Yates targets Ypres top five and BRC win

Rhys Yates is hoping to challenge for a victory in the British Rally Championship at the Ypres Rally, after a dominant Rally van Wervik victory.

Yates took victory by 41.1s over a host of drivers using the event as a warm-up for Ypres.

“The target is to win the BRC section now, and now we’re hoping to be pushing for a top-five finish overall after Wervik,” said Yates. “There’s still a lot more in me and it’s not forced at the moment, it’s not like we’re taking massive risks out there.”

Yates has switched to a Skoda Fabia R5, now run by CA1 Sport, and added Elliott Edmondson as his co-driver for this year. He believes that combination, allied to improved notes, is yielding his step forward in pace, after also taking second on the Pirelli Rally which opened the BRC season.

“It’s a combination of things,” he added. “Definitely my notes are improving, I feel like I can commit to them. The delivery from Elliott is always spot on too.”

Yates justified the permission of his grandmother, June, to miss her birthday to compete on the event.