Mixed fortunes for Sunseekers

Last weekend's Rallye Sunseeker was a great success, and the amount of young talent on show was quite something - the British Rally Championship currently has an average age of 24 - and it was also great to see guys like Tom Cave doing so well. The event was eventually won by Scottish rally champion, David Bogie with Cave in second place. Third was another great name Elfyn Evans - son of the renowned Gwyndaf. You can find the full results here.

One driver who didn't finish the event but was running as high as fourth at one point was Jason Pritchard, who you may remember from a couple of posts back. Unfortunately some bad luck befell Pritchard, but we're sure that we'll be seeing more of him soon! 

Pritchard takes the positives from his misfortune in rally opener

Jason Pritchard is confident that Saturday’s bad luck at the Rallye Sunseeker International, the opening round of the British Isles premier rally series, will be his first and last in this year’s Dulux Trade British Rally Championship. Wet weather conditions and huge slice of misfortune resulted in his North Road Garage backed Subaru Impreza N16 getting stuck in a ditch full of water. Along with a couple of other drivers in the event, this predicament meant Jason couldn’t continue to compete; however Jason refused to look at the negatives and can’t wait to bounce back in the next round:

“I’m gutted, if the ditch wasn’t full of water I could have carried on but we just couldn’t get the car out. The whole team were in great spirits, the Shakedown went really well and I was on the pace right from the word go. The car felt fantastic but I slid too wide on the corner and ended up in the ditch; it’s all about bouncing back now.”

Jason went on to express the need to put this behind him and make amends at the next event:

“I’ve got a month to wait but all I want to do now is race again, the Bulldog International Rally North Wales is on April 2^nd, I’ll be on home soil and I’m determined to finish this time and more importantly, finish on the podium.”

Reigning Scottish Rally Champions David Bogie and Kevin Rae won the opening event. The pair ended the eleven-stage rally, based in the south of England, twenty two seconds clear of nearest rivals Tom Cave and Craig Parry.

Another young rally star - we knew him at the beginning y'know...

Yesterday was the first round of the British Rally Championship - the very popular Sunseeker Rally on the South Coast. Although Jason Pritchard (see the last posting) didn't finish the event, Tom Cave from Aberdovey came in second.

Back in 2008, The team behind Overdrive interviewed Tom as he prepared to start the UK round of the World Rally Championship for the very first time, and in fact his first time ever competing in the UK as he had just turned 17 and was about to get his road licence. Here is the report previewing the event for Wheelnuts.

Young Rally Star heads for the top level

It's great to see new talent coming through to the sports' higher levels - and young rally star Jason Pritchard is one of them. He's a rising star in the rally world and will line up in his Subaru Impreza at this weekend's Sunseeker Rally - which itself is now a part of the British Rally Championship after many years being run as a very successful club level event. Here's a press release from Jason highlighting his trials and tribulations in preparation for the event. Could we be seeing the next British WRC star here? Wait and see!

Pritchard looking forward and eager to start well in Bournemouth

Jason Pritchard knows all about building on success as he heads into his 5^th Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship, the 22 year old from Wales is looking to improve on his 3^rd placed finish in last year’s championship as he continues to impress and strive forward as a driver.

Jason and his team at North Road Garage are confident that everything is in place for an electrifying opening weekend at the Rallye Sunseeker International; as he combats eleven tricky stages adjacent to the south of England’s New Forest in Bournemouth this Friday and Saturday.

Even though the build-up to this year’s opener took a slight turn for the worse during a test in his 4 wheel drive Subaru Impreza N16 a few weeks ago, Jason is more than ready for Friday:

“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”

Anyone else would be sceptical about such luck before the start of what will be an incredibly demanding year, but Jason remains up-beat and is taking the positives from the test:

“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 knows what to expect from the British Rally Championship, he’s already won the Citroen Racing Trophy and wants to build on this success along with his 3^rd place finish in the 2010 MSA British Rally Championship, which saw him finish behind Keith Cronin and Gwyndaf Evans, two former British Champions. The youngster enjoyed a wonderful Wales Rally GB in November and his North Road Garage backed Subaru Impreza finished inside the top twenty overall and scored fourth place points on his debut in the Production Car World Rally Championship.

In what will only be his second appearance in Bournemouth, Jason knows the importance of a good start:

"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."

Showing inspired confidence and maturity that goes well beyond his 22 years of age, Jason feels he’s on the verge of something special and one thing’s for sure, 2011 is going to be a year to remember.

Banish Pre-Season Blues with Spot The Car!

Same rules as before then guys - There's a car hidden in this picture, you just have to find it and put your answer in the comments box. No prize on offer (although we're open to donations of prizes!) except a small amount of kudos.

This time it's Formula 3 at the beautiful Castle Combe circuit in Wiltshire. Looks like one of the cars has had some problems during it's race and has come to a halt. So where has it been parked?

Photo by Matt Buck on Flickr

The answer will be announced here next week... No limit to numbers of try... get on with it!

Wanted : Your Top Ten UK Venues

Planning for series 1 of Overdrive is well underway, but we need your help on a couple of features. To kick things off, we would love to know what your favourite motorsport venues in the UK are. They don't have to be race tracks, sprints and hillclimbs or even rally stages are welcome too. Simply use the comments facility below to tell us which venues (doesn't have to be just one) are your favourites and why. Your help is very much appreciated!