Photo Credit: DMACK Tyres The future of rallying in Great Britain is a topic under rather heavy scrutiny these days, with the recent issues regarding spectator safety and the increased price in forest hire that is threatening to make the sport extinct in Wales, one of its most iconic locations. However, despite the issues that are bubbling on the island, there is plenty to be excited about in terms of our representation on the international stage. Great Britain has had a rather lean time of it the past decade in terms of our driving talent. Matthew Wilson was our only real representative in the World Championship , and with all due respect to him he never reached the podium. Now however, the future looks very bright indeed, which is something we haven't been able to say since the glory days of the late '90s and early 2000s with Colin McRae and Richard Burns. Below are a list of British drivers who either are, could be or will be stars of the future from the British Isles. Kris MeekeThe Northern Irishman is a star of the future, but most definitely a star of now. The Dungannon driver has been at the sport's top level for a couple of years now, and has notched up 2 WRC wins, including the infamous Rally Portugal this year. For 2017 he has a 3 year contract with Citroen Racing, marking the first time Meeke has a long term future secured, and it is nothing short of what he deserves. Kris was a protege of 1995 World Champion Colin McRae, making his mark in the British Rally Championship in 2002 and 3 in a Ford Puma and then an Opel Corsa before progressing to the JWRC with Citroen. After that his career somewhat stalled, before he became Intercontinental Rally Champion with Peugeot in 2009. In 2011 he joined the Prodrive Mini project which unfortunately failed very quickly, before getting and earning his chance with Citroen Racing. He will almost certainly be a championship contender in 2017 in the new C3 WRC. Elfyn EvansThe young Welshman is another British driver who is well established within the WRC service park. The son of former British Champion Gwyndaf has completed 2 full seasons at the sport's top level (like Kris Meeke) for Malcolm Wilson's M-Sport, but in 2016 he has taken a step back and is competing in WRC2 in the Ford Fiesta R5 Evo (pictured above) and also the British Rally Championship in DMACK colours (pictured top of article). Evans has 2 WRC podiums to his name, and is hotly tipped to return to the WRC after being displaced by Eric Camilli at M-Sport. He rose to prominence back in the British Rally Championship driving a Fiesta R2 and a Subaru Impreza, before going on to win the WRC Academy in 2012 and finish runner up to Robert Kubica in WRC2 in 2013. He then made his WRC debut in 2014. Evans is insanely quick and professional, with a somewhat unique trump card of being right on the pace on gravel and on tarmac. A definite star of the future us Brits can be proud of. Chris IngramAt just 22 years old, Ingram is not just one of the most promising Brits in international rallying he is one of the most promising young drivers out there, with an impressive amount of experience for his age. He first shot to fame in his little R2 Renault Twingo in the British Rally Championship when he was just 17 and continued his progress into the Junior European Rally Championship. Despite being in his early 20s, he has already worked with manufacturer teams having driven for Peugeot UK in a 208 R2 and now competing for Opel in their ADAM R2, where with just two rallies to go in the season he heads the championship. The next step for Ingram will be four wheel drive machinery, and from there the sky is potentially the limit. There is surely a very bright future ahead for this young man who looks up to triple World Champion Sebastien Ogier. There are worse drivers to look up to! Tom CaveTom Cave is another young Brit who is destined for big things in the future, and is only getting better and better. The Welshman, like all the others listed above, made his name in the British Rally Championship, and is continuing to do so in the new rejuvenated series in his Spencer Sport Fiesta R5. The 24 year old has plenty of experience too in different machinery, having competed in the BRC with four wheel drive cars, two wheel drive and he also did two years in the DMACK Fiesta Trophy in the WRC, gaining valuable experience of world championship events. Cave currently sits in second in the BRC championship behind Elfyn Evans, and will earn lots of respect if he maintains that position until the end given the impressive performances of Swede Fredrik Ahlin this year. Tom could be another driver to make Britain proud in the future. Osian PryceOsian Pryce is another young gun who has broken out of the British Rally Championship and is destined for a good future in the World Championship. Another Welshman like Evans and Cave, Pryce is currently competing in the Drive DMACK Fiesta series, and has already earned himself a prize drive in a DMACK-shod Fiesta R5 in the 2017 WRC2, which could be something of a big break for Pryce. Osian has impressed as he has gained experience, finishing second in the 2013 British Rally Championship with 3 straight wins in the last 3 rallies and then narrowly missing out on the title the following year in his Citroen DS3 R3 to rival Daniel McKenna. He also has experience in four wheel drive cars, completing the 2014 Wales Rally GB in a Fiesta R5 and doing the Mid Wales Stages in this year's BRC, impressing greatly in a Spencer Sport run Mitsubishi Mirage R5. Pryce is very talented, and could go very far so is one to look out for. Gus GreensmithGus, like Osian, is driving this year in the Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy WRC support series in a Ford Fiesta R2T, whilst also having done a couple of British Championship events to keep the competitive blood flowing. At just 19 years old, Greensmith has loads of time on his hands and is going about it in the right way, competing in a very competitive championship on world championship events. He is showing impressive speed too, albeit lacking a bit of luck. Gus is too early into his career for us to make any judgments and predictions, but we certainly haven't heard the last of him! So those are just 6 British drivers that have a bright immediate and long term future ahead of them. There are plenty others too that are impressive, including Jon Armstrong, David Bogie, Euan Thorburn and Garry Pearson. Could we be on the way to seeing the return of the glory days? Let's hope so!
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WRCArticles covering the World Rally Championship Archives
January 2018
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