Mark Higgins
Great Britain (GB) |
CAREER
PROFILE 1989: Started rallying with VW Golf 1990: His WRC debut in RAC with Suzuki Swift 1991: Drives with Vauxhall 1993: Drives with Vauxhall 1996: Move to Nissan 1997: British Champion with Nissan 1998: 3rd in Finland (F2) with Nissan 1999: Move to VW, 1st in Great Britain (F2) 2000: Back to Vauxhall 2001: Drives with Ford 2002: Drives with Ford, 6th in Great Britain 2003: Drives Renault and Subaru 2004: Drives Subaru, Ford and Skoda 2005: Drives Subaru and Ford |
| Date of Birth: 21/5/1971 at Douglas Marital status:
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| Similar to many circuit
drivers, Mark started driving karts on the Isle of Man where he won the National
championships in 1987, but when he started rallying, it was with a bang winning the class
and 24th overall on the Manx Stages from start number of 121! Later in 1990 on the Manx
International, Mark netted the Star of the Rally Award. 1991 then saw Mark win his class six times in a Group N Suzuki Swift GTI on a mixture of events before moving onto a Vauxhall Nova GSI in 1992 he again blitzed the class opposition on events. In 1993 an Astra GSI realised more results including the highest privateer slot on the Vauxhall Sport Rally and 2nd in class, 19th overall on the RAC Rally. 1994 saw a move to a Group N 1.6 Honda Civic where he won the British Junior Rally Championship - a title he kept in 1995 when he won F2 on the Manx National Rally, and then 8th overall and 1st privateer on the Manx International - and all in a 1.6 litre car. Also in 1995 that Mark’s Nissan relationship started with an overall win on the Rally of Turkey. Mark’s career with
Nissan Motorsports Europe began 1996 at the Autosport ‘Live Action’ Show in
January with Mark winning 8 out of possible 12 ‘rounds’. The stage was set for
the Welsh Rally where he and co-criver Phil Mills finished 5th overall and 2nd in F2. The
Pirelli International saw bad luck intervene with a multiple roll injuring Mark and
destroying the car, but it was a calculated risk involved in rallying that didn’t pay
off. A 3rd in F2 on the Scottish a month later proved he was still in the hunt for the
Championship though. A freak engine failure on the Ulster left Mark with just the Manx
International - an event that he is beginning to make his own. Leading F2 from start to
finish, second place in the championship was thus assured for him. In 2001 he was scheduled to drive the official Ford Focus WRC on each of the seven rounds of the 2001 British Rally Championship. However, the series was ultimately cancelled after problems caused by foot & mouth outbreaks. Rally Great Britain was only his third outing of 2001 and first-ever event driving a World Rally Car. He was the leading Ford driver until he was withdrawn as a result of Carlos Sainz’s accident. During the season 2002 The Manxman won the Pirelli International Rally and he drove works fourth Ford Focus in Rally of Great Britain, where he placed sixth place overall and achieved his first ever WRC points. During the couple of last seasons Higgins has contested the Production Car World Rally Championship in a Subaru Impreza. In 2005 he likely to run on four events in the WRC's top class this year in addition to his six-rally programme in a Group N Subaru Impreza. The former British title winner will enter the rounds in Italy, Greece, Finland and Great Britain in a privateer Ford Focus WRC run by the Eddie Stobart team.. |
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