Wyn Humphreys will resume his British Trials and Rally Drivers Association Rally Championship (BTRDA) campaign, when he contests the Red Dragon Rally on Saturday 21st May 2005. Following his second and first place results on the Panaround and Gwynedd rallies respectively, Humphreys is hungry to keep his BTRDA championship moving in the right direction.
The 21yr old Subaru Impreza driver has no high aspirations for his visit to South Wales and the Swansea based rally, with his main aim to keep in front of the Under 25 category in the BTRDA series.
"We have had two maximum scores in the class so far this season. We need to keep a level head for the weekend and capitalise our position in the championship."
The Aberdyfi driver will again be partnered by his experienced Machynlleth co-driver, Mark Lewis. While the pair are happy with their pace, they are confident they can up the game as the season progresses.
" We have only contested five events in total with the car and as a team we have more to offer, with more to come with me as a driver and also with the car."
While the pair concentrate on their rally activities, they are also keen to assist the Wales Air Ambulance and help raise funds for the service throughout their 2005 campaign. The Wales Air Ambulance is a registered charity (charity no.1083645) operating an emergency helicopter ambulance service within the principality. Their aircraft operate from Swansea in the South and Caernarfon in the North responding to emergency 999 calls anywhere in Wales seven days a week, including parts that are inaccessible to road crews.
The helicopters are manned by a pilot and two advanced life support ambulance paramedics and carry the same equipment as a road ambulance. The service has been operating since 2001 and has been responsible for saving countless lives throughout Wales. While traffic congestion is becoming heavier each year which obviously has an impact on the time road ambulances take to respond to emergency calls, the air ambulance have now become a vital tool in the front line of pre hospital emergency care by getting paramedics to accident sites in the shortest possible time.
The Regional Development Manager for Wales Air Ambulance, Steve Jones enthused,
"The Wales Air Ambulance are pleased to be associated with Wyn Humphreys and Mark Lewis in their quest to assist us in raising funds to keep our helicopters flying. Rally teams are more than aware of the dangers involved in motorsport and the need for rapid paramedic intervention and patient evacuation in the event of an accident is paramount. Our helicopter ambulances can reach the furthest and most remote parts of Wales in less than 25 minutes making this the most effective response to sporting venues off the beating track."
Wales Air Ambulance are funded totally by public donations and the current operating cost of the service is £2 million per annum. As the demand for the aircraft increases every year then the cost needed to operate will also increase.
"We are appealing to members of the public to support us by joining our in house lottery, making a donation or by undertaking an event on our behalf. If you would like to assist us please call Swansea 08700 720999 or Wrexham 08700 736999."
The rally gets underway on Saturday morning with forty-five miles over six competitive timed stages to test crews through Rheola, Resolven and Rhondda forests in the Vale of Neath. Spectators are welcome at the purpose built Walters Arena where the action can be seen from 9.09am and again 14.27pm
Wyn and Mark are supported in their 2005 campaign by TEG Sport and Pen Rhos Garage and
