Teenage motorsport driver Dan Rooke’s meteoric rise to stardom shows no sign of slowing as he currently leads the supercars class of the MSA British Rallycross Championship at the half way stage.
A Morris Lubricants Motorsport Programme ambassador, Dan, 19, from Holsworthy, Devon, has surprised himself and his team at how quickly he has adapted to his four wheel drive, 600bhp LD Motorsports Citroen DS3 this season.
Sixteen points ahead after four rounds, with a win, two seconds and a sixth place – after his engine blew up – to his name, Dan is aiming for podium consistency for the rest of the season to retain his lead.
His ultimate aim is to compete in the FIA World Rallycross Championship, probably after first stepping up to the European Rallycross Championship, but he’s not counting his chickens as the British supercars championship is very competitive.
His success this season has been remarkable considering he had only one test drive in the Citroen DS3, which has double the power of the Citroën AX GTI in which he became the MSA British Rallycross Supernational Champion and British Rallycross Driver of the Year in 2015.
“I took everything that I had ever learnt about car control and threw it out of the window because Citroen DS3 is a completely different beast to tame,” said Dan, an outdoor instructor when he’s not racing.
“This year was supposed to be a learning year in a new car and I never expected to fighting for the championship, to be honest.
“But things have gone really well so far and I want to make a big impact in the sport and work my way up. Ultimately, I want to be the World Rallycross Champion, but it’s really hard for a young lad from Devon to get sponsors on board.
“It’s great to have Morris Lubricants’ backing; it’s nice to have a family run business supporting a family run racing team (Dan Rooke Racing). I hope to be able to establish a strong working relationship with the company to help me on my journey.”
Craig Bastable, Morris Lubricants’ Marketing Manager, said: “Morris Lubricants is proud to be supporting young British talent like Dan. He’s extremely ambitious and, with his drive and talent, I’m sure he will achieve great success.”
Matt sets the pace in British Rally Championship class
Meanwhile, Welsh rally star Matt Edwards is setting a cracking pace in this year’s, MSA British Rally Championship 2 Group N Class, as he leads by 65 points after three rounds.
Matt, a Morris Lubricants Motorsport Programme ambassador, used his joker when winning the Pirelli Carlisle Rally in May to collect double points – 50 – to move further ahead in the championship in his Mitsubishi Evo.
Having been a rally driver for 12 years, Matt is keen to make a big impression this season in the hope of stepping up to the main MSA British Rally Championship.
“I want to try and get into the British Championship in a top flight car and see how I do,” said Matt, 31. “I don’t want to go through life wondering where I stand in the big scheme of things.
As an ambassadorial for Morris Lubricants, the company supply’s all the lubricants he needs for rallying, he said: “Rally cars use a lot of oil and it’s a great help to have quality product support.
“The biggest surprise I’ve had is the brake fluid from Morris Lubricants, which has DOT4 on the can but it’s performing to racing capability. It’s a big, heavy car and takes some stopping.
“As a matter of course I change the engine and transmission oils after every rally. I like to think that I combine quality products with looking after the car to ensure that we have optimum performance.”
Morris Lubricants is soon to launch two new high performance brake fluids: MLR Racing brake fluid for motorsport and Brake Fluid DOT4 ESP for electronic stability programmes in new cars.
