Jason Pritchard heads to the next round of the Mintex MSA British Historic Rally Championship in high spirits after an outstanding performance and victory in the first round on the Red Kite Historic Stages last month (Sunday 21st February).
Pritchard and co-driver Phil Clarke kick started their season in style with victory in the opening round. The ice and snow of the 2015 Red Kite was replaced by strong winds, rain and thick fog to deliver another tough start to the season but Pritchard in his Ford Escort Mk2 took maximum points to open their title defence in an emphatic manner.
The competition’s second stage will be held in Dolgellau, North Wales this Saturday (2nd April) and the 27-year-old from Builth Wells is aiming to build on his first place finish in round one, as he competes in North Wales for the first time since 2011.
Rally North Wales is a hugely popular event in the motorsport diary and this year will be no different – over 130 cars will take to the forests on Saturday and Pritchard can’t wait:
“The last time I competed in North Wales was in the World Rally event back in 2011 in the Wales Rally GB. I’m not familiar with these stages as some of my fellow competitors will be, but from the safety DVD we are sent, the roads look in excellent condition and I’m raring to go!”
Pritchard was successful over the 45 stage miles over the Red Kite Stages in the first round and is aiming to go close again as the competition heads to North Wales:
“After a perfect start to the year and victory in the first round, I’ll be aiming to get another good score this Saturday and really start the Championship well, but as always with the competition and pace at the front is getting better each year, this is easier said than done!”
Pritchard will be setting off from the Dolgellau at 9:00am on Saturday morning and heading out to complete the first few stages in the morning before returning for a quick service in Dolegellau and then heading back out for the final three frantic stages.
The aim is to be up there at the finish and Pritchard can’t wait to get going:
“I’m looking forward to getting back on these stages as it’s great to go back to different parts of the country and there are some classic stages for us to tackle in North Wales, it’s been a few weeks since the last event and that was the last time I sat in the car so I hope we can get into a good rhythm from the very first corner and set a fast pace from the start. “We had some terrible weather in round one so hopefully it’s not too bad this time round for all the marshals who do such a fantastic job and I’d like to thank my sponsors North Road Garage Builth Wells, Viking Motorsport, and Pirelli for their continued support”
“We had some terrible weather in round one so hopefully it’s not too bad this time round for all the marshals who do such a fantastic job and I’d like to thank my sponsors North Road Garage Builth Wells, Viking Motorsport, and Pirelli for their continued support.”
