Welsh rally driver James Williams and his Orange Amps Rally Team have a mountain to climb this week as they fight to repair and re-prep their Hyundai i20 Rally2 ahead of the next round of the Probite British Rally Championship this weekend (12 April).
The 27-year-old last weekend (4-6 April) embarked on a European adventure, as he and his team contested Rally Sierra Morena – the opening round of the star-studded FIA European Rally Championship. Showing scorching pace on the Spanish asphalt netted James and co-driver Ross Whittock in their MRF tyres-shod Hyundai i20 Rally2 fifth overall in the qualifying stage on Friday. Eyeing a top ten overall – Williams was pushing hard on Saturday morning, but on stage three, sadly got caught out on a damp section of road, with the Newcastle Emlyn driver crashing into an Armco barrier and retiring out the event with substantial damage.
Once the team recovered the car – the first thought was to get the car repaired for some mileage on Sunday. With some spare parts difficult to obtain in southern Spain, the team elected to head back through the continent and back to Wales in an early effort to repair the car and turn it around for the second round of the British Championship. James currently sits in third position in the standings after a fine podium on the opening round – giving MRF tyres a dream start to life in the BRC.
The challenge awaiting the team is the Carlisle Stages – 50 fearsome gravel miles through the notoriously tricky Kielder forest on Saturday 12th April. Williams and Whittock are due to start third on the road for the first loose surface test of the year.
With just over three days on the clock at the time of writing, the team faces a race against time to repair the damage from Spain and turn the car around from Tarmac to gravel specification.
“The accident on [Rally] Sierra Morena was not in the script,” said a pensive Williams. “We had strong hopes and I think a top ten, even top six against some of the best drivers in the world was maybe possible – but I just got caught out by the conditions and came into a corner too hot, lost the back end of the car and I couldn’t catch it. I was gutted for everyone involved in the team – it’s not how I wanted to come away from our trip to Spain.
“I am not going to lie – I was on the floor, but the team I have just picked me up instantly and believe in what we can do together, and they started to work on the car the minute it came off the recovery trailer. I hope we can get to Carlisle – I believe we can – I have the best team in the business and we will give it everything to get turned around and get us on the start line Saturday morning. It will be close but I have the faith and I still have that burning fight.
“Kielder is some place to get back into the car. It’s fast. Very fast in places and you have to be committed to carry the speed and keep on the knife edge. Get it wrong and there are so many ditches around, ready to suck you in, if you put a wheel out of place. I am not thinking about the result at the minute – our goal is to get there and start the rally. That will be a victory for the team itself and whatever Ross and I do will be a bonus on the top!”
The clock is ticking. Follow James Williams’ daily updates and progress on his social media channels to see if they can make it to Carlisle in time.
James would like to thank his team of loyal partners: MRF Tyres, Orange, Hyundai Motorsport, Kissdental, Barri Davies Electrical, Rallycover, Omolagato Watches, Morrisons Daily, P1 Racewear, Nicky Grist Motorsports, Lucky Vacation Homes, Elite Clinical Excellence, Davies and Davies Furniture, Sinclair Group, WGD Plant Hire and West Coast Finance.
Image courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool
