Pryce: Severn Valley was a must-win for BRC campaign

Osian Pryce and Rhodri Evans were the stars of the show on the British Rally Championship‘s second round – the Severn Valley Stages.

Their dominant victory propelled them back into the championship mix after a mechanical issue forced them to retire on March’s opening round.

“It means a lot to win the Severn Valley,” reflected Pryce. “I had never won it before.

“I guess it is my home rally in some ways although I wouldn’t necessarily call those stages my local stages.

“It was a much-needed win for me and it was really nice to get a first win for Rhodri, my best mate who was co-driving with me.”

The 2022 British Rally Champion is never far off the pace but with a limited budget for 2024 and incredibly stiff Rally2 contention, Pryce’s home win was far from a gimme.

A shift to a Ford Fiesta Rally2 has given Pryce an additional challenge but the Welshman seems unfazed by the usual hurdles that come with a change in machinery.

“I had always fancied trying the Fiesta out and Hills Ford has been a long-term sponsor for me through their all-makes Hills Automotive dealership.

“Now that the Fiesta is a good car to be in we thought that we would give it a go and we have settled in fairly good.

“It is the fourth or fifth Rally2 car I have driven in the past year and to be honest they are all very similar. They just work in a slightly different way and have their own traits.

“The Fiesta is probably easier to drive initially but harder to get the last 5% out of. Whereas with the Polo you can jump in and as long as you use all your skill then you will get the time out at the end.

“I’m happy with our pace especially because we didn’t test before the event as much as everyone else.

“We changed the set-up quite a lot during the rally, not big changes but small things to make the car work a bit better.

“We went forwards and backwards with it so there is still room for improvement from our side with the car.

“The result was good and the car was good but we just need to tweak the set-up now to get it perfect.”

Pryce is no stranger to tight BRC title tussles. He has featured in previous season-defining battles with Matt Edwards, Keith Cronin, and Fredrik Ahlin to name but a few.

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After a BRC sabbatical last year to focus on European rallies, Pryce has joined a host of top names returning to the series in 2024.

2019 European Rally Champion Chris Ingram leads the BRC standings after a win and third-place finish on the opening two rounds. But it is another new BRC contender that has caught Pryce’s attention so far this year.

“It is nice to have the competition,” admitted Pryce. “We have had a few title contenders in the past but it is nice now to have the likes of Will [Creighton] and Chris joining in the mix.

“We all knew how fast Chris would be but the one who has impressed me the most has been Will.

“He’s in a similar position to me with the car. He’s doing more rallies but has less experience overall so his performances so far have been really impressive.

“It looks like we have a few people to look out for in the championship.”

For Pryce there is little time to celebrate his maiden Severn Valley Stages win as the realities of rallying leave him with some work to do ahead of BRC’s next round.

“Hopefully we can make it to the Jim Clark Rally, there are a few little issues that I need to sort out from my side before we go.

“Funding is one thing and obviously life gets in the way but hopefully I can shift some workload over the next few weeks to try to make it.”

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Photos courtesy of British Rally Championship