British driver David Higgins gained another rally win in the Chinese Championship. The Fogang Rally took place in the Guangdong region and was marked by excessive high temperatures. Second was his brother Mark and third was Finnish driver Jussi Valimaki. 2004 FIA World Production Car champion Niall McShea also competed but was forced to retire due to problems with the heat. He had been lying second overall.

The Appeal by Nasser Al Attiyah’s team against exclusion from their second PCWRC placing in the Acropolis, which has a material bearing the FIA Production Car championship, is to be held on 6th October, in Paris, before the final round in the series. Holiday time at FIA headquarters is said to have delayed the hearing before the start of Repco Rally Australia, the penultimate round in the series.

The 61st Rallye Mont Blanc-Morzine was won by Patrick Henry in a Peugeot 206 World Rally Car. Kris Meeke used this event as a pre Asturias test in his Peugeot 207 S2000 and withdrew in the first leg with engine problems. The team changed the engine and their driver incurred a 10 minutes penalty

Andrzej Zhigunov won the Gukovo round of the Russian championship in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX. Notable absentee was Swedish driver Patrik Flodin who had won all previous rounds this year.

The 2009 Woodpecker Stages Rally, the penultimate round of the British Gravel Rally Championship, has been won by Steve Perez/Paul Spooner in an ex Marcus Gronholm Ford Focus WRC. They dominated the event from start to finish and their win moved them in a comfortable second place in the championship. Marcus Dodd and Andrew Bargery had already won the championship in a Hyundai Accent WRC.

Next round in both the IRC and the FIA’s European series comes this weekend, the Rally Principe de Asturias based at Oviedo in Spain. Jan Kopecky is entered in an Skoda, Toni Gardemeister has been invited as a guest driver in the Opel Corsa S2000 previously rallied by Andreas Mikkelsen while Miguel Fuster drives the number two official Fiat entry alongside Giandomenico Basso. JWRC driver Aaron Burkart entered as practice for Catalunya in his Suzuki Swift S1600. Most regular Spanish championship competitors have cars which are not eligible for this event and will not be taking part. Guy Wilks will drive his Proton Satria, while local driver Alberto Hevia and Frenchman Julien Maurin will drive privately entered Skoda Fabia S2000’s. The Peugeot Beneloux Team (Meeke, Vouilloz, Loix) will be present, with Michal Solowow and Corrado Fontana driving private Peugeot 207 Super 2000.

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