Welsh rally driver Jason Pritchard is looking to begin his assault on the 2011 Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship with a solid performance on this weekends Rallye Sunseeker International.
The 22 year old is looking forward to taking on the Bournemouth-based event for the second time and will tackle the gravel event in his North Road Garage run Subaru Impreza N16.
Pritchard’s preparations for the event haven’t run smoothly though, with a testing off leaving the team in a frantic battle against time, as Jason explains:
“The car took a bit of a battering, I came out unscathed but we've had to hire the exact same model from Prodrive for the Rallye Sunseeker International, I'm incredibly grateful to the guys at Prodrive for getting us the replacement car with such short notice”
Despite the off, Pritchard is positive after the test and is looking forward to getting back out in the forests:
“I can't wait for Friday, I felt great up until the incident and what happened in the test has only made me more determined to get behind the wheel and show everyone what I'm made of. There's nothing better than competing, the whole team is ready for the challenge and I've never felt better”
Jason is set to enter his fifth season in the British Rally Championship, having previously won the R2 class of the series in both 2008 and 2009, before upgrading to a Subaru Impreza N2010 last season. He went on take a superb third in the overall championship behind former champions Keith Cronin and Gwyndaf Evans.
The youngster’s performances saw him awarded a wildcard entry into last years Wales Rally GB, in the Production Car World Rally Championship class. He used it to great effect, finishing inside the top twenty overall and fourth in class, picking up points on his PWRC debut.
Pritchard heads into his second Rallye Sunseeker looking for a better run than his last visit in 2006, when an engine fault ended his rally early.
Pritchard added: “I will be pushing myself all the way over the weekend, I need to be right up there from the word go. I will be doing the Shakedown on Thursday as there are some differences in the set up of the car. This will give me the opportunity to familiarise myself with the car. Robbie and I can’t wait.”