British and Junior World Rally Champion William Creighton will return to the British Rally Championship [BRC] in 2024, partnering with the M-Sport team in a Ford Fiesta Rally2.
Creighton will go toe-to-toe with a star-studded entry list that will line up to contest this year’s reinvigorated BRC, attracted by a fresh new calendar and return to terrestrial television with a broadcast package on ITV4 and ITVX.
Thanks to winning the 2023 FIA Junior World Rally Championship title, the Moria driver secured four rounds of the WRC in an M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2 provided by M-Sport Poland. Along with the support of the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy, that was bolstered to seven rounds of the WRC2 category and the Irish ace returned an encouraging start to his season at Rally Sweden last month.
In preparation for the next round in Croatia Rally in April, Creighton and co-driver Liam Regan will head to the West Cork Rally in Ireland to sample closed road rallying for the first time in a Rally2 to gain knowledge and understanding of the Fiesta on asphalt. With a clear focus on their WRC2 campaign, the pairing will also now mount an assault on the British Rally Championship with the M-Sport squad to further enhance their seat time for the WRC events ahead.
“I`m very excited to be returning to the British Rally Championship this year, it’s looking like a really competitive season and the perfect place to get solid experience of the Fiesta in a competition environment,” says Creighton.
“The series is a very special place for me, winning the Junior title in 2021 was the culmination of many years of hard work and it certainly gave me the grounding to be competitive in the Junior WRC the following year. So to be heading back again, but this time in a top-flight Rally2 car is fantastic and a real bonus for us, especially as its enjoying increased interest and exposure with the ITV4 and ITVX deal”.
Creighton will join teammates Max McRae and Garry Pearson in the M-Sport squad, tackling the six-round series which takes in a dynamic mix of events from closed road classics such as the Jim Clark Rally, to Wales Rally GB forestry favourites as Myherin and Hafren contained in the Severn Valley Stages. The series also includes the FIA European Rally Championship qualifier, Rali Ceredigion.
His BRC campaign will ultimately be used as a proving ground for his WRC2 assault.
“Just looking down the entry list for the opening round, there is a very strong line-up of drivers this season and that’s great to see. Real competition like that will always bring you on as a driver and there is no substitute for competitive events to get quicker behind the wheel. The BRC ticks a lot of boxes for us this year, with recce, good events and both asphalt and gravel rounds so it made perfect sense to see if we could do it.
“The BRC offers a great opportunity for us to carry out a programme which compliments our WRC2 season as that is clearly our focus this year. It’s thanks to the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy that we can return to the series and it will be great to represent them and M-Sport in the UK and see how our hard work in the BRC will transition into the WRC.”
Richard Millener, M-Sport Ford Team Principal welcomes Creighton to the team.
“We’re really pleased to be working with William for the 2024 British Rally Championship. Alongside his exploits in WRC2, the opportunity for him to get further seat time in the Fiesta Rally2 on British stages is perfect for his development as a driver throughout 2024” he says.
“Both William and Liam are already well-integrated into the team here at M-Sport and I know everyone is looking forward to working with them during the BRC season. This year brings a highly competitive entry, and William has a big challenge ahead of him, but his experience in Ireland and across Junior WRC and WRC2 so far give him a valuable edge that should serve him well. I believe he can contest for some strong results across the six rounds this year and I look forward to seeing what he can achieve.”
The opening round of the British Rally Championship takes place on 23 March in Lancashire, with around 60 miles of closed roads in store at the North West Stages.
