Ryan Williams has been working hard in preparation for his return to the Bosch Motorsport Australia Rally Championship in the Gympie next month.
The 25-year-old last featured during an ARC round at the Middle of Everywhere Gippsland Rally in 2022 and now plans on competing at the Accent Benchtops Rally Queensland event in July.
During his hiatus from the championship, Williams has been working hard in preparation for the rally by recently participating in the Motorsport Australia Queensland Rally Championship, including the Queensland Winter Stages just last week.
After leading the rally after the opening stage, Williams and co-driver Brad Jones were able to muster an impressive top 10 finish to shine a light on their potential for the upcoming national event.
Williams and Jones will certainly be familiar faces in their return to the ARC, with the pair taking top honours in the Shamrock Haulage ARC Junior Cup back in 2021 behind the wheel of a Ford Fiesta R2T.
But this time around, the pair will swap out the Fiesta for a 2003 Subaru Impreza WRX STi – a vehicle they had the opportunity to get familiar with at last week’s Winter Stages. That change will see them enter the super-competitive White Wolf Constructions ARC Production Cup when the ARC visits Gympie in July.
Williams was understandably excited to return to the ARC and to compete once again in his home state.
“I’m looking forward to returning to such a fantastic championship, and while it’s really good just to be back, the fact that it is in my home state is a bonus,” Williams said.
“Rally Queensland has been a rally that I have been watching since I was young, and to compete in 2021 and have the result we did was fantastic, the excitement for this year is overzealous.
“The Winter Stages Rallysprint was a great shakedown for the car and myself ahead of Rally Queensland, It was the first time in that car on pace notes and a chance to get familiar with the new Hoosier tyres as well.
“We are hoping for a good result in the Production Cup, it’s going to be a hotly contested weekend for the cup and the championship but I’m looking forward to the challenge it beholds.”
While Williams is unsure whether he will make more appearances throughout the championship in 2023, the Queenslander was hopeful to compete as much as possible.
“It’s a hard question to answer right now, there are many factors that have to be considered,” Williams explained.
“At this point in time my focus is on the Queensland Rally and getting the result there, but there is potential to go interstate for another one later in the year.
“If everything can come together, I’ll be at as many ARC rounds as I can.”
Entries are now open for the Accent Benchtops Rally Queensland that will take place in Gympie on 21-23 July.
Feature photo: CH Images
