Chris Ingram and Alex Kihurani claimed victory on the opening round of the Probite Motorsport UK British Rally Championship, by taking the top spot at the Legend Fires North West Stages on Saturday.
Ingram blasted his Michelin-shod Volkswagen Polo GTi (above) through the challenging lanes of Lancashire to four fastest times to secure his maiden BRC win, taking home maximum points in one of the most exciting lineup of series contenders for many years.
Irish ace and 2021 Junior BRC champion William Creighton mounted a late charge in his Pirelli-supported Ford Fiesta Rally2 to secure second overall whilst Meirion Evans gave the MEM Rally Team Toyota Yaris GR Rally2 an impressive debut on UK soil to round out the podium spots in third.
James Williams and co-driver Ross Whittock battled the elements on the to claim fourth overall in the BRC and first in the Asphalt series.
The Welshman (above) was fresh off the back of a busy few weeks, which included driving 5000km into Europe to pick up his new Hyundai i20 Rally2 car immediately before the event.
The re-invigorated British Rally Championship attracted a star studded entry to the opening round of the season which would see 10 tests and 57 stage miles on offer in the twisty and technical closed-public roads around the Garstang rally base. Coupled with several high-speed and open moorland stages, it would be a demanding start to the BRC’s highly anticipated season.
Former British Rally Champion Osian Pryce was closing in on the lead of the Legend Fires North West Stages when a mechanical issue forced him out of the opening round of the Probite British Rally Championship.
But the pace he showed on his first rally in a Dom Buckley RSC-prepared Ford Fiesta Rally2 (above) meant that it all bodes very well for the rest of the season.
After a cautious start on SS1 and a puncture on SS2, Osian had closed the gap on rally leader and eventual winner Chris Ingram from 17.8 to 3.6 seconds with fastest time on stages three and six, before a suspected fuel system issue stopped the car on SS7 when he was in second position.
Round 2 of the Probite British Rally Championship will be the Rallynuts Severn Valley Stages, based in Llandrindod Wells, on Saturday 13 April with stages in the former Wales Rally GB forests of Myherin and Hafren.
