NEWCASTLE Emlyn’s rally driver James Williams and his Orange Amps Rally Team achieved the almost impossible as they faced a race against time to be able to continue their season in the Probite British Rally Championship - getting themselves ready for the Carlisle Stages Rally (12 April) following a sizable accident just one week before.

During the first round of the FIA European Rally Championship in Spain - James and co-driver Ross Whittock crashed out of the event.

With a mountain to climb and only five days until the second round of the British Championship - it was to be a herculean effort to make it onto the start line.

Following a near two-day trip back across the continent from southern Spain to west Wales, the team began to rebuild and re-prepare the car which was in Tarmac hugging trim and convert it to gravel specification - bullet proofing the car for the rough and tough gravel that lay in wait in the Kielder forest.

James and Ross undertook the official reconnaissance of the five stages on Friday, while the car was still being worked upon - time was ticking.

Work would eventually finish when the sun set on Friday evening just hours ahead of the start of the rally.

A monumental effort by the team to get the Hyundai i20 Rally2 car turned around for the start of the British championship round - which Williams was sitting third in the standings coming into Cumbria.

The first stage was a confidence builder for James as he got used to being back in the car again after the accident, as well as learning the new MRF gravel tyres for the event.

After the first 5km stage - Ash Park, Williams was just 6.6 seconds off the lead.

However on stage two, Williams’ potential charge was halted after running over a sizeable rock that had been dragged onto the racing line.

With a damaged rim - the pair had to stop on stage and change the wheel and tyre - dropping several minutes in the process.

They eventually made it to the end of the stage but were 65th on the results classification - a disastrous blow for the British pairing who seemed to be on the receiving end of torrential bad luck.

With a podium now out of the question, the plan was simple - gain mileage, set some quick stage times and make-up as many positions as possible in the search for a British Championship point

With only three more stages in this short, sharp rally - it was going to be a tall order.

Fourth fastest time on SS3 shot them up to 23rd overall before the first service halt.

Rectifying a few niggles and replacing the spare wheels and tyres - the team sent James and Ross back on their way again for two more stages in the hope of salvaging a result on the first loose surface round of the year.

On SS4 James had broken into the top twenty overall thanks in part to a second overall fastest time and was bearing down on a BRC point.

Points in the British Championship are awarded to FIA homologated cars - for which James’ turbocharged, four-wheel-drive Hyundai is eligible for.

After the final service - with one last push on the final stage, Williams broke into the BRC points paying positions and claimed 10th - picking up a hard earned point in the process.

A tough day on the grueling gravel and hot and dusty conditions.

“To be honest with our luck and run of form - it is hard to keep fighting and keep going but the team behind me - who run the car, help me organise everything are incredible and they just keep believing and keep pushing.

“To be honest, after the damaged wheel and rubber flailing off the rim on stage two, part of me wanted to park the car and call it a day - but I really wanted to keep fighting and show what we could do.

“The battle we all faced to get to the start line was a monumental one, and to keep fighting to get a point is not where we would normally want to be, but under the circumstances it feels like a small reward after all the fighting and hard work.

“We will dust ourselves off, and properly focus now for the next round.

“We thankfully have plenty of time before the next one - not just a week!

“We are next on Tarmac - and we will be ready to go again, and we hope our bad luck has been used up and we can put a bit of pressure on the other drivers as we seek a podium next time out.”

The next round for James and his team will be the Jim Clark Rally in Scotland on the 23-24 May.

With a switch to Tarmac - Williams is eager to repeat his opening round sealed-surface form and return to the rostrum once again.

James would like to thank his team of loyal partners: Orange Amps, MRF Tyres, Fort Group, 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 and West Coast Finance.