Sir Chris Hoy MBE and Amy Williams MBE to participate in the Colin McRae Stages Rally
The Colin McRae Forest Stages Rally will see two champions turning briefly away from their Olympic sports in favour of rallying this weekend. Great Britain’s cycling legend Sir Chris Hoy, and Skeleton icon Amy Williams, will both attempt to complete the famous rally this weekend, which takes place in Aberfeldy, Scotland (05 October).
This year the Scottish rally, which is named after the late, great rallying superstar Colin McRae will be the penultimate round of the Scottish Rally Championship. Although Sir Chris Hoy will not be directly competing, he will be facing all stages in the course car alongside five-time British Rally Champion, Jimmy McRae. The Olympic cyclist is a long-time fan of the sport and hosted BBC2’s tribute to Colin McRae in the series ‘Racing Legends’ earlier this year.
As if one Olympian wasn’t enough, fans of rallying will also see Skeleton Gold medallist, Amy Williams MBE, compete in the rally alongside Sky Sports News’ F1 analyst Tony Jardine. This will be the third rally that the duo have undertaken as she strives to achieve international co-driver status in time for the final round of the World Rally Championship, Wales Rally GB (14-17 November).
Williams and Jardine have made an impressive start to their rallying challenge with not only two first in class wins but also two top twenty finishes. The successful partnership debuted at another Scottish rally, the Merrick Stages, and last weekend competed in Rally Yorkshire.Having now completed two out of the four rallies she needs to finish in order to make it to Wales Rally GB, Williams is feeling the pressure to impress. Williams said; “Now I’ve completed my first two rallies, I feel more confident in my co-driving. However, The Colin McRae Forest Stages Rally is such a spectacular rally, famous for its special stages that test the nerves of even the most experienced drivers. I definitely won’t be getting complacent! Every rally is an entirely different ball game and it’s a sport that will carry on testing my limits!”Jardine said of the Olympic partnerships on the forthcoming rally; “This meeting will be a solid gold moment for British rallying. Having two supremely fit and talented athletes bravely trying their hand at something completely different to them is extremely inspiring and it’s great to be a part of it. The Colin McRae Forest Stages looks set to be a treat for rallying fans and in turn will raise awareness of the great sport that is British rallying."
Supporting Amy Williams and Tony Jardine in her co-driving quest to reach World Rally Championship level will be the ProSpeed rally team and the key sponsors include PlayStation®, Gran Turismo®6, MIS Motorsport, Sky Bet, Alpinestars and Arai.
