Brecon rally driver, Sara Williams, had double reason to celebrate at the weekend, picking up a top award and finishing the Mid Wales Stages 12^th overall in her KLARIUS Group backed Subaru Impreza.

Her weekend started when she was invited down to Silverstone Race Circuit, home of the British Grand Prix, to pick up the Louise Aitken-Walker Award for top placed rally driver in the British Womens Racing Driver Club (BWRDC). Not only did she pick up the fantastic award, but she was also presented it by her hero, Louise Aitken-Walker.

“Louise is a really hero of mine. She’s an inspiration to my rally driving and proof of what can be achieved by a woman at the top level of a very male dominated sport.” said Sara.

The award is the latest in a string of high-profile accolades for the Brecon 22 year old. In 2010 she picked up the 2300 Motor Club’s John Easson Award, which provides over £4,000 to help an upcoming driver gain experience and progress their career.

It wasn’t all mingling with race and rally stars for Sara, as she had to compete herself on the Rally Marketing Mid Wales Stages, which took in Hafren, Myherin and the Sweet Lamb Complex on the Sunday morning.

“It’s great to get back in the car on a surface which hasn’t been ice!” exclaimed Sara. “The Wyedean wasn’t a great start to the year but we got a good points haul in the Pirelli MSA Welsh Forest Rally Championship. Our Ice Driving Experience in Sweden though was much more enjoyable and I really felt like I’ve been able to put some of the skills I learnt to good use today.”

The Mid Wales Stages acts as the opening round of the Welsh Clubman Championship and gave Sara the first opportunity of the year to test the car since it underwent development work during the winter.

“These are very similar stages to the one’s we used on Wales Rally GB back in November. We know the car was down on power during the event and have changed quite a few components to solve the problem.

“Our pace has been good and has certainly increased during the day and I’m really happy to finish 12^th overall and 8^th in class. The car feels like a new car – I’ve got to say a big thanks to Geoff and the guys at Geoff Jones Motorsport who’ve complete transformed it.”

Sara is supported this year by KLARIUS Group, Ian Jones Tyres, Woodford Trailers, Brecon Car Rental and Brecon Motors with additional support from Millers Oils. She’s planning to contest the Bulldog Rally next, which starts in Welshpool, on the 24^th March – the second round of the Pirelli MSA Welsh Forest Rally Championship.

You can follow her progress on Twitter @SaraRally and her website, www.sararally.com.