By Paul Evans

Tom Cave will travel just a few miles down the coast from his hometown of Aberdyfi to Aberystwyth for this Sunday’s much anticipated Get Connected Rali Bae Ceredigion.

The event is the first stage rally to be held on closed public roads in Wales, and Cave and his co-driver Dale Bowen (Hirwaun) have been seeded at number one in their Hyundai i20 R5.

The event features a route that passes through stunning scenery in the Cambrian Mountains, over roads that have a reputation for their driving appeal and demanding nature.

“From what I’ve heard, the stages are very technical, so it’s going to be interesting to see what the roads are like at competitive speed,” says Cave.

“Being so local, I really wanted to take part in the event and support the organising team, who I know have worked extremely hard to make it happen.

“There’s a few crews in R5 and WRC cars this weekend, so there should be a good battle between us and, with this being the first running of the rally, it’s going to level the playing field. There’s a real buzz about the event, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

The rally is based at Aberystwyth University, which hosts the event HQ, start, finish and service area. Cave will lead the 120-car field over the start line outside the National Library of Wales at 09.30 on Sunday and, after completing a loop of four stages in the morning, will return to the campus for the lunchtime service halt. Then, following a re-run of the morning’s quartet of stages, crews will return to the National Library for the finish from 15.30.

Cave is supported by Trailhead Fine Foods and its Get Jerky snack brand, Cambrian Training, Michelin Motorsport, Ponsse UK, Go Fetch Ltd, Intervino, Atech Racing, Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing and Shukers Hyundai, who are based in the rally’s host town of Aberystwyth.