Tom Cave flies Welsh flag on Wales Rally GB with PROTON

Welsh rally driver Tom Cave will contest his fourth Wales Rally GB, his home round of the FIA World Rally Championship, next weekend on his second outing as a work driver for the PROTON Motorsports team. The 20 year-old, partnered by Craig Parry, is the only native Welsh driver taking part in the event and one of only three British drivers on the entry list.

Tom's first Rally GB was in 2008, when he famously started the event just 19 days after turning 17 and 10 days after passing his UK driving test and gaining his road license, despite having been driving rally cars competitively since he was 15. He went on to win his class by more than 15 minutes.

In 2009, he and Parry finished third in class and he was honoured to be awarded the Richard Burns Trophy while in 2010, driving his privately-entered and works-supported Proton Satria Neo S2000, was putting in extremely competitive stage times.

This year will see not only Tom's fourth Wales Rally GB but also his second event as an official PROTON Motorsports driver, following his dominant win on the 2012 Rally of Thailand for the manufacturer. According to Team Principal Chris Mellors, he was a natural choice for the role as the team targets the 2012 SWRC title, which it currently leads with Per-Gunnar Andersson.

Tom will be driving the latest version of the Proton Satria Neo Super 2000, the car he drove in Thailand and will be running alongside Swedish team-mate, Andersson. And at just 20 years of age, Tom is believed to be one of the youngest drivers contesting the event, having claimed a similar honour in 2008, when he became the youngest driver ever to compete on Wales Rally GB.

Speaking ahead of the event and following a successful test, Tom said; "I am incredibly excited, and of course honoured, to be contesting my home round of the FIA World Rally Championship with PROTON. Craig and I are also very proud to be the only Welshmen contesting the event, which takes place entirely within our home nation.

"It will be fantastic to be back in the Proton; I really enjoyed driving our Satria Neo S2000 in 2010 - it really suited my style - and of course, was delighted to win in Thailand with the team, so to get a second opportunity is amazing.

"Wales Rally GB is one of my favourite events - it's my home round of the WRC and having done the event three times before, I know a little of what the conditions and the stages can be like.

"We appear to be having something of an Indian summer at the moment and as the event is around a month earlier than normal, hopefully the weather conditions will be a little better than we have seen in previous years. The long-range weather forecast looks like mainly dry with some light rain in the build-up to the event but certainly warmer than we have been used to - well into double figures.

"I think this will probably make the event faster than we have seen, with more grip from the drier stages. I think it will also make it more competitive, as when the conditions are very bad, a little local knowledge can be useful but better weather makes for a more even field.

"I didn't do the event last year, when it changed the route considerably, so I'm looking forward to this year. It's a shame the Great Orme road isn't used in 2012 but in the main, the stages are ones I have some knowledge of so we're not starting from scratch.

"The brief is to provide a support role to PG, who is leading the SWRC at the moment. I know that the S2000 class will be very competitive - there are nine S2000 cars, 11 if you include the two VW Motorsport Skodas, so it's not going to be an easy weekend by any stretch but we're definitely looking forward to it and the challenge."

The event begins with a ceremonial start in Llandudno in the very north of Wales in the evening of Thursday 13 September before six stages in Mid-Wales, with three run in two loops. The crews then head to Cardiff for the first of the two overnight halts, before six more stages on Saturday and a superspecial stage to close the day.

Sunday then sees a further six stages run as two loops of three, culminating with the Walters Arena Power Stage. The first crews are expected at the finish in Cardiff at 15.30 on Sunday 16 September.


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