It was a return to the rostrum for James Williams and co-driver Ross Whittock on the opening round of the Probite British Rally Championship. The Orange Amps backed pairing clinched a fine third overall on the Tarmac-based East Riding Stages Rally in Yorkshire at the weekend (23 February).
Welshman James Williams is eyeing a title assault in Britain’s premier rallying series this season and armed with a four-wheel-drive, turbo-charged Hyundai i20 Rally2 – the 26-year-old aimed to get his campaign off to a good start on the season opener.
54 miles through the closed road lanes around Beverley near Hull was the fast and furious sprint to open the 2025 calendar for the Newcastle Emlyn driver. Williams opened his account with third on the opening timed test, before another four top three stage times kept him in the podium hunt right until the very end and despite a last stage push, he missed out on second overall by just 9.2 seconds.
The champagne spray was not only special for the Hyundai driver – it was a breakthrough event for MRF Tyres who are backing James and his team for this campaign. The East Riding Stages was the Indian tyre manufacturers first British championship debut event and to walk away with a podium against the established brands is one they are immensely proud of too.
The achievements kept on coming for the team in Orange. As well as third overall on the event, third in the British Rally Championship, James also made a last minute decision to register for the National Asphalt Championship, which also runs alongside most of the BRC Tarmac events. His clean run through the 10 stages saw him come out on top in the sealed surface category and Williams leads the series which heads to the Manx Rally on the Isle of Man next – the event Williams and Whittock won last year.
“I can be pleased with this event – we ticked off a lot of things,” said Williams. “To get a BRC podium after a difficult 2024 is a good way to start the year – but I am hungry for more.
“A big thank you to Ross, Orange Amps and all of the team for putting together such a great package and to get a National Asphalt class win and to spray the champagne is a great reward for all of them. A podium for new partners MRF [Tyres] is a great way to start the relationship too – giving them some silverware on the first event is a positive start to learning these tyres and giving them important data and feedback.
“As I said, I am pleased – but also a little bit empty, as I want to be fighting for wins. Third is a nice start and plenty to build on for the next round.”
The hour-long highlight show from the opening round, will be shown on Wednesday 5th March on ITV4 and ITVX – where audiences around the UK and Ireland will be able to catch-up on James’ Yorkshire adventures.
James would like to thank his team of loyal partners: Orange, MRF tyres, 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, West Coast Finance, Outback Outfitters.
