Bath’s Winter Olympic gold medallist and Gadget Show host Amy Williams, MBE, and Sky Sports News Formula One analyst Tony Jardine have successfully finished one of the most gruelling rallies on the WRC calendar, the Wales Rally GB.
The PlayStation®VR team in association with ProSpeed backed pairing crossed the finish ramp in 39th overall, a great result for a privateer entry among the world’s finest rally drivers and co-drivers.
The final day began with the team putting on a new set of Kumho tires in the anticipation of some difficult stage conditions that will lay ahead. After a brief road section the pair then tackled the final 50 Kilometres of competitive stages in the Welsh forests.
With renewed enthusiasm and desire to make up time lost after mid-stage tyre change on Saturday, the pair battled through the classic Clocaenog stage making the most of the high-grip Kumho tires. Stage-by-stage, Tony and Amy reeled in the competition snatching 39th overall and leapfrogging their way to 20th in class.
The final stage, Brenig, was well supported with rally fans lining the route hoping for a glimpse of their idols.
The number 92 car crew had a scare as Tony straddled a ditch, knocking the front end of the car. Fortunately the Raymond Mason-built car and it’s Thermax intercooler bounced back and made it through the Powerstage.
Tony Jardine said: ”In the last stage, we nearly didn’t make it. We slid wide at one hairpin around 20mph and feared we had damaged the cooler, however the ProSpeed team had prepared the car to perfection and really just proved how tough the car is.”
Thermex’s Managing Director Julian Crossley was on hand to applaud the successful driver pairing and their impressive display over the 3 days, 22 special stages and over 330 competitive kilometers.
Amy Williams said: “This whole rally has been huge success for me, Thanks to Craig Parry’s help, I was prepared for co-driving duties however I was a little apprehensive as it’s completely different once you are out on the tough gravel stages.
“Tony and I gelled from the recce, once again and got back into the form that won us Class 3 back in 2013. It was a tougher rally than the first time and having Olly Marshall and the ProSpeed guys made it so much easier.
“Raymond Mason’s Mitsubishi Evo IX once again performed incredibly well, despite Tony trying to remodel it against a few Welsh boulders.”
Speaking of the team’s success on an impressive weekend, Tony commented: “I didn’t think I could get Amy Williams back in the co-drivers seat with me again.
“From the promotional work we did with Chase de Vere, it was apparent how much energy and enthusiasm she brought and that was reflected on the stages and the reaction from all the fans. She was faultless and we had a total blast.
“She came here to raise awareness of the 2018 Winter Olympics with her Sliding To Success campaign and she did more than that! The service park was packed with people asking for her autograph and getting selfies with her.
“She’s a superstar and I had to pull her away from the R5 class rally cars, I think shes got the bug and wants a go in one of those.
“Massive thank you to all those who have followed our adventure at Wales Rally GB, Kumho Tyres for once again providing us with state of the art tyre technology and Lockton MIS Motorsport for their constant support. We couldn’t do it without them.”
Olly Marshall, MD at ProSpeed Motorsport, added: ”It’s been great to have Amy back in the car, and she’s done a fantastic job to get straight back into it so quickly. Tony’s kept it all in one piece and they should both be very happy with the result on finishing a tough event.”
