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.