The 27-year-old rally star Rhys Yates from Chesterfield is now preparing for his second outing in the M-Sport run Ford Fiesta R5 MKII as he will contest the opening round of the British Rally Championship.
Yates who made his debut with the team in Rallye Monte-Carlo with a great result of a fourth-place will now switch focus to a full-season campaign in the BRC, driving the similar car as he does for M-Sport in WRC2 but under his own team RYR, taking part in all six rounds of the series this year.
Yates has already conquered the English Rally Championship where he won in 2015 and has finished fourth in the BRC standings twice in 2017 and 2018. He is now aiming to win the British title to achieve what his father John did.
“Dad won a British Championship on motorbikes and I think it would make a nice story if we could match his achievement on two wheels with a similar one on four [wheels]. That’s the plan, anyway.” Yates said.
“I felt there was unfinished business with the British Rally Championship, don’t get me wrong, the time was right for me to step up to the WRC and we had a great start in Monte Carlo, where I took loads of experience and started to feel more at home in the new car. But I’m so chuffed to get another crack at the British title.”
“Fortunately the British rounds fit in nicely around the world rounds we’re going to be doing, so we’ve got time to make it happen this season. Much as competing on the world stage is important – and it is, that’s where my future lies, hopefully – there’s something special about competing at home. The BRC has really helped me in my career and I want to give something back by going and supporting the organisers and trying to win the title.”
“It will be tough, there’s no doubting that at all. Look at the names on the trophy, look at the former winners – they don’t give this thing away. You have to earn it. That’s what we’re going to be trying to do this season. Yates added
“The Cambrian Rally is a great event. It uses similar roads to Wales Rally GB (Britain’s WRC round) and is based in the same town of Llandudno, so this will be a good test for us when we come back for Rally GB at the end of October.”
