Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship

Riley Chester on his M-Sport trip to Japan

As you're all aware M-Sport offered our mid season Junior leaders a trip to rally Japan, one of the biggest prizes in UK rallying today. One of the recipients was Riley Chester and we're please to share his words below.

Our hugest thanks to Rich Millener and all at M-Sport for making this possible.

Riley's words:

What an experience!!!

I was given the opportunity of a lifetime, to be part of the m-sport team at rally japan being part of the weather crew.

I had an incredible time out there being part of the team having and getting to watch the wrc in person for the first time was amazing

From dreaming of being at wrc event to being part of a team made it so special understanding how everything works and how quickly everything happens.

Not knowing what would come at the start of year being in the forest and having a different car to see where me and my crew are now is great to look back on.

Thank you to the Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship for offering the award to me and a huge thank you to my crew Mick Harris, David Graham, Richard Chester and the biggest thank you to Daniel Chester because I wouldn't of had this opportunity without your support.

HIRST AND DEAR CLAIM PIRELLI WELSH CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE

Monday, November 10, 2025

HIRST AND DEAR CLAIM PIRELLI WELSH CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE

Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear wrapped up a stunning season by winning the Wyedean Stages Rally (November 8) to take maximum points in the Pirelli Motorsport UK Welsh Rally Championship and win the overall title for the fifth time.

This was an exemplary performance from Hirst and Dear, who know the tricky Forest of Dean stages well and they won from the front in their Delta Salvage/Witham Motorsport Skoda Fabia R5. They were quickest by a significant margin on the opening Speech House stage and never looked back as they dominated the rally to win by 1m20s. Even though they only contested four of the six PWRC rounds, four big results were enough to secure the championship over rival Liam Clark in his Ford Fiesta Rally2.

Hirst said: "We've pushed in places and had a fantastic day with no problems whatsoever. We always enjoy rallying in the Forest of Dean. We've tried the new Pirelli tyres and they've worked a treat. We knew that a conservative approach would reap the rewards that we needed. But it's always an event that can catch you out quite quickly and we just needed to drive well within ourselves. It's great to cap off the year like this."

With the rally running in warm and sunny conditions and the Forest of Dean looking spectacular in autumnal colours, a big turn-out of spectators and slick organisation from the Forest of Dean Motor Club, this was a great climax to the championship season.

Having sat on the reserve list until a couple of days before the rally, Clark made a late rush to be at the Wyedean for his first taste of these particularly tricky stages, with Harry Stubbs co-driving. "It was like driving on ice," said Liam of the morning loop of stages when he made the wrong call on tyres. With tyres changed and suspension tweaked, things went better in the afternoon but any chance of beating Hirst to the Pirelli Welsh title was gone. Instead, he finished a very worthy second after an excellent campaign.

Third overall from the PWRC ranks was local hero Bob Morgan with Ade Williams alongside in their Winner Garage Skoda Cinderford Skoda Fabia R5 on stages Bob can almost see from his garage business.

Morgan had a fine day despite suffering a collapsed front hub in the morning loop, which left the brake pedal going to the floor. Fortunately, the problem was resolved at service and he kept up his strong pace to take third.

Out of luck was longtime Welsh championship leaders James Giddings and Aled Davies, who went out with a broken gearbox on their Fordpad/Tandom/MetDem Mitsubishi Lancer E9. Nik Elsmore and Pauline Nash, in a Skoda Fabia R5 hired for the event, suffered a broken wheel, which led to further suspension damage and retirement. Initially, Elsmore had been one of those leading the chase of the flying Hirst.

Chasing Morgan was the Citroen C3 Rally2 of Rob Morris/Paul Spooner (RMG Groundworks) as Morris scored his best gravel result to date, while David Tomlin and Keith Ashley (Ford Fiesta R5) took sixth overall after a good day.

Other 4WD finishers from the PWRC ranks included the Subaru Impreza of Rob and Ashley Aslett, the Mitsubishi Lancer E9 of Geoff Cottrill and Nathan Crewe and the Subaru Impreza of Hywel Davies and Sion Rowlands. Non-finishers were the Ignition Motorsport Ford Fiesta R5 of Colin Minton/Jordan Joines and the Mitsubishi Lancer E9 of Peter Baylis/Paul Godden (Artificial Lawn Company), which collected a tree but fortunately without harm to the crew.

Andrew Fox/Jaime Lee-Fox took the over two-litre Class W12 with another strong performance in their BMW 325 as fellow BMW crew David Jones and Glyn Price scooped a good finish on what they say will be their last rally.

Among the two-litre Class W11 cars, Ford Escort Mk2 crew Geoff Phelps and Colin Jenkins (Cherry Rock Ltd/Dave Jenkins Motorsport) had a fine day even though on the last stage they lost second and third gears. This cost as much as 30 seconds and dropped them down the overall order a position or two to tenth, but they were still clear of the rest to be the leading two-wheel-drive finishers from the Welsh championship ranks.

Tim Phelps/Peter Wilson (Britpart Ford Escort Mk2) and Jeremy and Alexandra Harris (Kilcot Garage Ltd/PJW Construction/Gurneys Family Butchers Ford Escort Mk1) chased Geoff Phelps in the class but Mike Brown Snr/Nikola Brown (BMW E36 Compact) did not reach the finish.

Martin Walters and Marie Fletcher posted a rare retirement in Class W10, for the up to 1600cc cars, in their Digger Parts Direct/Tegiwa Honda Civic, leaving the way open for Andrew Hussellbee and Alex Lewis to take top points in their Peugeot 306 RWD.

Another notable performance came from Joel Lewis and Jamie Mills in their Peugeot 106GTi in the 1400cc class while Dominic Hodge and Brian Cammack headed the one-litre cars in their Humphris Motorsport Nissan Micra.

In Class W3 for road rally specification cars, Colin Evans and Megan Williams took the spoils in their BMW 318Ti from the Peugeot 206 GTi of Lewis Davies and Tom Wood.

Among the historic crews there was a mighty performance from the Alllglass Ford Escort Mk2 of Ben Friend and Cliff Simmons to get up into the top six overall. Sadly their pace went unrewarded when a broken steering arm on the final stage put them out of the rally. Instead, Charles Hopkinson/Alan Jones showed good pace to see off the similar Ford Escort Mk2 of Lyn Davies/Aled Richards.

Gary Smith and Clive Jones were early retirements from Class W8 in their Ford Escort Mk1 while Darrell Denning/Luke Palmer (Genuine Cars and Classics /J&S Handling Volvo 244GL) also failed to make the finish. Instead, Paul Clayton and Veera Johnson (Retro Race and Rally/PD Extinguishers Peugeot 205 GTi) took maximum points in Class W7.

Awards within the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship include the David Stokes Historic Challenge award for drivers and the Guy Weaver award for co-drivers, Hockly Motorsport awards for 2WD and 1400cc and the 57 Tyres Welsh Challenge for drivers and co-drivers who have not finished in the top 10 overall on any round of the Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship or any equivalent status championship event. The Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship remains dedicated to helping develop young rally talent and with the support of OnThePaceNote and Restruct, the under-25 category continues to grow.

Issued by Paul Lawrence on behalf of the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship. Tel 07778 547918. For enquiries about the championship, please contact Bryn Pierce via e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

PIRELLI WELSH CHAMPIONSHIP DECIDER IN THE FOREST OF DEAN

News from the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship

Tuesday, November 4, 2025

PIRELLI WELSH CHAMPIONSHIP DECIDER IN THE FOREST OF DEAN

The Forest of Dean will host the final round of this year's Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship on Saturday 8 on the Wyedean Stages Rally and there could be a winner-takes-all battle for the overall title.

As the event marks 50 years of the rally organised by the Forest of Dean Motor Club, the notoriously tricky stages will welcome a capacity entry of cars, including around a third of the total entry from contenders in the Welsh championship.

From a base at Ross-on-Wye, the crews will tackle seven stages over roads that can be slippery and narrow in places and the final destiny of this year's Welsh title will be decided by the time the crews return to Ross-on-Wye at around 4pm on Saturday.

To complicate the title permutations, leading contender Liam Clark in his Ford Fiesta Rally2 was still showing on the reserve list at the time of writing. However, if he can secure a place on the entry, Clark knows that he has to beat his arch rivals Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear in their Delta Salvage/Witham Motorsport Skoda Fabia R5 if he is to win the title.

Alternatively, if Hirst and Dear take maximum championship points on Saturday, they will win their fourth straight Pirelli Welsh championship title. With the best four scores from six rounds Hirst and Dear have rocketed into contention over the second half of the season with maximum scores on the Nicky Grist and Cambrian rallies and points for second place to Clark on the Woodpecker Rally.

These are stages that Hirst knows well as he has won the last four editions of the rally. Conversely, if he makes it on to the start list, this will be Clark's first time tackling these special stages.

Though they cannot now win the overall title, strong contenders for the final overall championship podium will be James Giddings and Aled Davies in their Fordpad/Tandom/MetDem Mitsubishi Lancer E9 after a fantastic season.

However, a dark horse for the event will be Nic Elsmore and Pauline Nash, who step up to a Skoda Fabia R5 for the first time. Elsmore has an impressive record on his local event and has won it twice in his Mitsubishi Lancer E9 so his pace in the R5 will be watched with great interest.

Other contenders in the class for Rally2 and R5 cars include the Skoda Fabia R5 of locals Bob Morgan/Adrian Williams (Winner Garage Skoda Cinderford) and the Citroen C3 Rally2 of Rob Morris/Paul Spooner (RMG Groundworks). The Ignition Motorsport Ford Fiesta R5 of Colin Minton/Jordan Joines is another Class W14 entry and back after a recent sporting foray to Italy will be David Tomlin and Keith Ashley (Ford Fiesta R5).

Chasing Giddings in the class for non-Rally2/R5 four-wheel drives will be the Mitsubishi Lancer E9 of Peter Baylis/Paul Godden (Artificial Lawn Company), the Subaru Impreza of Rob and Ashley Aslett and the Mitsubishi Lancer E9 of Geoff Cottrill and Nathan Crewe. Hywel Davies and Sion Rowlands step up to join the class in a Subaru Impreza.

Andrew Fox/Jamie Lee-Fox have the upper hand in the over two-litre Class W12 in their BMW 325 but will need to fend off fellow BMW crew David Jones and Glyn Price to be sure of the class title.

Among the two-litre Class W11 cars, Ford Escort pair Geoff Phelps and Colin Jenkins are now secure as class champions for the year but have plenty of opposition on the event from Tim Phelps/Peter Wilson (Britpart Ford Escort Mk2), Jeremy and Alexandra Harris (Kilcot Garage Ltd/PJW Construction/Gurneys Family Butchers Ford Escort Mk1) and Mike Brown Snr/Nikola Brown (BMW E36 Compact).

Martin Walters and Marie Fletcher have had a fine season in Class W10, for the up to 1600cc cars, in their Digger Parts Direct/Tegiwa Honda Civic and head to the Wyedean in search of another class win over rivals Andrew Hussellbee and Alex Lewis in the unique rear-wheel drive Peugeot 306.

Favourite for glory in Class W9 for the top historic cars is the Ford Escort Mk2 of Ben friend and Cliff Simmons, although even a win would not be enough for them to take the title in the championship. Charles Hopkinson/Alan Jones and Lyn Davies/Aled Richards are the rivals for Friend.

Gary Smith and Clive Jones are set to secure Class W8 in their Ford Escort Mk1 while Peter Hinton has already done enough to settle Class W7 in his Ford Escort Mk2. On Saturday, Paul Clayton and Veera Johnson (Retro Race and Rally/PD Extinguishers Peugeot 205 GTi) and Darrell Denning/Luke Palmer (Genuine Cars and Classics /J&S Handling Volvo 244GL) will contest the division. Colin Evans and Megan Williams look set to take another Class W3 success in their BMW 318 Ti but face the Peugeot 206 GTi of Lewis Davies and Tom Wood.

In the 1400cc class Joel Lewis and Jamie Mills are aiming to complete a perfect season of class wins in their Peugeot 106 XSi while the same applies in the one-litre division to the flying Humphris Motorsport Nissan Micra of Dominic Hodge and Brian Cammack.

HIRST AND DEAR TOP PIRELLI WELSH CHAMPIONSHIP IN NORTH WALES

News from the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship

Monday, October 27, 2025

HIRST AND DEAR TOP PIRELLI WELSH CHAMPIONSHIP IN NORTH WALES

Mathew Hirst and Declan Dear were the absolute class of the field on a truly challenging Cambrian Rally on Saturday, October 25, which formed the fifth and penultimate round of this year's Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship.

In their Delta Salvage/Witham Motorsport Skoda Fabia R5, Hirst and Dear dominated the Interclub section of the event to finish more than 50 seconds ahead of the rest of the field and open up the possibility of winning the championship for a fourth time in a row when the season concludes on the Wyedean Rally on Saturday November 8.

In Welsh championship terms, leading the chase of Hirst and Dear were Liam Clark and Jack Morton in their Ford Fiesta Rally2 and they had a strong day in the wet and slippery forests of Clocaenog, Brenig and Alwen but we're a little way back from the winning Fabia.

In Class W14 came good runs the Skoda Fabia R5 of Bob Morgan/Adrian Williams (Winner Garage Skoda Cinderford), the Citroen C3 Rally2 of Rob Morris/Paul Spooner (RMG Groundworks) and the Ignition Motorsport Ford Fiesta R5 of Colin Minton/Jordan Joines, who all battled through the tough stages to return to the finish in Llandudno.

On a day of many retirements, the most significant in PWRC terms was that of James Giddings and Aled Davies in their Fordpad/Tandom/MetDem Mitsubishi Lancer E9 after problems in the opening 12-mile stage in Clocaenog. The non-finish is a clear blow to their overall championship aspirations.

Instead, topping Class W13 for the non-R5 and Rally2 four-wheel drives was a strong performance from the Mitsubishi Lancer E9 of Peter Baylis/Paul Godden (Artificial Lawn Company). Leading the chase of Baylis was the Subaru Impreza of Wug Utting and Jack Morris (Utting Estates/Geoff Jones (Wales) Motorsport) and Frazer Martin/Dylan Bargate (Mitsubishi Lancer E6) while the Subaru Impreza of Rob and Ashley Aslett wrapped up the finishers.

Riley Chester and co-driver Bonnie Papper topped Class W4 in their Ford Fiesta after tremendous run as the Fiesta and revelled in the conditions. Meanwhile, Class W11 was won by the Vauxhall-engined Ford Escort Mk2 Simon Millington/Samuel Kelter, out for only their second rally of the year in the immaculate car.

Stepping up to an Opel Adam R2 for the first time, Oliver Phillips and Barry Young (GPM/Damper Tek) delivered one of the drives of the rally to win class W10, for the up to 1600cc cars, in impressive style. They finished the day well ahead of the Honda Civic of Martin Walters/Marie Fletcher (Digger Parts Direct/Tegiwa). Out of luck were Martin Pendlebury/Yvonne Walton (Wilsons Auctions VW Polo) who limped through the first Clocaenog stage with a failed driveshaft and retired.

In Class W9, for the most powerful historics, Robert Gough and Jack Bowen Ford Escort Mk2 were clear winners while Class W8 was topped by the Ford Escort Mk1 of Gary Smith and Clive Jones.

Dylan Fowler-Bishop and Dan Evans hurled the little Nissan Micra through the forests and took maximum points in the 1400cc Class W2. On their final outing of the PWRC season the Vauxhall Nova of Geraint Williams/Ifan Rowlands (Gwynedd Skip and Plant Hire/GW Services/RG Hire Ltd/Ceir Seiont Cars/T D Plant Hire/Carafannau Ham) went out with engine issues, leaving and Ross Clements/Christopher Lear (MG ZR) to complete the class finishers.

In Class W1 the Peugeot 106 of Joel Lewis/Jamie Mills (Bucknell Auto Services) had a strong run while in Class W0 the 1000cc Micra of Dominic Hodge/Brian Cammack (Humphris Motorsport) took maximum points to seal the class title for 2025 after a tremendous campaign.

There were a significant number of retirements in the challenging conditions and among the PWRC non-finishers were Hywel Davies/Sion Rowlands (Ford Escort Mk2), the Mazda MX-5 of Paul Gorge and Bob Wiggins, the Ford Escort Mk2 of Ron Morgan/Jordan Jones, Peter Hinton/Ryan Witty (Yorkshire Garden Maintenance/Rallynuts Ford Escort Mk2), Gareth Bevan/Ian Jones (Ford Escort Mk2) and Colin Griffiths/Marc Morgan (Subaru Impreza) while Andrew Fox/Jamie Lee-Fox didn't make the start in their BMW 325

Now the focus of attention turns to the deciding round, the Wyedean Stages in the Forest of Dean on Saturday November 8. There is still everything to play for and it promises to be a fitting finale to a tremendous season of rallying in the Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship.

The remaining round of the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship is the Wyedean Rally on Saturday November 8.

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