Jones driving future still on course (From Stroud News and Journal)

Jones driving future still on course

ROLAND JONES' drive in a works sourced MG ZR 1.4 rally car is still under threat two months after the collapse of MG Rover.

MG Sport & Racing had arranged a deal with the Shropshire based Rallyschool.co.uk team to run two cars in the 2005 BTRDA Forest Rally Championship with their technical assistance.

The Chalford Hill driver, in his third year with the team, is currently third in the class championship.

However, with the appointment of the administrators, Roland has been waiting to find out if he can continue to use the car for the remainder of the season.

Roland said : "We've competed in the Somerset Stages and the Red Dragon Rally and on both events we were expecting the administrators to call and ask for the cars back.

"We have been reluctant to develop the cars, as we didn't want to waste time and money on this work, not knowing whether we would be able to keep them."

The uncertainty behind the scenes has not affected Roland's driving.

Co-driven by Bromsgrove's Andy Wynn, the duo overcame thick fog on Exmoor during the Somerset Stages to score their third podium finish of the season.

In the recent Red Dragon Rally in South Wales, despite failing front shock absorbers that led to a tense final service where the experienced Rallyschool.co.uk mechanics repaired the units with seconds to spare, they finished a solid fourth in class.

"It was another character building event. The Resolfen stages are very fast, characterised by continuous fourth and fifth gear bends lined with car breaking rocks, so the team did a great job in getting the car to the finish."

The Rallyschool.co.uk team hope to secure the MG ZR for Roland for the rest of the season and implement the development programme that would improve their times.