By Paul Evans

Ioan Lloyd has put himself in contention for the Formula 1000 Rally Championship, after a great drive on the Fairfield Merlin Stages Rally.

The 16-year old Llandysul driver finished third at the Welsh Motorsports Centre at Pembrey, beating all his series rivals in the process, after a trouble-free run in his West Wales Rally Spares-backed Citroen C1.

The combination of fast and flowing and tight and twisty sections proved a tricky challenge, with F1000 rivals Elliott Payne/Dom Adams and Eddie Lewis/Elgan Davies both rolling their Citroen C1s out of the event.

Riley Banks/Mike Jode came out on top at Pembrey in their Peugeot 107, finishing 39 seconds ahead of Rob Cotton/Chris Williams in a Toyota iQ.

Co-driven by Jonathan Jackson, Lloyd finished third, just six seconds further behind, to strengthen his position in the fight for the F1000 title with two rounds remaining.

“We had a few power issues with the car earlier in the season, but it’s all sorted now and the car ran very well today,” said Lloyd. “It’s all to play for on the last two rounds of the series.”