RISING Welsh rally star Ioan Lloyd and co-driver Sion Williams will return to Ireland this weekend (September 28-29) to maintain their challenge for the Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup.
Lloyd, 21-years old, from Llandysul will be competing in his Peugeot 208 Rally4 on the high profile Cork 20 International Rally in the Republic of Ireland, which is round seven of eight in the Stellantis season. They go to Ireland knowing that they have to finish strongly within their category to keep their title bid on track.
With three wins in recent rounds of the championship, Lloyd is now well placed against his Irish title rivals Keelan Grogan and Kyle McBride. However, the destiny of the prestigious championship remains wide open with round seven this weekend and then round eight in the forests of North Wales on the Cambrian Rally at the end of October.
The Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup was new for 2024 and is designed to promote the best young talent in identical rally cars from both the UK and Ireland. The end of season prize fund is a significant budget contribution towards moving up into the Junior European Rally Championship in 2025.
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The championship rules dictate that each competitor must drop their lowest score, but with two non-finishes to date this season, including the car fire he suffered in Donegal in June, Lloyd knows he must finish in Cork. Once dropped scores are factored in, he is ahead of his two key rivals, but the points’ situation remains finely balanced heading to the closed-road rally in Cork.
Lloyd said: “The fire in Donegal certainly put us on the back foot, but we've now had three wins and the drop score does put us in a good place.
“We did the rally last year and won our category, so it would be good to do the same again this year.
“Hopefully our experience of the stages will help, but I'm sure the other guys will be trying really hard, and Keelan and Kyle in particular will give us a good battle. Our plan is to have a good recce on Saturday and give the rally our best shot.”
Ioan Lloyd is proud to be supported by David Byrne Auto Repairs, West Wales Rally Spares, Huw Jeffreys and Sons Plumbing and Heating Engineers, Mark Jukes Containers, Abba Tree Specialist, Motordrive Seats, Towy Electrical Ltd, Panta Racing Fuel, Atech Racing, Bleddyn Thomas Haulage Contractors, Garej Tyn y Pistyll, ABC Autosport Bearings and Components, Freemans Bodyshop, Monit Motorsport, Solid Designs, Neil Spain, Mintex, 2300 Club John Easson Award, Kielder WT, Gareth Owens Building Contractor, Moduron Teifi Motors, Safety Devices International Ltd, TRS Safety Equipment, Pro Dent, Gomer Press, Rick’s Body Shop, Wyn Thomas Heating, Towy Works and On The Pacenote.