I'm really looking forward to this weekends Isle of Man International Rally. Last year was my first time doing the event and it was very enjoyable and we had such a great battle with Mark Higgins it made it a very memorable weekend.

Mark, of course, got the better of us last year, but only just! I must admit that I was disappointed during the week when I learned that he will not be doing this year's event, as he is a great competitor and trying to beat him on his home event would be a challenge.

Gwyndaf Evans will, I'm sure, provide us with stern opposition on the island and I know how competitive the JRM car is, having driven it in Donegal. Without doubt the Championship leader Jonny Greer and Alastair Fisher will also keep us on our toes and it should be a competitive weekend.

We had a brief test in the car last weekend and we think that we have isolated the handling problem that has been making our lives difficult this year. Fixing the problem may not be so straightforward, but we hope that there will be improvements from our previous visit to 'The Rock' this year when we were second on the Manx National Rally.

Hopefully I will get time to update over the weekend ......with good news!!