On his first event in a Castrol MEM Rally Team Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, Osian Pryce got his challenge of a second British Rally Championship title off to the best possible start with victory on the Severn Valley Stages (Saturday 11 April).
Co-driven by James Morgan, the 2022 British Rally Champion set the fastest time on his first competitive stage in the Michelin-shod Yaris – and was never knocked off the top spot as he took no big risks to win the event for the second time.
It was, however, a close battle with team-mates Meirion Evans/Dale Furniss, as they fought for victory in the classic mid-Wales forests of Sarnau, Myherin and Tarenig.
Osian set the fastest time on six out of the seven stages, with only a slow puncture in Myherin (SS3) denying him a clean sweep of scratch times.
The 33-year old Machynlleth-born driver led the event by 3.4 seconds at the midday service halt, and the confidence gained during the morning loop saw him extend that advantage to eight seconds immediately after lunch.
Entering the seventh and final stage with a 9.3 second lead, Osian drove immaculately through the closing Myherin Main stage, which, at 18.65 miles, was the longest stage of the rally, to win the event by 19 seconds.
And while Osian takes the lead of the BRC drivers’ standings, a magnificent one-two finish gives Castrol MEM Rally Team the early lead in the teams’ championship.
“For my first event in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, I’m very happy with the performance and the result,” said Osian.
“We started sensibly. Stage one wasn’t perfect, but to win my first stage in the car was nice and we built on it from there really. The Toyota works slightly differently to everything else I’ve driven, so it was just a case of getting myself dialled in and the more miles we did the better it felt.
“It was nice to finish with that long stage, where you could really get stuck in and find a good rhythm. By then I was a lot more tuned into the car, and it meant that we left the event on a high.
“The intention was to obviously try to win the Severn Valley, but we were up against good drivers who had more experience with their cars, and it was important that we just stuck to our plan and didn’t do anything daft. We drove within ourselves throughout the event. There were no big risks taken and we focused on being as clean and as tidy as we could.
“It all went according to plan and we got that important win, which is the best way to start a championship. It’s a good start and there’s definitely more to come.”
Osian is supported by The Leading Edge, Hills Automotive, Haddo Energy, Demon Tweeks, LAS Recycling, Bell, Red Kite Glass, Rhode-Trax, Morrisons Daily, Superfast Properties, Gorsaf Betrol Tymawr, Diogel Events, J.E Rees & Sons, Jordan Road Surfacing, Glenbrook, and his own family-run specialist building firm G+M Pryce.
