IOAN Lloyd and co-driver Sion Williams will conclude their FIA Junior European Rally Championship on the Croatia Rally this weekend (October 3-5) and have a chance of securing an incredible second overall in the championship.

Lloyd heads to Croatia lying second overall in the Junior ERC after a fabulous debut season so far at this level and is determined to retain that position against strong opposition.

Lloyd, 22-years old from Llandysul in West Wales and his co-driver Williams, of Blaenau Ffestiniog, are contesting the hugely competitive international series in a Peugeot 208 Rally4 from Tagai Racing Technology (TRT) based in Hungary. The six-round Junior ERC is one of the most competitive and prestigious junior rally championships in the world.

Croatia Rally has a recent heritage in the World Rally Championship and is based close to Zagreb. It covers 110 miles of competitive rallying in 10 special stages. Lloyd will start as car number 41, the second Junior ERC contender behind 2025 champion Calle Carlberg.

Lloyd said: “It is crazy to think that we are already at the season finale. I’m really looking forward to it. We've progressed a long way this year and we can be really happy with where we are at heading into the last round.

“The plan for Croatia is to try our best, as always, and try and finish well and have a good result in the championship.”

With major rival Jasper Vaher not competing in Croatia after an accident on Rally Zlin, it is Irish driver Craig Rahill who is the main challenger for Lloyd as he bids to finish runner-up to Carlberg.

“We've had a few good races in the past with Craig,” said Lloyd. “We can afford to finish one place behind him, so we just need to bear that in mind. We need to be sensible and do our usual thing.

“Croatia looks a really tricky rally and quite low grip. From what I've seen in previous years, I think there will be quite a lot of pollution from the cuts. I think it'll be quite tricky and there could be some mixed conditions at this time of the year. But I think after the mixed conditions we had on Rali Ceredigion, we’ve got a good feeling heading into Croatia.”

Ioan Lloyd is supported by David Byrne Auto Repairs, West Wales Rally Spares, Huw Jeffreys and Sons Plumbing and Heating Engineers, Suirway Forklifts, Towy Works, Mark Jukes Containers, Allglass Anglia, ARE Refrigeration and Electrical, 2300 Club John Easson Award, Towy Electrical Ltd, BCC IT, Wyn Thomas Heating, Peugeot Sport UK/Ireland, Motordrive Seats, Castell Howell Foods, Garej Tyn y Pistyll, Monit Motorsport, Solid Designs, Gomer Press, Atech Racing, A1 Detailing, Neil Spain, Mintex, Kielder WT, Gareth Owens Building Contractor, Safety Devices International Ltd, TRS Safety Equipment, Abba Trees and Stepside Agricultural Contractors.