Reigning Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup IRE & UK champions Ioan Lloyd and co-driver Sion Williams will head to Italy this weekend (July 4-6) to face soaring heat in round four of the FIA Junior European Rally Championship, the Rally di Roma Capitale.
With a forecast of 38 degree heat from unbroken sunshine across the weekend, Lloyd says the heat will be a major factor as they seek to retain their mighty second place in the JERC points. Second place last time out in Poland was a fantastic result for the Welsh crew.
Based in Fiuggi to the east of Rome, the high-profile rally will feature a ceremonial start at the Bocca della Verita in central Rome followed by a short opening special stage next to the spectacular and historic Colosseum. The rally then runs through Saturday and Sunday, with 13 asphalt stages covering 130 miles of competition.
Lloyd, 22-years old from Llandysul in West Wales and his co-driver Williams are contesting the hugely competitive international series in a Peugeot 208 Rally4 from Tagai Racing Technology (TRT) based in Hungary. The Junior ERC is one of the most competitive and prestigious junior rally championships in the world.
Lloyd said: “I think that, everything considered, it’s looking like it’s going to be the one of the toughest rallies yet. The extreme heat is something that I’ve not really experienced before. It is due to be 38 degrees all week that’s not something were used to in west Wales!
“We’ll need to be prepared for the heat and manage that side of the side of the situation. There’s a couple of long stages in the rally as well, so it will be a tough job managing tyres and brakes on long stages like that in these cars. There’s a lot to contend with, for sure. But I’m looking forward to the challenge, and I think I’m as prepared as I can be, so we can give it our best shot.”
The event takes contenders back to asphalt special stages, where Ioan has always had good pace, but the searing ambient temperature and resultant high surface temperatures will add to issues of tyre management. Two of the special stages on Saturday are over 20 miles long, while two stages on Sunday are over 18 miles long.
“It’ll be tough, there’s no doubt,” says Lloyd. “I haven’t got a whole lot of expectation, to be honest, but we’ll just do our own thing, as we always do, and see where we are as the rally progresses. Then we can make a plan from there.”
