Former World Rally Championship driver Tom Williams returns to the American Rally Association National Championship in 2026, driving a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 for Standard Motorsport.
The Englishman, and co-driver Ross Whittock, won the ARA’s RC2 category in a Ford Fiesta Rally2 back in 2022, but haven’t competed in the United States since 2023’s Southern Ohio Forest Rally.
However Toyota’s entry, among an increased volume of Rally2 entries, has tempted Williams back to fight for overall glory instead of just a class championship.
“I’m definitely looking forward to coming back to the ARA. We’ll be going for the overall result, that’s for sure,” Williams told DirtFish.
“I didn’t want to leave the States when I was competing last time, but it felt towards the end that Open 4WD was the dominant force compared to RC2. Now with the Toyota and Seth Quintero coming and Subaru not runnung its Open-class car, RC2 is becoming the priority, which is how I felt it should have been when I was last out in the States.
Williams can see great potential in ARA
“I’m working with Ross for the first time since ARA too so it’s back where we left off, we have four-time champion Keaton Williams as the team coordinator and we have a partnership with 10-time champion David Higgins, so it all fits well. We’ve built together a nice team.”
The 27-year-old isn’t yet in a position to commit to the full season, but Williams will also start his native British Rally Championship which begins a week before Olympus (April 11).
“As long as I’m out and in the Škoda – so the same car and same co-driver – and am consistently getting out in the car every month, that’s our main priority to be honest,” he said.
“And then of course with the direction the rules are going in the future with [Rally2] cars [being on parity with Rally1] – WRC, ARA BRC – there’s a lot of opportunity, I think, in the near future, especially in ’27.”
Williams will drive a Fabia from Standard Motorsports
Williams “would love” to do the full ARA season if he can build up enough sponsorship, as he can see strong momentum building in the series.
“I really hope the championship gets the recognition it should,” he said. “This blend of new competitors, more RC2 cars, more Rally3 cars, Toyota GR seems to have a strong presence as actual TGR out there, which is massive as it’s the operation leading the WRC. Hopefully you get Jari-Matti [Latvala] to drop in and do an occasional event and that would really set a bar.
“For all this to be unfolding against the unique, home-built cars in ARA makes for a brilliant buzz. I’m excited for it. It’s just nice to be out in the car with this fresh team – let’s make an opportunity out of this.”
