William Creighton/Liam Regan have clinched the 2025 Probite British Rally Championship title after a cool and calculated run on the final round, the Lewis & Hunter Contracting Cambrian Rally (Saturday 25 October), while their Castrol MEM Rally Team stable-mates Meirion Evans/Dale Furniss secured third in the series after scoring another podium finish in their identical Toyota GR Yaris Rally2.
Both cars finished all events they started, scored three rally wins, finished in the top four nine times, and had no mechanical issues whatsoever – in what was another stunning season-long performance by the Castrol MEM Rally Team.
Having previously won the WRC and BRC Junior titles, this is William’s first overall BRC title, with the 27-year old Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy-supported driver adding his name to the illustrious list of champions that include rally legends Hannu Mikkola, Ari Vatanen, Stig Blomqvist, Jimmy McRae, Colin McRae, Richard Burns and the current WRC leader Elfyn Evans.
It was also an outstanding year for Meirion, who netted his seventh podium rally result of 2025 and recorded his first BRC gravel fastest stage time on the Cambrian, as the 30-year old Lampeter driver secured his best championship finish of his career.
Heavy pre-event rain made the Cambrian Rally route extremely slippery, with a combination of sunshine, showers, dry and muddy sections in Clocaenog, Brenig, Elsi and Alwen forests offering no margin for error.
William didn’t need to take risks and arrived at the midday service lying second, just 8.7 seconds off the lead. As the battle raged for the rally win, he backed off in the second half to secure a safe fourth-place finish and be assured of the BRC title.
Meirion set the fastest time in Alwen 1 (SS4) to move up to third and with nothing to lose kept pushing in the afternoon. Second fastest on the final stage, a repeat of Alwen, guaranteed not only other podium rally finish but third in the championship – a mere three points behind Romet Jürgenson.
William Creighton said: “This season has been the first with the Yaris and the first with Melvyn Evans Motorsport. To win the championship in our debut year together, along with the support of Castrol and running that iconic livery, is just incredible.
“It’s taken a huge effort from everyone involved; we simply could not have done this without the backing of the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy and so many people at home who are behind the scenes. The Castrol MEM Rally Team has worked tirelessly, and the reliability from our Michelin tyres has been fantastic.
“The support from my family and sponsors has been unwavering, and of course Liam has been faultless all year. We’ve learned so much over the past few seasons, and to now be British Rally Champions is a real honour.
“To have come from the Junior BRC to Junior WRC and now this, it’s been an incredible journey.
“Even missing a round this year, we’ve been able to stay in the fight thanks to how well prepared and consistent we’ve been as a team. The level of competition in the BRC is extremely high, so to come out on top means a lot. It feels like the perfect reward for all the hard work everyone has put in.
“The BRC has such a rich history and to have our names on that trophy is something really special. It’s been an amazing year from start to finish, and one I’ll never forget.”
Meirion Evans said: “The Cambrian was a very good rally for us. We’ve made some big steps forward on every gravel event this year, and we finished the season off by setting our first loose-surface fastest stage time and were in the fight for the win until very near the end.
“Once again we were really strong on the first pass of the stages, and we know where we are losing a bit of pace to the others on the second pass. That’s something we can work on, and which will come with a bit more time and confidence. Our speed is a huge improvement compared to this time last year, and we can be proud of that.
“We knew coming into this year’s British Rally Championship that winning the drivers’ title would be very difficult, because Romet Jürgenson and William [Creighton] are always really quick and, as he showed on the Cambrian, Max McRae has winning pace too. Looking back, it’s nice to see that we were realistic contenders and put up a good fight on every event. To come away with third on the Cambrian and third in the championship shows how far we’ve come.
“Many congratulations to William and Liam on winning the title. They didn’t put a wheel wrong on the final event, did exactly what they needed to do to become champions, and they certainly deserve the title.
“As a team this year, between the two cars we’ve had eleven BRC starts, eleven finishes, three wins, nine top four results and no mechanical issues – and that’s a great credit to everyone in the squad.
“A big thank you to Castrol for its outstanding support, and we’re delighted to repay its faith in us with such a good title-winning season. We had both drivers in the frame for the championship and battling for victory on every event, so it’s been another very strong year.”
