Team PURE Digital’s Paul Alexander (Kings Langley), travels to the borders town of Jedburgh next weekend intent on kick-starting his 2005 MSA National Gravel Rally Championship campaign on the Brick and Steel Border Counties Rally. Driving his regular Yokohama-supported Mitsubishi Evo VIII, Paul joins 120 other crews to tackle the notorious “Killer Kielder” forest stages, famous for the combination of the ultra high speeds and unforgiving ditches that penalise the slightest error.

The PURE Digital and Polypipe Civils-backed driver will face an extra challenge on the event, thanks to the non-availability of regular co-driver Mike Panes, this forcing the team into a last-minute search for a replacement. Having gone through the long list of potential candidates, Paul is delighted to welcome Lancashire’s Simon Mills on board. Alexander: “I was really overwhelmed and flattered by the number and quality of co-drivers who offered to stand-in for the event, which made the final decision making process harder still. In the end, I’ve asked Simon to join the team as he has a wealth of experience and comfortably meets the criteria that we were looking for”.

Following the disappointment of a turbo failure on the previous round, the SRM-Racing engineers have been busy preparing the ex-works Mitsubishi for the event. In addition to the regular pre-event work that takes place, a new turbo and manifold has been fitted, whilst the active transmission pump and rear differential have both been over-hauled. Alexander: “The turbo that failed on Rallye Sunseeker was brand new, so we were really devastated to be forced out of the event. However, these things happen when you’re pushing the car so hard, so we just have to pick ourselves up and get on with things. The SRM team have been working tirelessly to improve the car, so I’m determined to do them justice on the Border Counties. There’s obviously a very good entry, but I’d like to think that we could finish well within the top twenty if our luck changes!”

Following the Border Counties, the striking Mitsubishi will be converted to tarmac specification ready for Mike Nippers to drive as part of his prize for winning the 2004 Peugeot Challenge. During the April 3rd event, which will be screened on Sky Television, Paul will be swapping his regular drivers overalls for mechanics ones as he helps Mike during his 4WD rally debut.