Castrol MEM Rally Team has unveiled an all-Welsh star-studded line-up for its assault on the 2026 British Rally Championship – with Osian Pryce/James Morgan joining Meirion Evans/Dale Furniss in a two Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 car squad.
Osian drove for Melvyn Evans Motorsport (MEM) when he clinched the BRC drivers’ title in 2022 and returns to the familiar surroundings of the Carmarthenshire-based team for another all-out attack at the title.
The 33-year old Machynlleth-born driver has an enormous amount of experience, and few drivers anywhere in the world have competed in as many different R5 and Rally2 cars as Osian.
The opening round of the 2026 BRC, the Severn Valley Stages (11 April), will be Osian’s first event in a Pirelli-shod Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, and his 125th rally start.
Osian will team up with James Morgan (from Llandysul in Ceredigion) for the 2026 BRC season. The pair have done one rally together before – the 2015 Cambrian Rally.
This will be Meirion Evans’ third season with the Castrol MEM Rally Team, having established the squad with his father Melvyn Evans at the beginning of 2024.
Having started rallying in 2009, the 30-year old from Lampeter in Carmarthenshire also has a vast amount of experience. Once considered an asphalt rally expert, Meirion is now equally at home competing on gravel, having challenged for victory on several major loose-surface events last year.
Meirion will contest the forthcoming Rally North Wales (28 March) as a pre-season test in the Michelin-shod Toyota.
He’ll continue to be partnered by Dale Furniss (from Llanfyllin in Powys), who finished third in the 2025 BRC co-drivers’ standings after an excellent season guiding Meirion last year.
Castrol MEM Rally Team will be aiming to add to its BRC Teams’ title that it won in 2024 and score a straight hat-trick of BRC Drivers’ and Co-drivers’ titles – having won with Chris Ingram/Alex Kihurani in 2024 and William Creighton/Liam Regan last year.
Osian Pryce said: “It’s nice to return to the British Rally Championship with a familiar team and top Rally2 machinery. I’ve been searching for a way back into a regular seat in a Rally2 car for a while, and it came when I was least expecting it. It was nice to receive the ‘phone call and to hear that I’m still considered worthy of the opportunity.
“I’m really looking forward to it. It’s obviously going to be a new challenge taking on a new car, but the best results have always come for me when I’m in the same car on a regular basis, and I’m very much looking forward to working again with Melvyn Evans Motorsport.
“It would be nice to start where we left off with Melvyn Evans Motorsport last time. A few years have gone by since then, but I’m really looking forward to the challenge and being back in the British Rally Championship in a top car. I’ve only sat in the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 so far, so I can’t wait to drive it for the first time. The aim is to do our best and hopefully take the title at the end of the year.”
Meirion Evans said: “I’m looking forward to my third season competing in the Castrol Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. The first year we did quite a lot of development work, dialling it in to not only my driving style but the nature of the British roads, because nobody else had taken on the car apart from us at that time. The last two years have been very good for the team, and I hope this year will be no different.
“We started 2025 knowing that we could win on asphalt, and we proved that. But by the end of the year we were on the pace on gravel too – especially on the Cambrian Rally, when we were fighting for the win all day. To go into the last round of the British Rally Championship last year with a chance of winning the title really showed what we are capable of and how far we have come.
“Last year was my first time with Dale [Furness] in the car and things clicked well. With a strong year behind us it will hopefully put us in good shape to get off on the right foot this year.
“With Osian as team-mate, it’s another very strong Castrol MEM Rally Team driver line-up. In the last two years it’s been my team-mate who has become British champion, so I like to make it hard for myself to win the title!
“First and foremost, though, it’s important for us as a team to make sure the car is winning rallies and championships. Last year both cars were on the podium on most events, which shows that the package we have is very strong, and we both went into the final round with a chance of winning the title. Hopefully it will be the same again this year.
“The last time Osian was with us he became British champion – but it’s also a title that I’d like to add to my career CV. It’s never an easy championship to win, but the important thing for us is that the best drivers are in our cars and we can go out and compete for wins.”
2026 British Rally Championship calendar
11 April….Severn Valley Stages
22/23 May….Borders Competitions Jim Clark Rally
5/6 June….Kielder Carlisle Stages
7/8 August….Grampian Forest Rally
4/6 September….Rali Ceredigion
24 October….Cambrian Rally