22-year-old William Creighton from Ireland will fight for the Junior British Rally Championship title this season in a bid to win the 60,000€ prize money for a Junior WRC programme in 2021.
Creighton was nominated Motorsport Ireland Billy Coleman Award last year, after starting his career in a Peugeot 208 R2 in 2015; since then he has won the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, the FIA Celtic Trophy and Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship. He was also the Junior BRC runner-up in 2017 and 2019.
Creighton and his co-driver Liam Regan will return to the six-round championship behind the wheel of a Ford Fiesta R2T as the series switches to single-make cars for 2020, with support by M-Sport and tyre manufacturer Pirelli.
His determination to succeed means he has elected to spend the forthcoming season aiming for the Junior BRC title that has so far eluded him and gain experience of the new marque for the future in JWRC.
“It’s always a difficult decision when you reach a crossroads like I have after the end of last season and there were several directions we could have taken really,” Creighton said.
“We sat down and explored all the options available to us and it would have been easy to consider a switch to four-wheel drive or a European championship or even something different altogether. But we laid all our cards on the table and thought, what is ultimately best for my career. So we decided to take the plunge with the Fiesta.”
“It’s easy to forget I’m just 22 years old and that I’m young enough to be able to take my time and ensure I`m in the right place and have the right experience to progress, so we are really preparing for the future here” Creighton continued.
“Looking ahead at say the Junior WRC, you need huge experience on all surfaces and the British Championship gives you that. I want to head to these events this year with my prior knowledge and tackle them in one of the best cars out there. That said, it’s not just about getting the time in the Fiesta, I`m not going back to be the bridesmaid again, I`m going for the win”.
“The Clacton Rally will be a new event to me altogether so that may require a different approach. But if I was to jump in the JWRC they would all be new aside from Wales Rally GB, so I need to get used to that.
“The goal for the season is the championship, it’s as simple as that. Winning the €60,000 is the best possible chance I would have at contesting the JWRC the following year and having one more season under my belt would ensure I`d be prepared for what lies ahead. I`m ready for the season that’s for sure”.
