Osian Pryce will tackle one of rallying’s greatest challenges when he heads to the fearsome Kielder forest complex chasing a second win on this weekend’s Pirelli International Rally.

Pryce hasn’t competed on the Carlisle-based British Rally Championship round since 2014, but three years ago he headed south as a winner.

Naturally, he wants more of the same this time, but given his lack of experience with the Alphera Finance Hills Ford-backed Fiesta R5, his focus is on a top-three finish.
 
In an effort to get to know their sensational Fiesta better, Pryce and co-driver Dale Furniss competed on Rally North Wales earlier this month.

Fastest on every stage, they dominated the event to win by more than a minute.
 
“That was a really good rally for us,” said the 24-year-old from Machynlleth.

“Obviously, it’s nice to win the local one, but at the same time it was important for us to test things on the car and in the car. We did that and we came away with a good feeling for the next event.”

The familiarity he enjoyed on his native Welsh stages has been replaced by Kielder and its constant question marks; the country’s largest manmade forest is a tough place to play, even in the kindest of conditions.

“Kielder’s so, so fast, you have to have everything absolutely spot-on with the pace notes,” said Pryce.

“When you’re committing to blind crests at more than 100mph, you need to know exactly what’s coming next. One of the problems with Kielder is that it’s quite featureless.

“I’ve done the Pirelli as a BRC round four times now and I’ve driven most of the roads – but I still don’t feel like I really know the place very well.

“The last time I was up there I won… it’s always nice to be going back to a place you left smelling of champagne!
 
“We get sent an onboard film of the route, which I’ve been studying quite hard.

“In the couple of years I’ve missed the event, they’ve clear-felled quite a lot of places and it’s hard to get your bearings. There’s no doubt, this is a tricky rally and the plan for us is to keep our nose clean, stay out of trouble and chase a podium.

“You can never feel confident of a result or even a finish in Kielder until you’re over the ramp with the points in the bag.

“The challenge this place poses is often underestimated and I’m sure there will be a sting in the tail waiting again this weekend.”

Sting in the tail or not a podium on the first BRC round of the season and the Welsh win has given Pryce season a very positive start.
 
“Confidence is good in the Fiesta R5,” he said, “winning North Wales helped with that, but there’s still more to come from me and from the set-up.

“We’ll work on that at the pre-event test but the key for Dale and I is to keep the points coming on these early rounds where we’re building up our knowledge of the car.

“Much as we’d like to be winning every rally we start, we have to accept that’s unlikely and we have to take as many points as possible with an eye to the title.”