Bilham targets a ‘Plains sailing’ outing in Wales

Photo credit: Chicane Media

Fiesta ST Trophy leader Sam Bilham aims to stay out front at the Plains Rally this weekend

Sam Bilham will head to the fourth round of the Ravenol BTRDA Rally Series this weekend in a bid to retain the lead of the hotly contested Fiesta ST Trophy at the Welshpool based Plains Rally. Having led the single make championship from round two in Cumbria, the Reis Motorsport Insurance backed 19 year old will aim to capitalise on his recent performance and hold onto his slender eight point lead.

The Bingley ace has a one hundred per cent finishing record so far this year and has continued to improve as each event of the seven round series goes by. His solid pace has netted him the lead of the series, one which he is eager to hold onto as the championship heads back into Wales on Saturday (14th May).

The Fiesta ST Trophy has gone from strength to strength in 2016 and has attracted the attentions of many experienced drivers who have been attracted by the prizes on offer. But Bilham has only recently upgraded to the M-Sport built machine, using the events to learn the car and adapt to left hand drive which is a new experience for The Next Big Step graduate.

Despite winning seven rounds of the 2014 Rally First 1.0 series in his previous Nissan Micra, the Plains Rally victory eluded Bilham. But he remains realistic about his chances this time round. “It’s probably too early to expect a win in the Fiesta Trophy at this point of the season” he says. “I’m still learning the car and the set up so we do have an open mind when it comes to being at the front after this weekend. But we are picking up the pace as each round goes by so the plan is to continue that in Welshpool and see where we are at the end of the day.”

The Plains Rally is held across the same stages as the World Rally Championship finale’ Wales Rally GB and Bilham believes its all good experience for the future. “These stages are a great leveller and although a few contenders in the series have sampled these stages many times before, hopefully it will be a little dryer than when they may have contested them in November ”hes ays. “The surface can change really quickly so we need to watch out for that and the plan is most definitely to bag another finish to help our points tally for the season.”

Sam is supported by Reis Motorsport Insurance, Mechanical Solutions, Pertemps Recruitment, The Next Big Step, Gareth Hooper Motorsport Services, Vital Equipment and The Garage at Stanley Mills. For more information on Sam and his rallying career, visit www.sambilham.co.uk

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