The Castrol MEM Rally Team’s pair of Toyota GR Yaris Rally2s driven by William Creighton/Liam Regan and Meirion Evans/Dale Furniss maintained their strong challenge for the 2025 Probite British Rally Championship drivers’ and teams’ titles after finishing second and seventh respectively on the Carlisle Stages (Saturday 12 April).
With just 50 stage miles, Round 2 called for brave flat-out precision driving from the word go. In addition, both Castrol MEM Rally Team drivers faced their own individual challenge – William cleaning the road and facing the worst of the loose gravel by running first, and Meirion running the risk of getting caught in dust by starting sixth on the road. And in the end, both did indeed play a significant part in the result.
On his first visit to Kielder since 2019, and his first gravel rally in a Yaris Rally2, William started well – setting third fastest time on the opening stage, before taking the lead on SS2.
The 26-year old Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy supported driver was in a close battle with arch rivals Romet Jürgenson/Siim Oja as the lead changed again on SS3. William was now second by just 0.2 seconds when, on the penultimate stage, he arrived at a chicane slightly too fast and had to reverse to negotiate the artificial obstacle. It was the decisive moment, for with just 10.72 stage miles remaining there was no chance of regaining the time lost and he was forced to settle for second, finishing just 14.4 seconds behind the Estonians.
With a win and a second place finish from the first two rounds, William continues to lead the BRC drivers’ points table.
There was also one pivotal moment for Meirion. Having started strongly, a car ahead stopped to change a puncture on SS2 and rejoined close enough ahead to make the dust issue ten times worse. Unable to see the road ahead at times, the 29-year old Carmarthenshire driver had no choice but to slow and lose a huge amount of time, dropping to ninth.
With very little stage mileage to launch a recovery, Meirion refused to give up and pushed hard on stages that he hadn’t been in since 2017– setting fourth fastest time on the penultimate stage. However, the lost time cost Meirion three places and a chance to challenge for a podium result, as he was classified a frustrating seventh at the finish.
William Creighton said: “It was a tough fight all day and we were really pushing to stay in the lead battle. The stages were typically challenging for Kielder – fast, flowing and unforgiving – but we were feeling good in the car. Whilst we had the benefit of no dust to follow running first on the road, that brought its own challenges and the very dry surface was particularly loose, meaning we were doing quite a bit of cleaning. That small mistake at the chicane was unfortunate, but that just goes to show how close the pace is in the BRC at the moment. On another day, that small overshoot may not have mattered so much but the margins are so tight. Second place is still a great result and, more importantly, we’ve maintained the lead in the championship.”
Meirion Evans said: “I’m quite disappointed to be honest, as once again the result does not reflect our performance. We put a good bit of effort in for the Carlisle Stages – we had a good run on a test event beforehand, and through no fault of our own we could have had a better result on both, but that’s how it goes sometimes. It was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time when a car ahead of us came back onto the road after changing a puncture and then spun on the next corner, so we were stuck in his dust for ten miles. It was frustrating at the time, and it was disappointing that later on we weren’t given the time back. With the technology that we have at our disposal these days, with in-car cameras and trackers, you’d have hoped something could have been done to make it a bit fairer. It cost us three places and a chance to fight for a podium. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but it is what it is and we have to take it on the chin. The good thing is that both cars worked faultlessly again, and it was another very strong team performance. Next up is Tarmac, so at least dust shouldn’t be a problem!”
Round 3 of the Probite British Rally Championship is the Borders Competitions Jim Clark Rally on 23/24 May.
