FRONT-RUNNING PACE GOES UNREWARDED FOR LLOYD
19 AUGUST 2025 18:40
Ioan Lloyd and co-driver Sion Williams showed winning pace but ultimately were forced to retire from the fifth and penultimate round of the FIA Junior European Rally Championship, the Barum Czech Rally Zlin (August 15-17).
Lloyd was challenging for the lead of the Junior ERC category but had to retire from the rally on Sunday morning after an off led to a double puncture. However, he still lies second overall in the standings after a fabulous run over the opening four rounds and is determined to retain that position when the final round runs in early October.
Lloyd, 22-years old from Llandysul in West Wales and his co-driver Williams are contesting the hugely competitive international series in a Peugeot 208 Rally4 from Tagai Racing Technology (TRT) based in Hungary. The six-round Junior ERC is one of the most competitive and prestigious junior rally championships in the world.
As the penultimate round of the Junior ERC, the Barum Czech Rally Zlin was based in the city of Zlin, around 200 miles south of the capital Prague. The asphalt event is notorious for bumpy and sometimes broken road surfaces and even featured several miles of gravel roads.
After a strong opening day Lloyd and Williams held second, just 11s off the Junior ERC leader. However, on Sunday morning they clipped a tree and bent the tracking on the Peugeot. They stopped and changed a wheel but the damage soon led to another puncture and they were left with no option but to post their first retirement in the championship.
Lloyd said: “It was seriously tough! A very, very demanding event but all the same, really enjoyable. There were a lot of loose sections and it was very bumpy: more than I’ve experienced before. It was really good experience for our progression and learning.
“On Saturday the morning wasn't so good but then we made some set-up changes at service and in the afternoon it felt really good. We climbed to second overnight, only 11 seconds off the leader and we knew we’d lost that with an overshoot in the morning just running wide on the first stage.
“I didn't really set any targets for Sunday. We just went out Sunday morning with a mindset of doing our own thing. The feeling in the car was good but, unfortunately, we went off and clipped the tree and that bent the tracking. it's just one of those mistakes we have to learn from and move forward. The tracking was so bent that it soon gave us a puncture. I change the puncture in the stage, but then we had a second puncture because the tyre was rubbing against the spring. So we ultimately retired from running out of tyres after a double puncture.
“On Sunday morning our pace was promising, and I think we were five or six seconds up on the split times. But we learn more from losing than winning. So there's no failures, it's just lessons.
“We're still second in the championship, but it just puts a bit more pressure on us for the final round in Croatia. It's similar to the pressure we had in the Stellantis Cup last year. The target is to try and keep second in our first year of Junior ERC, which would be amazing.
The results from Barum Czech Rally Zlin have confirmed Swedish driver Calle Carlberg as Junior ERC champion for 2025. “I’m delighted for Calle winning the championship: it’s very well deserved in his second season in Junior ERC. I think he's had a stunning season and the title is very well deserved.”
Ioan Lloyd is proud to be supported by David Byrne Auto Repairs, West Wales Rally Spares, Huw Jeffreys and Sons Plumbing and Heating Engineers, Suirway Forklifts, Towy Works, Mark Jukes Containers, Allglass Anglia, ARE Refrigeration and Electrical, 2300 Club John Easson Award, Towy Electrical Ltd, BCC IT, Wyn Thomas Heating, Peugeot Sport UK/Ireland, Motordrive Seats, Castell Howell Foods, Garej Tyn y Pistyll, Monit Motorsport, Solid Designs, Gomer Press, Atech Racing, A1 Detailing, Neil Spain, Mintex, Kielder WT, Gareth Owens Building Contractor, Safety Devices International Ltd, TRS Safety Equipment, Abba Trees and Stepside Agricultural Contractors.
The remaining date for the FIA Junior European Rally Championship is:
Oct 3-5 Croatia Rally
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