BC Rally Driver Mark Jennings-Bates Is In The Hunt For a Top Ten Finish

NELSON, British Columbia - Sept. 24, 2019 - PRLog -- Merritt will be home to the national ranked Pacific Forest Rally which is drawing almost 40 teams to the small interior community from all across Canada and the USA. Merrit has long been home to some top notch rally action and is often the deciding rally for the championship in the National series before teams head to Ontario for the penultimate event and then come back to BC for the Big White Winter Rally, the only winter rally on the calendar in BC.

Jennings-Bates, who had taken several years off while pursuing other adventures and driving for Bowler Off-road Motorsports in the UK is competing again in a classic Mitsubishi Evo 4. After warming up at the Rocky Mountain rally in May, the team were forced to step back and work on the "new to them" car which had several mechanical failures at the event and led to an early retirement for the championship winning driver.

"Sure Rocky was a disappointment, we should have finished in the top 10 but the rally god's determined otherwise" said Jennings-Bates, adding "This time out we have a stronger car, with refreshed components and with some good fortune we can get to the finish line rather than just crossing the start line".

The team believes they have the ability to finish in the top ten at this event and are hoping to set some top 5 times on some of the stages.

The focus as always will be to get to the end so that the team's co-driver, Jackie can get valuable experience through to the end of the event.

The event is always a crowd pleaser with great access to viewing locations for all the family, but be prepared for cooler weather higher up on the plateaus above Merrit.

The Rally4Life team is supported by Big O Tires, Valley Mitsubishi, Bell Helmets, RACE Gas, Team Dynamics, Stroma Signs, Spitshine Metals and Kaslo Mechanical.

For more information on the event or to follow along live on the weekend, visit www.pacificforestrally.com