Chesterfield driver Yates off to a flier in British Rally Championship

The 27-year-old Yates, driving a Ford Fiesta R5 MkII, found both pace and performance. And he barely had time to catch his breath before he flew out to Torsby for Rally Sweden and the second round of his World Championship campaign this week.

It’s a measure of how far Yates has progressed that he was actually a bit disappointed by his display in Wales.

He explained: “One of the priorities for this year’s British Championship rounds was to be able to get out of the blocks more quickly.

“The British rallies are a bit shorter than the world events, so you’ve got to be at it from the first corner,and that’s not always been my strongest characteristic as a driver.

“On the first stage in Wales, I was right there. I went in with good aggression and really ready to stick it to them. My head was in the right place and I pushed pretty hard.

“I started to think about things a bit more on the second stage and maybe I wasn’t attacking quite as hard.

“We dropped a few seconds and then I spun and stalled at a junction on stage three. I got it going, but stalled again.

“It was all a bit frantic. I’d say we dropped at least 15 to 20 seconds. Suddenly, we came out of stage three and we were half a minute off the front.“I was a bit disappointed with that, but the good thing is that I know where the time went. Through the afternoon, the times were good again, but by then, I was aware we had third and some solid points waiting at the finish.“My emotions are mixed. Don’t get me wrong, I’m pleased we’ve put a result down. But I felt there was more to come if we could have stuck at that stage-one speed and not had the spin on stage three.

“Shoulda, coulda, woulda! At least we had points, a good start and a good way into Sweden.”

The big positive for Yates was the feeling he got from his car. He said: “I’ve never felt more comfortable with a car in a gravel rally.

“The pace was pretty quick at times, and it will be in Sweden, so you have to be comfortable with the car underneath you.

“I want to hit the ground running in Sweden. By the time it starts, I’ll have been in the Fiesta four times in a week. I’ve never had that much seat time before, and that can only be good for the confidence.”

Luckily also for Yates, reports suggest there’s not much snow or ice on the road in Sweden at the moment.