Ioan Lloyd will contest the biggest rally of his season on this weekend’s Rali Ceredigion. The Aberystwyth-based rally is the first major international rally in the UK for five years and Ioan will line up against some of the best young drivers in Europe.

Young Welsh ace Lloyd, 21-years old, from Llandysul and co-driver Sion Williams will contest their home rally in their Peugeot 208 Rally4 knowing that they need a strong finish to keep their Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup bid on track.

Ioan has been given the accolade of being a wild card entry into the Junior European Rally Championship element of the event, which means that he will run near the head of the field and benefit from the extensive live coverage of the European Rally Championship broadcast on Rally.TV

He said: “Rali Ceredigion is a special event for us, being the most local rally on the calendar. The competition will no doubt be tough, but we’re looking forward to the challenge. It’s really exciting to have been selected as a wild card entry for the ERC, so hopefully we can make the most of it.

“I’m really excited about Rali Ceredigion. There's always a big buzz around it locally, and it gets a bigger following every year.

“It's fantastic to have the ERC coming this year. It'll be an interesting measure against the very quickest Rally4 drivers out there as well. I can't wait! But it is important that we finish because we can't afford to drop another round so it's got to be a balance. Obviously, we want a good result but we still need to be there at the end.”

As a double-header round of Probite British Rally Championship and a round of the FIA European Rally Championship, the rally has drawn a stellar entry and Ioan will run as car 33 as he concentrates on scoring points in the Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup. The end of season prize is a significant budget contribution towards moving up into the Junior European Rally Championship in 2025, which is Ioan’s ambition for his next step up the rallying ladder.

Although Ioan competed on the 2023 Rali Ceredigion, any previous knowledge will be of minimal benefit as most of the special stages being used this year are new.

Ioan Lloyd is proud to be supported by David Byrne Auto Repairs, West Wales Rally Spares, Huw Jeffreys and Sons Plumbing and Heating Engineers, Mark Jukes Containers, Abba Tree Specialist, Motordrive Seats, Towy Electrical Ltd, Panta Racing Fuel, Atech Racing, Bleddyn Thomas Haulage Contractors, Garej Tyn y Pistyll, ABC Autosport Bearings and Components, Freemans Bodyshop, Monit Motorsport, Solid Designs, Neil Spain, Mintex, 2300 Club John Easson Award, Kielder WT, Gareth Owens Building Contractor, Moduron Teifi Motors, Safety Devices International Ltd, TRS Safety Equipment, Pro Dent, Gomer Press, Rick’s Body Shop, Wyn Thomas Heating, Towy Works and On The Pacenote. In addition to his regular supporters, Ioan welcomes ARE Refrigeration and Electrical and Aberystwyth Park Lodge as partners for their home rally.