Dealer
James Williams joins the BRC top table
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James Williams will step up into the British Rally Championship top-flight league this season when he makes his debut in a Proton Iriz R5 on this weekend’s opening round of the series, the Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally.
The 21-year-old from Newcastle Emlyn has become an established name in Britain’s premier rallying series, taking multiple Junior BRC podiums including two dominate wins in Ypres, Belgium – with his 2019 result elevating him to one of the country’s brightest rallying prospects.
“The last two years have been fairly successful in the JBRC and I felt like I have earned the right to move up,” says James. “We could have had more success, okay, we won a few events, but we were unlucky to not win a few more. I am the most relaxed I have been for a number of years and the 2020 move is a natural progression for myself and the exciting Proton project.”
The University of Wales student proved himself to be a giant-killer in his previous seasons in the BRC, as his front-wheel drive exploits showed his talent behind the wheel – as he put plenty of R5 cars behind him on the results sheets. Now James joins the Malaysian manufacturer for the BRC curtain-raiser and is impressed with what he has seen so far.
“I have followed the Mellors Elliott Motorsport team quite intently the past few seasons and I am delighted to be able to have the opportunity to show what the Iriz R5 can do on the stages and I hope we can give them a good result on the Cambrian – our home BRC round,” he added.
“I am delighted to have HT Installations back on my car again this year. This is a big thing for me as they have supported me from a young age. I’m fortunate to also have further local support too from Cambrian Training and as a young Welsh driver I am looking forward to representing them on their home round.
“I’ve driven the R5 Fiesta and the Hyundai during a BRC test which was a great experience, so I had a benchmark in the soil so I could see where the Iriz matched-up against the others. I was very surprised with the package from Proton. Factory driver Ollie Mellors has proved on BTRDA events that the car is very competitive, and I hope we can replicate that and if the opportunity arises, I want to continue this beyond the first round as I am very excited by the project.”
The Visit Conwy Cambrian awaits for the young Welshman – an event that provokes mixed emotions for the young star.
“I really like the stages, they are real classics. When I was 17, I drove them in my Ford KA and did well. Since then, apart from 2018, I don’t seem to have had the luck on the event. In 2018 we won the R2 class despite never having driven the car, it had just rolled out of the workshop. I hope history can repeat itself this weekend!”
Helping Williams every step of the way will be his co-driver and fellow West Walian Dai Roberts, a man with experience under his belt from all over the world.
“With the step into a R5 car, Dai [Roberts] was a natural choice as we have a lot in common. We have the same attitude, as we both want to win – whatever the cost. We may not have the biggest budget, but we have the biggest hearts and the biggest aspirations. I might be stepping-up, but I don’t have the fear factor, as we want to show we deserve to be at the sharp-end and we are ready to turn over some big names this season.”
James Williams wears a Stilo WRC DES COMPOSITE helmet and bespoke P1 Advanced Racewear suit supplied by Nicky Grist Motorsports.
