British Womens Racing Drivers Club Gold Stars Elite Award
Welsh rally driver Sara Williams has underlined her first successful foray into the French Renault Clio R3T Trophy that saw her competing literally at a high level throughout France. Driving in rallies that took her and co-driver Mark Glennester into the Cols of Mont Blanc, Midi Pyrenees and the Mountains that form the backdrop to the Cote D’Azur, just a few of the challenges she faced in 2017. Those distinctions were added to at the NEC Exhibition Centre in Birmingham Autosport Show in Birmingham last week-end, as Sara collected the prestigious Gold Star Elite Award presented by the British Womens Racing Drivers Club – an award that she first won some two years ago, and has now repeated. This latest win confirms her continued level of success and the respect in which she is held by her peers. That distinction was added to by the news that the Welsh star has also won the Louise Aitken Walker Trophy for the Rally section of the BWRDC , that will be presented at the clubs Presentation Dinner on February 4th.
Co-incidentally Louise started her journey to becoming Ladies World Rally Champion with a winning 1983 drive on a Welsh event, the Peter Russek National run by Port Talbot MC, and Sara too has been a winner on a major PTMC event, the Nick Bradbury Photographic Red Dragon Rally.
The young Welsh driver succeeded in her first time in a left hand drive front wheel drive Clio and the French series was also the first time she had to start making her own pace notes. She finished ninth overall and third Junior in this competitive championship. Sara also contributes to motorsport, representing the UK in the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission and is also the Welsh Association of Motorclubs Womens representative.
The winners of the prestigious BWRDC GoldStars Awards were announced and duly presented on the MSA stand at this year’s Autosport Show. The nominees were put forward by the Club to an independent panel of judges who chose the final winners. A BWRDC spokesperson said ‘The 2018 winners Elen Worthington, and Elite GoldStar Sara Williams were previous GoldStar winners in 2016 and both ladies have continued to go from strength to strength in their respective disciplines. We are delighted to honour our two worthy winners for the second time, as both their motorsport careers progress further’
Each winner received the BWRDC GoldStar Trophy, a limited edition BWRDC GoldStar Car sticker, a GoldStar Certificate, and as well as generous gifts from club sponsors Walero, The Motorsport Collective, The White Horse – Silverstone, Stand 21, MSV, and Cloud Embroidery.