Tom Cave targeting win on Scottish gravel

Welsh rally driver Tom Cave will again be heading north this weekend, as he takes part in the RSAC Scottish Rally, round three of the 2013 MSA British Rally Championship. The 21 year-old, driving his Morris Lubricants DMS team Citroen DS3 and partnered by Ieuan Thomas, will be looking for a win to add to his run of podium finishes so far this year, which has resulted in him holding second in the championship after two rounds.

This weekend will see another surface change - the first round was gravel and the second, tarmac, as the series returns to the loose but also a new event to the series for seven years. Despite competing on the Rally of Scotland twice when it was part of the IRC, Tom has never driven the stages that form the Scottish Rally but knows that this will be the same for the vast majority of drivers in the BRC field.

Tom's last competitive outing was also north of the border, on the Jim Clark Rally, which he finished second to Jukka Korhonen, giving the Finn a monumental run for his money and losing out by just two seconds. Tom will be looking to continue his run of improving podiums, with third on the opening round and second on the Jim Clark, with his sights set firmly on the long game - the 2013 BRC title.

Commenting, Tom said; "I'm really looking forward to the Scottish Rally. As it is effectively new to most of the field, it will be a great leveller and of course, nice to get back on gravel. I like tarmac and the last round showed that my pace and confidence has improved on that surface but I do love the loose...

"I have looked at the stages online and of course, we will have the pre-event recce to make our notes but nonetheless, it will be an interesting event. I spoke to Gwyndaf Evans recently and he said that the stages are quite fast and flowing and, as he put it, "proper drivers' stages", which are the kind I like.

"Ieuan has also done the event before, which will help enormously and getting the pace notes right will be absolutely critical. It's only a one-day event so it will be really important to be right on the pace from the very start and the notes will be key. This is perhaps my weakest area, as I tend to hold back slightly on the first couple of stages but to win in Scotland, we will have to be at full speed from the moment the first stage starts.

"The aim next weekend is win, win, win. A podium result will be useful for the championship but realistically, I need to beat the fast Finn - Jukka - and we have a test scheduled in the area before the event so if I can get the right set-up and a good set of notes, I will hopefully be pushing him harder than on the Jim Clark."

It hasn't been a quiet time for Tom in the interim period though; he was invited to attend the famous Cholmondeley Pageant of Power as part of the British Rally Championship to support the Wales Rally of Great Britain rally village at the event. This began with Tom taking part in the Supercar Rally which travelled from Media City in Salford, Manchester ahead of the event and following a series of interviews with the press about the UK round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

Commenting, Tom said; "The Pageant of Power was a really good event and the Rally Village was very popular. We did two runs on the circuit on Saturday and two on Sunday and I had the opportunity to take representatives of our partners Morris Lubricants out in the car, so they could get a first-hand experience of rallying, which was great. It is a fantastic event and I was delighted to be part of it and help the organisers of Wales Rally of Great Britain to promote this year's event."

The RSAC Scottish Rally takes place on Saturday 29 June and is based in Dumfries in south western Scotland. There is a ceremonial start in the town centre on Friday evening and the first crews are expected to reach the finish ramp, again in the centre of Dumfries, at around 18.30 on Saturday.