Rally driver James Lepley, 21, from Collingham, sets his sights on Historic class win as he begins first full championship

A young rally driver is hoping to learn from the experiences of his older brother and father as he begins his first full rally championship next weekend.

James Lepley, 21, from Collingham, will begin the BTRDA on Saturday, March 12, at the Malcolm Wilson Rally in Cumbria.

James is the son of Jason and younger brother of George, who have both established their names in the sport.

“With it being my first full season, the main thing for me is to learn from the experience,” said James.

“It is such an experience-based sport from what I have heard from my brother and my dad.

“There is no substitute for seat time and this will be my first full championship season.

“It is the largest rally championship in the UK as well.

“I am going to be competing in a Ford Escort in the Historic class, which is one of the most competitive and followed classes in British rally, so I am going straight into the deep end.”

James said he previously competed as a teenager but stopped due to lockdown

“I did my first rally at 17 in Fulbeck and I won my class so I was happy with that,” he said.

“I then had a bit of a streak of bad lucky because I had the same pace for a couple of rallies but every time my car broke down and I had to retire.

“I was convinced the car was jinxed.”

Lepley’s previous rallying experiences have been based mostly on road courses, however, he is looking to change that.

“I went about 18 months without rallying through covid,” he said.

“Since coming back, I have done three rallies on gravel and there are a lot of different dynamics to that, as you’d know.

“On tarmac, it is consistent in terms of grip levels and braking — you know what to expect.

“On gravel, every corner is different. One could be slippery, one could be fine, and you have to manage where you are with that all the time.

“There are often tramlines on gravel where there is more grip, but an inch to the left or right could change everything.

“I have shown good pace over my first three rallies on gravel, but I had a couple of teething problems with the new car.

“It was never anything enough to retire to the car, but enough to slow us down.”

James hoped to start the championship off with a win in Cumbria and said he wanted his hands on a trophy by the end of the season.

“I am competitive and I have been showing good pace, so ideally I want to win the Historic Cup,” he said.

“It may seem optimistic, but I want to push myself.

“I will also be in a two-wheel championship and I’ll be competing against modern machinery so I’d be keeping an eye on that as well, but my main focus is the Historic Cup.”