In spite of the raucous appearance, it’s closer to the road-going pick-up than you might think
THE many farmers and builders who choose an Isuzu pick-up for its ruggedness might not have considered they were driving a sporty racer – but they can now.
During the Autosport International Show, held recently at Birmingham’s NEC and regarded as the start of the motorsport season, Isuzu UK unveiled a rally-ready version of its D-Max pick-up.
The pick-up will be raced by Jason Sharpe
Isuzu will be mounting an assault on the 2014 Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship (BCCC), the UK’s premier domestic off-road racing series.
The championship consists of six rounds each held over two days in some of the most punishing landscape across Scotland and Wales.
The Isuzu D-Max BCCC will compete in Class 1B, which mandates a maximum engine capacity of 2500cc and restricts motorsport enhancements, thus ensuring that the rally Isuzu looks a lot like the road-going D-Max.
In the cockpit will be former British Rally Championship contender, Jason Sharpe, co-piloted by his nephew, Russell Sharpe. The pair will also compete in other one-off events, including several T2 class FIA Rally Raids across Europe.
It might surprise many drivers of workhorse Isusu D-Max pick-ups that the brand has a proud recent history in the toughest rally of them all, the Dakar, so there are high hopes of a competitive showing in the BCCC.
No doubt the number crunchers at Isuzu will also be hoping successful outings for the road-legal looking D-Max BCCC leads to evidence of that well-used motorsport slogan – “Win on Sunday, sell on Monday…”
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