Young Welsh rally drivers in action this weekend

Welsh teenager Osian Pryce is eagerly looking forward to returning to the Latvian Rally Championship when he will team up once again with Craig Parry to contest the Rally Latgale this weekend. Pryce, who began competing in Latvia when he was 16 years old, courtesy of the Junior Rally Scheme, has been competing in the UK since passing his driving test, just one week after his 17th birthday. Since then he has stood on the class podium three times!
Aberangell based Pryce (above) will be hoping to use lessons learnt in the British forests to good effect when he returns to the high speed flowing roads that are characteristic of the Latvian events! “I’m really pleased to be going back as I enjoy rallying in Latvia a lot! In the UK I have had to use organisers notes which mean you never fully commit to them, but this weekend we will be able to do a recce again and I am really looking forward to that,” he said. The Rally Latgale is a new event to the championship but should draw a strong line up of entries. The rally begins with a loop of stages on Saturday evening, followed by the bulk of the action on Sunday.

Builth Wells based Jason Pritchard, who recently turned 22, will be contesting this weekend's Rally Isle of Man as this will be the first time the talented youngster tackles this infamous rally in a four wheel drive rally car, having won his class on the island in a 2 wheel drive Citroen previously! Pritchard has enjoyed a very successful step up to the North Road Garage, FCS Lasermail and Total Impreza Magazine supported Subaru Impreza N2010, winning two events outright and after three rounds of the Dulux Trades MSA British Rally Championship Jason and co-driver Robbie Durant are third overall in this prestigious championship. He said, “The Isle of Man is certainly not a place for the faint hearted and this weekend promises to be a very challenging rally. Weather always plays a big part in this event but our main focus will be to stay on the road and aim for another finish! We might be lying third in the standings but people forget that this is still only a learning year for us and finishes are our target.” The 2010 running of the Rally Isle of Man will begin with a super special stage through the town of Douglas on Friday morning. The crews then face a total of 12 stages on the opening day before tackling a further 8 high speed tests on Saturday. The rally ends with the famous 14 mile long “Classic” stage which uses parts of the TT circuit and finishes in front of the grandstands back in Douglas town.