Sara secures second place on fast Coracle Stages

Brecon-based driver Sara Williams showed the boys how it was done when she powered her Brecon Motors backed Subaru Impreza to an outstanding second overall on the Bill Gwynne Rallyschool Coracle Stages, held at the Sweet Lamb Motorsport Complex. The 21 year old former champion on tarmac, has often showed promise since making the change to gravel but finally everything clicked this weekend and with the Brecon Car Rental supported Subaru running perfectly, courtesy of a visit to Geoff Jones Motorsport.
Sara and co-driver Dai Roberts ran inside the top three all day long and at the end of the seven stage event the pair were overjoyed to not only win their class but to finish a career best of second overall!
She said afterwards, “I don’t particularly like Sweet Lamb as it’s not as flowing as a typical forest rally but today’s result is my best ever and I really enjoyed myself in the car! I must say a massive thank you to Geoff Jones for solving the mechanical issues we’ve had recently, and to Dai, awesome as always on the notes! I am also really pleased to repay the faith that my family and supporters have shown in me!” Sara is planning to contest Wales Rally GB, the final round of the World Rally Championship, in November and will spend the next few weeks looking for funding for this big event. Anyone interested in assisting one of the fastest ladies in rallying should contact Sara through her website www.sararally.com		The man responsible for excavating the world famous land speed record car ‘Babs’ from the sands at Pendine and restoring it, was on hand at Pembrey Circuit last Sunday to dedicate the venue’s Media Centre to the memory of its driver, John Godfrey Parry Thomas. Thomas lost his life at the sands in 1927 when a mechanical failure caused the car to crash on a record attempt. His team buried the car in the sands and it remained undisturbed until 1969 when Owen Wyn Owen located and excavated it. Recalling the event more than 40 years on, Mr Owen said on Sunday “I hoped I might find a rusty camshaft or something but when we unearthed it, it was far better than I could have imagined. Nevertheless, it took a number of years of painstaking work to get the car back to its original splendour. Fittingly, it now spends each summer at Pendine’s Museum of Speed. Commenting on Sunday’s events, Pembrey Circuit Director Phil Davies said, “Genius is an over-used word but there is no doubt that, as an engineer Parry Thomas was a genius and as a race driver he was fearless. We wanted to recognise a Welsh hero and the fact that Mr Owen agree to travel from his North Wales home to dedicate the building made it a very special occasion for us.” With the Vintage Sports Car Club providing a full day of racing, it was very much an Owen family event as Owen Wyn Owen’s son Geraint took his 1930 Bugatti Type 35B to the runners up spot in the day’s feature race for the Richard Seaman Trophy. Victory went to the 1936 ERA R11B of North Devon racer David Morris.


Another outstanding performance came from 17 year old Aberangell student Osian Pryce enjoyed yet another visit to the podium when the G & M Pryce backed youngster powered his Ford Fiesta ST to third in class and first front wheel drive home on the event. This result, just two weeks after taking a podium finish in a round of the Latvian Rally Championship, Rally Latgale, is a big boost for Osian, who was co-driven by Iestyn Williams. Although the student admitted to a slow start, as thick fog reduced visibility dramatically, and had a near miss with a big ditch on the opening stage, he soon settled down. He said, “Today was really good. I have a lot of confidence in the car now and driving in the thick fog this morning was a good experience, even if I nearly ended my day in a ditch! I’ve now qualified for my international competition licence and will be looking for the funds to do my home rally, Wales Rally GB, in November!”