If you're standing on a windswept Welsh hillside next month and catch glimpse of a hard-charging Group N ProSpeed Mitsubishi Evo IX bedecked in PH smileys here's the reason why... Driver and F1 pundit Tony Jardine offered us a chance to ride shotgun and co-drive with him on the event but, frankly, we're all terrible passengers, not too hot with maps or numbers and thought he'd be better off with someone who knows what they're doing. So he's recruited experienced co-driver Gordon Noble, a man 30 years of know-how, a 2004 World Production title alongside Niall McShea and a win in the 2006 WRC Zulu rally co-driving Alistair McRae. As such we're guessing he'll be happy driving at pace along Welsh forest tracks without needing to put his hands over his eyes or crying out for his mum...
There's life after death in the Evo yet!
Having previously driven the event with 'zero to hero' celeb co-drivers in the shape of Olympic gold Skeleton Bob star Amy Williams and Help For Heroes Patron and former glamour model Peta Cavendish, Jardine will this time see the tables turned in terms of experience. "It's time for me to learn," says Jardine, seeking to build on a production class win in the event with Williams in 2013. "Gordon is one of the best in the business - this is a real coup for the ProSpeed team - and it's a fantastic opportunity for me to compete at the highest level with a top co-driver."
Prepared by Raymond Mason, the Evo is, admits Jardine, "not the ultimate speed machine" but has been "meticulously prepared" and is "more reliable than many in the category." Here's hoping those smileys and some PH support gift a little extra pace to help back that up, eh?
Ahead of Wales Rally GB (running November 12-15) the ProSpeed Evo will be competing this weekend at the Cambrian Rally, culminating on the awe-inspiring Great Orme with its cliff-clinging final run beside the Irish Sea. If you're going along make sure you say hi and give them a cheer.
Hopefully you'll still see the PH logos in the mud!
The event will be a shakedown for car and crew, offering a chance to perfect set-up and choose which of tyre supplier Kumho's rubber will suit them best for Wales Rally GB. Other sponsors include PlayStation4 and competition insurance firm MIS Motorsport, whose livery those PH smileys will accompany on the car.
With the Cambrian completed we'll be following Jardine, Noble and the ProSpeed team in a regularly updated liveblog offering a unique insight into life in the thick of one of the world's great rallies. In conjuction with our colleagues over at Autocar there's some fun stuff planned for the build-up too but we'll tell you more about that in due course.