Tom Llewellin, son of 1989 and 1990 British Rally Champion David, is to contest the 2021 MRF Tyres BTRDA Rally Series in a Spencer Sport Mitsubishi Mirage R5. The 20-year old from Rudbaxton entered his first Junior Rally at Knockhill in 2015 and, until the enforced Covid break, had been gaining valuable experience ever since.
2018 saw Tom joining the Swift Sport Rallycross series and then, three months after his 17th birthday, he entered the Nicky Grist Stages for his first taste of ‘proper’ rallying! A full-scale assault on the Welsh Championship in an Historic-spec. Escort Mk2 was on the menu for the following season and, although still learning the art of driving a RWD car quickly and acclimatising himself to the use of pace-notes, he finished 3rd overall in the Championship, picking up the U-23 and 2WD awards along the way!
The Cambrian was to be the only rally Tom started last year – 9th overall and 1st 2WD were an excellent foretaste of what he hoped was to come in a full season of the British Historic Championship. Alas, it was not to be and now he says ‘I’m really looking forward to this opportunity to contest the BTRDA Rally Series and can’t wait to see what I can do in a four-wheel drive car’! Tom – you’re not the only one!…
Among others who also have their eyes on the prestigious BTRDA Gold Star® Championship crown is Callum Black (Fiesta R5), who narrowly missed out on the title in 2017 when he finished runner-up to Stephen Petch. Martyn England and Hugh Brunton are also pinning their hopes of success on a Fiesta R5, while the duelling Mitsubishi Lancers of Pat Naylor, Russ Thompson and Matthew Hirst are also back for more of the same. Based on past performances, someone they’ll all need to keep an eye on, however, is George Lepley who is set to reappear in the Lancer EVO X that took him to 2nd overall – and maximum BTRDA Series points – on the 2019 Woodpecker Stages….
Brace yourselves!…

Note: Entries for Round 1 of the 2021 MRF Tyres BTRDA Rally Series, the Nicky Grist Stages, open from 6pm on Monday 24th May. For the first few days entries have been reserved specifically for 2021 Championship registered crews, but we expect there will be a huge demand for entries, so please don’t delay submitting your entry. More info can be found at www.nickygriststages.co.uk

The main photo shows Tom’s Mirage being put through its paces during a recent test.    © Stan’s Photos