Olympic Amy aims for rallying gold

OLYMPIC GOLD medallist Amy Williams OBE is taking on new challenge when she takes part in the Wales Rally GB that starts on 14 November.

Williams will be driving a rally-prepared Mitsubishi Evo and will be co-driven by veteran expert and Sky Sports News Formula One pundit Tony Jardine.

Although she had never competed in a rally until recently, Williams has had an intensive 10 weeks of training, including tuition from professional rally driver Elfyn Evans.

Commenting on her new challenge, Amy Williams said: "I can’t pretend I’m not nervous, I was comfortable until I sat down in front of a mountain of paperwork, maps and rules, and then I started to panic! This is a whole new game on an entirely different level.

"Right now I am feeling a lot of pressure, although, it’s a very different kind from the skeleton – there I was in my comfort zone and people were expecting results! Here, even though the other rallies have gone well so far, the World Rally Championship will be a totally different and much tougher challenge."

Tony Jardine said: "Amy has done spectacularly well to get this far. With the four rallies completed in a variety of conditions, we have developed a partnership through good chemistry, and we have the fantastic ProSpeed team around us led by Olly Marshall. However, we know it is still going to be pretty tough – with 10 hours without any team support on Friday alone, our aim is simply to finish!"

By Press Association reporters