RALLYING: Rookie Threlfall is earning his stripes on national stage (From Somerset County Gazette)

RALLYING: Rookie Threlfall is earning his stripes on national stage

7:10am Friday 15th June 2012 in Sport

Taunton rally driver Harry Threlfall is heading the Junior leaderboard on both the English MSA Gravel Rally and the British Rally First Championships.

With the season just past the mid-season point Threlfall claimed second place in the RF1000 class at the weekend on the Dukeries Stages in Sherwood Forest near Nottingham.

He was only beaten by rally veteran Tom Jordan.

This, combined with some bad luck for the superfast Sion Matthews in his 1,400 Escort, gave Harry the top spot on the championship.

Another Taunton driver, Julian Wilkes, was the fastest 2WD overall at the Dukeries Stages.

Harry, who is 19 and in his first season of rallying, said: “After winning the Wyedean Stages in the ice and snow in February on my first ever proper rally, I’ve patiently brought the very minimally prepared Peugeot 107 home on every event so far - and on the same set of tyres.

Threlfall competes against and regularly beats his much more experienced father, Mike, in an identical car on the famous gravel rallys around the forests of the UK.

Threlfall, who is studying Motorsport Engineering at Bridgwater College, is one of the genuine up and coming stars of UK rallying.

Although sponsorship pays for the majority of Threlfall’s rallying antics, he also holds down three part time jobs to pay for the expensive entry fees.