Rally Spain confirms Creighton’s desire for 2023 WRC campaign
Is it too soon to write about an end-of-season wind-down? As daylight disappears and rallies sparsely populate the calendar, it is certainly a big contrast from that peak Spring-Summer motorsport mayhem.
William Creighton has signed off on his rally programme for 2022 but there is no mention of a wind-down. In many ways, the most important work of his year has just begun.
The Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy driver spoke to Rally Insight after finishing top non-priority crew on his Rally2 debut at a World Rally Championship event.
“Rally Spain was pretty crazy, to be honest,” said the 24-year-old. “It was probably one of the most enjoyable rallies Liam [Regan] and I have done.
“We didn’t have huge expectations going into the rally because realistically it was our first time in the Hyundai i20. There are so many P1 drivers in the category now so the pace is mental.
“We went in with the mindset to enjoy it and get familiar with the car stage by stage.
“Spain is a tricky event with plenty of cuts as well so to get around, showing good speed, and not making any mistakes was great.”
A puncture on Spain’s second stage for the Junior WRC regulars cost them 30 positions on the overall leaderboard but they didn’t let it spoil their weekend.
Creighton reckoned they nicked the tyre while returning to the Catalunyan asphalt during one of Friday’s many cuts.
The Ulster crew, who were rewarded the prize drive after winning the Junior British Rally Championship 12 months earlier, responded on the very next stage with a time 0.8 seconds shy of WRC 2’s top ten.
“Having two years in Junior WRC under my belt helped me to jump straight into the Rally2 drive in Spain.
“I think it showed as my pace was fairly good from the very start of the event without making any significant mistakes.
“It was important for me to see that the experience of competing in these world events has paid off. If I was to try to do this prize drive a year or two years ago, it would have been much more difficult.”
Creighton continued to fight through the field, eventually finishing inside the top 30 overall – Rally Spain’s top non-priority crew was a just reward for his efforts.
Despite the accolade, Creighton was quick to mention how Rally Spain had helped him discover areas he still had to improve.
The Hyundai Motorsport prize drive, which was supported by BRC, Reis Insurance, and Pirelli, allowed Crieghton to learn from PCRS’s engineer – Carlos Garcia Yoldi.
“It was the first time that I have worked so closely with an engineer during an event. It highlighted key areas where I can improve my driving and how that can help with my pace.
“I see that as a positive because my speed was pretty good and knowing that there are areas where I can get better gives me something to focus on in the future.”
That desire to improve and get faster is abundantly apparent when you hear Creighton talk about the preparation for a world championship event.
His determination ensures he still wants more of rallying’s most demanding series after two seasons in Junior WRC.
Back to my opening paragraph, Creighton’s time behind the wheel may be at an end for 2022 but that doesn’t mean he will kick his feet up and relax over rallying’s winter break.
“We will be working hard to put things together for next year.
“I don’t have any plans to do more events in the Hyundai, it was just a prize drive, but obviously anybody in my shoes would love to do more rallies like that.
“I want to be back in WRC in some form, it’s the ultimate championship and I want to keep progressing through it.”
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Photos by Gavin Woods
