In the first of a series of exclusive GEMsport columns former British Rally champion and GEMsport team manager, Gwyndaf Evans writes about the launch of his new team, the inspiration behind it and the outfits debut outing on the Galway Rally in Ireland last weekend...
It's been a tremendous start to the season for all of us involved at GEMsport. In just a few weeks my vision of setting up a business dedicated to taking young, promising drivers and giving them a helping hand on the rallying ladder has become reality.
We already have our first win under our belts and the workshops in Dolgellau are a hive of activity as the season moves into top gear.
Last year the Evans’ rallying focus was on my efforts as part of the Mitsubishi works team in the British Rally Championship and on my son Elfyn in the Fiesta SportingTrophy.
And it was his success, and the difficulties faced by so many young drivers, which prompted me to explore the best way to help Elfyn, and others in his position make progress up a very difficult ladder.
For a number of years it has been so difficult for British drivers to reach the very top in this sport but hopefully with GEMsport we can make a difference.
GEMsport was put together in just a few short weeks and thanks to the enthusiasm and investment of key partners we have the funding in place to run not one but two drivers in two of the most competitive rally series running at the moment - the Fiesta SportingTrophy in the UK which is run on gravel and in Ireland where the drivers will be honing their skills on asphalt.
The 2008 project is being backed by the Carey Partnership LLP in association with
hustings.com, a new website designed to allow the easy comparison of political policies on specific issues.
And this tremendous support means that in addition to Elfyn we also have another talented youngster in the team - Mielyr Evans, no relation but funnily enough the brains behind
hustings.com is also an Evans!
![Elfyn Evans en-route to victory on the Galway Rally in the FSTIE [Pic credit: cmwi.net]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/405207.jpg)
