Rallying: Diesel makes debut in British championship

VOLKSWAGEN IS set to make British Rally Championship history this year by fielding a diesel-engined Golf in the series.

The 190 brakehorsepower Golf TDI will be driven by leading prospect Neil Simpson and forms part of a three-pronged attack on the British Championship. The former British champion Mark Higgins and the Austrian driver Raimund Baumschlager will drive conventional Golf GTIs.

VW's diesel initiative was announced yesterday and the Golf TDI's principal backers were revealed as Greenergy - Europe's leading supplier of low emissions fuels - and Sony. Nick Berry, Volkswagen UK's marketing development manager and a director of the newly formed Volkswagen Motorsport UK team, promised the Golf TDI would raise some eyebrows this year.

"We started a limited rallying programme with the Golf TDI in the Mintex National Championship last year and it proved a major success," he said.

"It's time now for a top-class diesel to show what it can do against the cream of the two-litre petrol cars."