Rali Ceredigion return

A repeat win on the Get Connected Rali Ceredigion would be a major boost to Osian Pryce’s British Rally Championship title aspirations, as he returns to the challenging Cambrian Mountains closed road stages this weekend (3/4 September) in his Demon Tweeks-backed Volkswagen Polo GTI R5.

Osian made history when he won Wales’ first ever closed road stage rally in 2019, driving a Hyundai i20 R5 car from the Melvyn Evans Motorsport stables.

It was a remarkable performance, as it was his first rally in a fully homologated R5 car for two years and it came just six weeks after he’d broken a collarbone in a mountain ‘biking accident!

Seeded at number one, Osian will start as one of the favourites for victory once again – although this year’s Rali Ceredigion is a round of several major championships and has attracted a much higher quality entry.

The event also comes at a crucial time in the British Rally Championship. With only three rounds remaining, Osian is second in the drivers’ standings, 18 points behind leader Keith Cronin – although significantly he has already dropped one of his two scores (best five scores from seven rounds count) and he is yet to play his bonus points-scoring Joker.

Co-driven by Noel O’Sullivan, another good result on the forthcoming Aberystwyth-based event in his Polo GTI R5 – which like the Hyundai before is prepared and run by Melvyn Evans Motorsport – will put Osian in a very strong position going into the final two gravel rounds of the series.

“Having won Rali Ceredigion the last time it was run in 2019 gives me a lot of confidence going into this year’s event, although it’s a much bigger challenge this time around in terms of stage mileage and the high quality competition,” said Osian.

“Last time the rally was a lot of fun and whilst we always go out to enjoy ourselves first and foremost, there is a bit more pressure on us to come home with maximum British Rally Championship points. That is certainly the aim this time.

“The stages in the Cambrian Mountains region are awesome – technical, fast and a real challenge. They are a joy to drive, but at speed there is no margin for error, so both Noel and I will have to bring our A game if we’re going to achieve our goal.

“I enjoy rallying in the dark, so the opening leg will hopefully suit us well. I’m really looking forward to the long stage on leg two. At almost seventeen miles, it will be as physically and as mentally challenging as any stage you’ll find anywhere in the world, and it will be important to have a fast and clean run through there.

“I’m certainly looking forward to the event and hopefully coming home with a result that gives our British Rally Championship title bid a major boost.”

This year’s Rali Ceredigion is bigger, longer and more challenging than when it was run in 2019, with two legs, 12 stages (two ran at night) and 86.88 stage miles. The event gets underway at 18:50 on Saturday 3 September with two runs over a new stage around Aberystwyth town centre, before two longer stages on nearby closed public roads in darkness before the overnight halt after 15.78 stage miles.

Leg 2 on Sunday 4 September sees a further eight stages (two loops of four) totalling 71.1 miles. Starting at 08:30, crews head straight to the Llanfihangel stage which, at 16.78 miles, is the longest of the event. Midday service separates the morning and afternoon loop of stages before the finish ceremony on the Aberystwyth promenade at 16:00.

For his 2022 BRC campaign, Osian is supported by Demon Tweeks, Bell Racing helmets, OMP race suits, Liqui Moly (oils, lubricants and additives), LM Performance (Liqui Moly distributors), DL Jones Pontrobert Ltd (coach and taxi hire), Hills Campervans (campervan sales and hire), MotoFit (performance training), Carbon Positive Motorsport and his own family-run specialist building firm G+M Pryce.