Aberystwyth in Wales on Saturday and Sunday, September 2 and 3.

Round six is Filey’s Trackrod Rally Yorkshire on Friday and Saturday, September 22 and 23, and this year’s finale is the Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally at Llandudno in Wales on Friday and Saturday, October 27 and 28.