A RISING Mancunian rally star is to start a full FIA European Rally Championship campaign for the first time this weekend, but he may have never got to this stage without his strong roots to the Forest of Dean.

Chris Ingram will start his first full FIA European Rally Championship campaign for the first time in a Toksport-run Skoda Fabia R5 with the Azores Rally this weekend.

The reigning European junior champion and former Opel Germany driver will compete in a full programme in a R5 car, backed by new sponsor street style fashion designers 11 Degrees, and ahead of what he says will be a “massive year”, he recounts his connection to the area.

“My dad’s been friends with Paul Willetts since the early 1980s from the road rallying days, and he worked with dad when he was running a WRC car,” Ingram said. “Dad also competed on the Wyedean a few times and won it in 2006, Paul also used to take me off watching when I was a small lad, when my dad was competing, and he’s helped me a lot over the years with advice, his contacts worldwide are endless,” he added.

“I did my first gravel rally with Cliffy Simmons on the 2012 Wyedean, but unfortunately we rolled at the end of Sallowvallets in my Renault Twingo in very icy conditions. Jack Walby did the Tempest rally with me in the Twingo and we had a great day, and I was well pleased to see Jack win the Wyedean in 2016 as he’s a good co-driver.”

After three years of trying to win the ERC junior series against some tough opposition, last year was make or break.

It all came down to the final round in Latvia with a winner-takes-all fight with team mate Jari Huttanen, also in a Opel Germany Adam R2. After day one he trailed the Finn by 24 seconds, but he battled on and became the first British driver to win a European title in 49 years.

“Day one hadn’t gone well so I was a bit frustrated, but I got a text from Paul as I usually did, saying ‘tomorrows another day, attack you’ve nothing to lose now, put pressure on him’,” Ingram said. “We pushed hard, Huttanen went off, lost two minutes and the title was ours.”

This year’s ERC championship sees crews go from the gravel Volcanic Island of the San Miguel to the tarmac of the Rally Islas Canarias, before gravel rallies in Cyprus, Acropolis in Greece, former WRC event Rally Poland before a return to asphalt with Rally Di Roma in Italy and Barum Rally in Czech Republic with the season finale in Latvia.

“He is a tremendous talent and so focused,” said Willetts. “It was great to see him finally win the junior title last year, he’s been up against people with big budgets and rival Jari Huttanen was being mentored by former world champion Marcus Gronholm and did a lot of rallies last year, whereas Chris was only able to the ERC junior rounds.

“He works tirelessly to try and find sponsorship, so its fantastic 11 Degrees have come on board to help finance a full programme in a R5 car, but he’s under no illusions its going to be tough. There are 35 R5s on round one this weekend, but this needs to be a two year plan to go for the title, given a lot of his rivals have got a lot more four-wheel-drive experience.”