SPAINANDPORTUGAL WRCEVENTSFORDAVIES

Peugeotrallycupibericafor Welshdriver Photos: Jakob Ebrey, Kevin Money, Pro-rally Photography

Prestone Motorsport News Junior British Rally Championship frontrunner Cameron Davies will compete on Rally Portugal and Rally Spain in the World Rally Championship, having joined the Peugeot Rally Cup Iberica.

Davies won the JBRC class on the RSAC Scottish Rally last season when running his Peugeot 208 on a tight budget. After the Scottish event, Davies was hit by another competitor when he stalled on a stage on the Ypres Rally. Following that, the engine in his car expired on the Nicky Grist Stages, which ended his campaign early.

Davies’ 208 R2 will be run by Portuguese outfit PT Racing in 2018, which Davies believes will help him focus on his driving. “That’s one of the main attractions for me: not having to run the car,” said Davies, who will be co-driven by Max Freeman. “Going to Europe is good for experience, but all the worry is with the team and then I can focus on the travel, fitness, preparation and the recce. It’s a big part as we struggled a lot with that last year.

“When I did the M-sport shootout [for a drive in Junior WRC in 2017], I got to the end but one of the big reasons I didn’t win was because of a lack of European experience. I’ve looked at that and addressed it.”

The 2016 Fiesta ST Trophy champion evaluated a number of options before settling on the six-round Iberica Cup, which has three rounds in Portugal and three in Spain. “I was looking at doing select ERC events and looked at the French Championship as well,” he added. “I got a great offer to go and do the Peugeot Rally Cup Iberia. They wanted a UK driver to come over and promote it.”

There’s £17,500 of prizes on offer per round for the cup, which runs a Pirelli control tyre and is only open to 208 R2s. Davies is unlikely to return to the BRC this year. He was one of the pre-season favourites.

The opening round of the contest is on Rally Portugal on May 17-20.