PRITCHARD SIGNS UP FOR BRC WITH POLO R5

Jason Pritchard will embark on his first British Rally Championship campaign since 2011, piloting a Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 from Melvyn Evans Motorsport.

Pritchard, both a triple Asphalt and British Historic champion, has never rallied an R5 car but will get his first taste of the Polo on this weekend’s North West Stages as testing for Rally Tendring & Clacton, the first round of the BRC.

“I’ll be honest, this year we planned just to pick events I wanted to do because we’d done the championships there’s nothing else to do, and we didn’t have the budget to do the BRC so it never even crossed my mind,” Pritchard told MN. “It was literally the end of last year we were approached by some companies and it’s not every day someone offers to support you with this, so you have to do it. I’m sure the pace will be quick whoever’s there, it’ll be good. We’re looking forward to it.”

Despite not competing in the BRC since he crashed out of the 2011 Jim Clark Rally in a Subaru Impreza N16, Pritchard is sure he can fight for the title at his first attempt.

“Anyone that tells you they turn up and do a championship and does a rally just going there, especially at that level, you don’t,” he said. “When there’s much investment involved you’re there [to win].

“Everyone goes to a rally to do their best, some events you’ve got to push your time to push to get the result, other times you think I’ll just hang back and get some points as that’s what gets you championships, but we’re going there to do our best and what happens, happens.”