Tom got into rallying at a young age, all through the fault of his father; Peter, who if he was not competing, would take Tom along to spectate on various different events. So Tom spent most of his teenage years either cleaning wheels/windows and polishing cars or trying to stay warm in a forest in the middle of Wales.

He started driving at 13 in a motorbike-engined buggy. He learned a huge amount, as sharp reactions were needed to keep it in a straight line. From there, Tom went to Martin Rowe’s ice driving school in Norway, before starting two years competing in Latvia, where drivers can enter rallies from 14 years old.

Tom managed two years of rallying in Latvia while he was also doing his GCSEs at school, which wasn’t an easy task. He started competing in an MG ZR and switched to a Group N Fiesta in 2008, as well as stepping up to the Latvian National Rally Championship, which is comparable to the British Rally Championship in terms of the events and the levels of competition.

After two years, Tom achieved his International rally license, which meant he could enter Wales Rally GB, as a privateer. However, it wasn’t quite that straightforward. He also had to pass his driving test and as there were only 18 days between his 17th birthday and the start of the rally, he had to pass first time.

Luckily, he got his license and with it, the chance to debut in the WRC and take the next step forward in his career and from there, he has progressed further and further, reaching some outstanding achievements in his rallying career and hopefully continuing to do in 2013; watch this space...