Nabila Tejpar is preparing a season that promises strong emotions. The English will complete with a Proton Iriz R5 in the European Rally Championship. Tejpar, 27, battled Ekaterina Stratieva for the ERC Ladies Trophy title in 2019 with a Peugeot 208 R2.
Now armed with a Rally2-spec Proton Iriz R5, Tejpar has hired two-time British Rally Championship title winner Matt Edwards as co-driver. The navigator will debut in an international program, forming a good team for the occasion.
“This is really an exciting comeback for me after being out of action for more than 12 months due to the pandemic,” Tejpar said.“Without a doubt, it is one of the biggest challenges that I have faced in my career. I do not think that any of this is easy at all”, he adds about it.
However, he believes it will be a beautiful year: “It seems the right time to try to push my sports career forward. Using an updated R5 car like the Proton in a contest like the European Rally Championship is the right way for me at this time”.
Tejpar comes from a “racing” family, as his father and grandfather also competed. He has always driven front-wheel drive cars. He debuted in the British Rally Championship in 2016 aboard a Ford Fiesta R2, before joining the Peugeot Rally Cup Ibérica in 2018, repeating the program in 2019.
The Proton, like the cars in its class, has all-wheel drive, a sequential gearbox and a 1600 turbo engine with 350 hp. “I always intended to race with such a car and I think it is the perfect choice. It is much easier than the Peugeot, I did two tests and they came out very well “, highlights the English.
And she concludes: “Basically, I’m not looking for great results this season. I’ll just try my best to learn going forward. I’m very excited to get going after so long out of the driver’s seat. We have a very nice year for the future”.
