​Duns driver Garry Pearson hoping to go fourth after third top-five British Rally Championship placing on trot

​A fifth-place finish at Saturday’s Cambrian Rally in Wales, the seventh and last round of 2024’s championship, lifted the 33-year-old up one place in the standings to end up fifth overall.

Though three places down on his finish as runner-up to France’s Adrien Fourmaux last year, that matched his placing in his debut British championship season in 2022 and he’s now contemplating giving it another go.

“Naturally, we have already been asked questions about whether we will be back next year – watch this space on that one,” said the Borderer.

“Those conversations still need to happen, but it would be a shame not to carry everything we have learned this year into a strong campaign in 2025.

“We’re looking forward to next year and trying to have another go at it.”

Pearson was accompanied by regular co-driver Daniel Barritt as he concluded his third British season in Llandudno in their M-Sport-prepared Ford Fiesta Rally2 with his third top-five result of a campaign, including taking third place on home turf in the Borders in May’s Jim Clark Rally, and he’s rating that as a happy ending.

“It’s always a bittersweet feeling when the season ends as we would rally every weekend if we could, but I think we have to be happy with our performance at the Cambrian,” he said.

“The stages in North Wales used to feature in the World Rally Championship and are some of the best in the world, so it’s an absolute pleasure to be able to take a car as great as the M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2 down them.

“Fifth place was the best we could have done on the day, and I think we showed our potential up against drivers who were all on an unreal pace, fair play to them all.

“It was a good day at the office, to be fair, fifth overall and fifth in the championship.”

This year’s championship was won by Manchester’s Chris Ingram and co-driver Alex Kihurani.

Northern Ireland’s William Creighton, an M-Sport team-mate of Pearson’s, with Liam Regan as co-driver, finished as runner-up to the 30-year-old, 2019’s International Automobile Federation European Rally champion.