Osian Pryce maintains his strong challenge for the 2022 British Rally Championship title after finishing runner-up in the Voyonic Grampian Forest Rally.
It was the second time in as many years that the Machynlleth-born driver had finished second on the Aberdeenshire forestry event, as he and co-driver Noel O’Sullivan enjoyed another fast and trouble-free run in their Melvyn Evans Motorsport-prepared Volkswagen Polo GTI R5.
As the highest placed returnee, Osian started this year’s Grampian Forest Rally first on the road – which turned out to be a disadvantage as he swept the loose gravel off the surface in the fast and flowing Durris, Fetteresso and Drumtochty forests.
By the time the first loop of three stages had been completed, Osian was in third position, 20 seconds behind leaders Keith Cronin/Mikie Galvin (Volkswagen Polo GTI R5) and just four seconds behind Ruairi Bell/Max Freeman (Škoda Fabia R5).
With less loose gravel on the repeat runs, Osian was able to push harder in the afternoon and was rewarded with second place at the finish when the pressure he was putting on Bell saw his rival make a time-consuming error on the sixth and final stage.
With three rounds remaining, Osian is just 20 points behind Cronin.
Better still, round five of the 2022 British Rally Championship is the Aberystwyth-based Get Connected Rali Ceredigion (3/4 September) – an event which Osian won when it was first run in 2019.
What does Osian Pryce think?
“It was a tough day in the office on the Grampian Rally, but I’m very pleased to come away with another strong result in second place,” says Osian.
“We knew that being first on the road was going to be a challenge and we lost more time than we anticipated on the first pass of the stages. We felt a big difference on the second pass. We were able to enjoy driving a bit more and we were back on the pace.
“We achieved the best result we could have, so I cannot be disappointed – and congratulations to Keith [Cronin] and Mikie [Galvin] on their win.
“A big thanks to the Melvyn Evans Motorsport team for doing a great job, because the car was spot on again – and to Noel [O’Sullivan] as he did an excellent job and it’s always a pleasure to have him next to me in the co-driver’s seat. Thanks to everybody who supported us before and during the rally, I’m truly overwhelmed by people’s generosity.”
For his 2022 BRC campaign, Osian is supported by Demon Tweeks, Bell Racing helmets, OMP race suits, Liqui Moly (oils, lubricants and additives), LM Performance (Liqui Moly distributors), DL Jones Pontrobert Ltd (coach and taxi hire), Hills Campervans (campervan sales and hire), MotoFit (performance training), Carbon Positive Motorsport and his own family-run specialist building firm G+M Pryce.
Motorsport UK British Rally Championship
Provisional Driver Points – Overall After Round 4
1. Keith Cronin….88pts
2. Osian Pryce….68pts
3. James Williams….45pts
4. Jason Pritchard….31pts
5. Garry Pearson….30pts
6. Eamonn Kelly….25pts
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