By Paul Evans
Nineteen-year old Ioan Lloyd says that contesting the Junior British Rally Championship will be like a school year, as the Llandysul driver tackles the series for the first time.
And whilst the learning curve might be steep, it is unlikely to prevent the talented teenager from challenging for class wins in his newly acquired West Wales Rally Spares-backed Peugeot Sport 208 Rally4.
Lloyd started rallying six years ago when he was just 14, driving a Nissan Micra in the Junior 1000 Rally Championship.
He switched to a Citroën C1 at the end of 2017, which he drove for the next two seasons.
📣 DRIVER ANNOUNCEMENT 📣
📰 Lloyd looks for experience on Junior BRC debut
Rising star Ioan Lloyd will make the leap into the hotly contested Junior British Rally Championship this season, piloting a @PeugSportUKIre 208 Rally4.
More:https://t.co/sSsy8fUr6U#BRC pic.twitter.com/IHyc22e5cb
— British Rally Championship (@BRCrally) April 5, 2022
Covid restrictions prevented Lloyd from rallying much in 2020, but last year he contested his first full season of forestry rallying.
And in an extraordinary 2021 season driving a Peugeot 208 R2, Lloyd won three titles – the BTRDA Junior R2 Cup, BTRDA Rallye R2 Cup and Pirelli Ravenol Welsh Rally Championship W4 class.
Co-driven by Sion Williams, Lloyd also finished fourth overall in the BTRDA Silver Star series and third overall in the Welsh Junior Championship.
A fantastic season-long performance by Ioan Lloyd/Sion Williams in the West Wales Rally Spares Peugeot 208 R2 gives the talented youngsters the W4 title – as well as 5th in the @RAVENOLUK @pirellisport Welsh Challenge and 4th in the Restruct 2WD drivers' standings! 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/OwDwTFdz8Z
— Welsh Rally Championship (@WnRC) November 16, 2021
“This year is going to be very much a learning year for us,” says Lloyd.
“With the step up to the Rally4 category as well as our first season where we can recce the stages and write our own notes, it’s very much a school year for myself and Sion!
“Most of all our goal is to enjoy it all and gain as much experience as we can.
“The BRC seemed to be our natural progression.
LLOYD: Ioan Lloyd – a young Welsh driver with a great future ahead of him – at the start of Cambrian Rally 2021.
🇬🇧🏴 @CambrianRally | @peugeotsport | @BTRDARally | @ourmotorsportuk | @rallyspares | @Dai_Sport_ | @TeifiValleyMC | #BTRDA | #CambrianRally pic.twitter.com/OhnEGOeWLQ
— Rallying UK 🌐 (@RallyingUK) October 30, 2021
“I think it’s a fantastic championship with a great variety in rounds, and the competition is seriously strong.
“In fact, without a doubt, it’s going to be savage!
“There are some really quick guys entered in the championship so I’m looking forward to competing against some strong opposition.”
The opening round of the BRC is the Corbeau Seats Rally Tendring & Clacton on 23/24 April.
Three out of the seven rounds of this year’s BRC take place in Wales – the Builth Wells-based Nicky Grist Stages on 9 July, the Get Connected Rali Bae Ceredigion on 3/4 September and the Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally on 29 October.