By Paul Evans
Ioan Lloyd scored a fantastic victory on the Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup in Ireland (4-5 May).
The 21-year old from Llandysul was contesting the Killarney Rally of the Lakes, which was round three of the new series for young drivers in identical Rally4 cars, and claimed his second win of the year with a superb drive against fierce opposition.
When the rally started on Saturday, Lloyd and co-driver Sion Williams took an immediate lead over chief rivals Cian Caldwell and Keelan Grogan.
Their battle raged throughout the two days and it was only on the second day that Lloyd was able to stretch out a small but crucial lead to win by 26 seconds.
He also finished a remarkable 13th overall and was the second two-wheel drive car home from 130 starters.
Their success followed victory in round one in West Cork in March and puts them right back into contention after a non-finish on the Rallynuts Severn Valley Stages in April.
“I’m absolutely chuffed to bounce back with a win,” said Lloyd.
“It was a brilliant weekend, but it was some race and it was never easy.
“The roads were dry and it was flat out from the start with no let up.
“We had such a close battle with the other boys.”
Not only did Lloyd take maximum points and prize money in the Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup, but he also won the RC4 class on the rally to complete a perfect weekend.
“Winning the class was a bonus but we needed to focus on the Stellantis Cup,” added Lloyd.
“We had an absolutely clean weekend and it’s put our championship right back on track.”
Lloyd is proud to be supported by David Byrne Auto Repairs, West Wales Rally Spares, Huw Jeffreys and Sons Plumbing and Heating Engineers, Mark Jukes Containers, Abba Tree Specialist, Motordrive Seats, Towy Electrical Ltd, Panta Racing Fuel, Atech Racing, Bleddyn Thomas Haulage Contractors, Garej Tyn y Pistyll, ABC Autosport Bearings and Components, Freemans Bodyshop, Monit Motorsport, Solid Designs, Neil Spain, Mintex, 2300 Club John Easson Award, Kielder WT, Gareth Owens Building Contractor, Moduron Teifi Motors, Safety Devices International Ltd, TRS Safety Equipment, Pro Dent, Gomer Press, Rick’s Body Shop, Wyn Thomas Heating and OnThePacenote.