Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship

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.

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.

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.

PIRELLI WELSH CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE RACE MOVES TO NORTH WALES

News from the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship

Tuesday, October 21, 2025

PIRELLI WELSH CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE RACE MOVES TO NORTH WALES

The Lewis and Hunter Cambrian Rally on Saturday October 25 marks round five out of six in this year's Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship and there is absolutely everything still to play for in the title race.

Like many championships, the PWRC got off to a delayed start when the planned opening two rounds were lost to the damage caused in the Welsh forests by last winter's storms. However, that prompted a rare away day when the championship went to Kielder for its opening round on the Carlisle Stages in April.

Since then, the dry and dusty conditions of the Plains Rally in May and the scorching heat of the Nicky Grist Stages in July were followed by a wet and muddy Woodpecker Rally at the end of August. Now the season concludes with the Cambrian and then the Wyedean Rally in early November and three crews are vying for the coveted title.

James Giddings and Aled Davies currently top the points after an exemplary season in their Fordpad/Tandom/MetDem Mitsubishi Lancer E9 but chasing hard is Liam Clark, who has had more than one co-driver in his Ford Fiesta Rally2. Clark topped the PWRC points on the Plains and the Woodpecker and only a non-finish on the Nicky Grist due to engine woes has blunted his challenge. For the Cambrian he has ace co-driver Jack Morton alongside, which will be a boost to his title bid.

Meanwhile, bubbling under but well down the order at present are Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear in their Delta Salvage/Witham Motorsport Skoda Fabia R5. Hirst and Dear missed the opening two rounds but have since taken a win and a second and know that two more victories could yet win them the championship for a fifth time and the fourth time in a row. With the best four scores from six rounds to count, it is wide open heading to Llandudno but all three crews need a big result on the Cambrian to keep up their momentum in the championship contest.

Among the other leading contenders in the top class are the Skoda Fabia R5 of 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.

The Class W13 battle for the non-R5 and Rally2 four-wheel drives is equally hotly contested although Giddings and Davies do have the upper hand. Leading the chase is the Mitsubishi Lancer E9 of Peter Baylis/Paul Godden (Artificial Lawn Company) and the Subaru Imprezas of new paring Wug Utting and Jack Morris (Utting Estates/Geoff Jones (Wales) Motorsport) and Rob and Ashley Aslett. Frazer Martin/Dylan Bargate (Mitsubishi Lancer E6) join the contest this weekend.

Andrew Fox/Jamie Lee-Fox top Class W12 in their familiar and very quick BMW 325, while the Class W11 contest includes the Ford Escort Mk2 Simon Millington/Samuel Kelter and the unusual but effective Mazda MX-5 of Paul Gorge and Dan Wiggins. However, the arrival of the flying Iwan Roberts Jnr and Daniel Jones in their Ford Escort G3 could upset the class equilibrium.

Class W10, for the up to 1600cc cars, will be contested by the Honda Civic of Martin Walters/Marie Fletcher (Digger Parts Direct/Tegiwa) and the Opel Adam of Oliver Phillips/Barry Young (GPM/Damper Tek), with Phillips and Young chasing a third class win on the bounce. Martin Pendlebury/Yvonne Walton (VW Polo) rejoin the class.

In Class W9, for the most powerful historics, Robert Gough and Jack Bowen will be tough to beat in their Ford Escort Mk2 but the similar car of Gareth Bevan and Ian Jones will be chasing hard.

Among the other historic divisions, Class W8 is topped by Gary Smith/Clive Jones, Class W7 by Peter Hinton/Ryan Witty (Yorkshire Garden Maintenance/Rallynuts) and W6 by Hywel Davies/Sion Rowlands, all in various types of Ford Escort.

Rapid teenager Riley Chester and co-driver Bonnie Papper head Class W4 in their Ford Fiesta and in the ever competitive up to 1400cc division, Class W2, the other contenders will be hard pressed to match the flying Nissan Micra of Dylan Fowler-Bishop/Dan Evans. Chasing as hard as ever will be 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) and Ross Clements/Christopher Lear (MG ZR).

Class W1 is led by the Peugeot 106 of Joel Lewis/Jamie Mills (Bucknell Auto Services) while Class W0 is home to the hard-charging 1000cc Micra of Dominic Hodge/Brian Cammack (Humphris Motorsport).

From a rally base in Llandudno, the Cambrian Rally takes in more than 50 miles of special stages in classic forests including Clocaenog, with mid-day service at Ruthin. The rally finish is back in Llandudno from just after 5pm on Saturday.

The remaining schedule for the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship is:

5 Oct 25 Cambrian Rally

6 Nov 8 Wyedean Rally

Championship registration is now open and is available via: https://wnrc.wamc.org.uk

CLARK HEADS PIRELLI WELSH CHAMPIONSHIP ON WOODPECKER

CLARK HEADS PIRELLI WELSH CHAMPIONSHIP ON WOODPECKER

Liam Clark and new co-driver Chris Williams topped the contenders in the Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship during round four, the Woodpecker Stages on Saturday, August 30.

In truly testing conditions, as intensifying rain made the forests incredibly slippery, Clark drove a faultless rally to scoop maximum points and finish third overall in his Ford Fiesta Rally2. "We found the morning better than the afternoon," said Clark. "But it was just inconsistent grip, and it was an achievement just to finish this one," he added. A late puncture in stage six cost a little time in an otherwise trouble free rally.

The same could not be said for Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear in their Delta Salvage/Witham Motorsport Skoda Fabia R5, who finished just 10 seconds back and second among the PWRC pack. However, they were handed two minutes' worth of road penalties during the afternoon loop and also lost time when they caught a slower car limping out of stage six in what proved to be a frustrating day for the reigning champions.

Another strong performance netted third PWRC points for James Giddings/Aled Davies (Fordpad/Tandom/MetDem Mitsubishi Lancer E9) who survived a trip into a ditch on the second stage and spent the day searching for whatever grip was available. "We got straight out of the ditch. We were lucky that the bank was soft," said Giddings of the second stage incident.

There was a big battle for the honour of the Forest of Dean as Bob Morgan/Adrian Williams (Winner Garage Skoda Cinderford Skoda Fabia R5) headed Nik Elsmore/Ifan Devine (CDS Taxis/Calico Interiors Mitsubishi Lancer E9) by just four seconds after a day-long contest. Half a minute back after a strong run was the Ford Fiesta R5 of David Tomlin/Keith Ashley (Axon Commercial Catering Equipment).

Wug Utting/Bob Stokoe (Utting Estates/Geoff Jones (Wales) Motorsport), Colin Griffiths/Marc Morgan (Cefnsuran Farm Self Catering Holidays) and Rob Aslett/Ashley all battled through the day to finish in their Subaru Imprezas, as did of Colin Minton/Jordan Joines (Ignition Motorsport Ford Fiesta R5) and Geoff Cottrill/Nathan Crewe (Cottrill Transport Mitsubishi Lancer E9).

Sadly, the ever-growing list of retirements included Russ Thompson/Stephen Link (GPM/PD Extinguishers Mitsubishi Lancer E9s) with a wheel off in stage one while driveshaft failure sidelined the Citroen C3 Rally2 of Rob Morris/Paul Spooner (RMG Groundworks). Other retirements include the Mitsubishi Lancer E9 of Peter Baylis/Paul Godden (Artificial Lawn Company) and the Subaru Impreza of Martyn Andrews/Steve Greenhill.

Osian Pryce and Dale Furniss (Wales Motorsport Ford Escort Mk2) were magnificent as they took third place overall Welsh points and won the historic section by handsome margin. It was a faultless drive from the former British champion as Dan Mennell/John Roberts (Mennell Motors/Pirelli/Speedline) and Robert Gough/Jack Bowen led the chase. A little way back, Rudi Lancaster/Guy Weaver narrowly headed the new pairing of Stefaan Stouf and Paul McCann.

Hywel Jones and Sion Rowlands had a good day in their Escort Mk2 to finish second in class H6 in the Interclub section, finishing clear of the Escorts of Peter Jones/Gareth Davies, Graham Palmer/Mike Webb, Lyn Davies/Aled Richards (57 Tyres) and the Volvo 244 Darrell Denning/Steve Wellman (Genuine Cars and Classics/J&S Handling). Ron Morgan/Jodan Jones (Restruct/Wales Motorsport) and Peter Hinton/Ryan Witty (Yorkshire Garden Maintenance/Rallynuts) were also pleased to reach the finish of a challenging event.

Class wins from the historic ranks went to the VW Golf GTi of Chris Hellings/Daniel Morefield and the Ford Cortina GT of David Wood/Reece Brookes. Out of luck were Richard Gough and Johnny 'Tad' Evans who slid their Escort Mk2 into a ditch and Neal James/Brian Stubbs who retired with a misfire in the morning loop, while the Peugeot 205 GTi of Paul Clayton/Veera Johnson went out in the afternoon loop.

The BMW of Mike and Nikola Brown scored an emphatic Class 3 victory, well clear of fellow BMW crews Andrew Fox/Jamie Lee-Fox and David Jones/Glyn Price. Despite losing a lot of time, Riley Chester and co-driver Steve Davey battled home to score maximum PWRC points in Class 5 in their Ford Fiesta.

Class 6 was all about family rivalry as Callum Griffiths beat his brother Liam by half a minute. Callum and William Lewis kept their Ford Fiesta ST150 ahead of Liam and Robbie Sandford as both attacked the wet and muddy stages in some style. The Ford Escort of Geoff Phelps/Colin Jenkins (Cherry Rock Ltd/Dave Jenkins Motorsport) led the chase of the Fiestas but Jeremy Harris/Alexandra Harris (Kilcot Garage Ltd/PJW Construction/Gurneys Family Butchers) were off in SS2.

Further back in Class 6 were the Escorts of John Woodward/Kevin Ikin, Simon Millington/Samuel Kelter and Russell and Wendy Mason. Paul Gorge and Daniel Hurst (Mazda MX-5) were another crew to make it home despite a major time loss.

In Class 7, for the up to 1600cc cars, the Opel Adam of Oliver Phillips/Barry Young (GPM/Damper Tek) had a very strong run to head the Honda Civic of Martin Walters/Marie Fletcher (Digger Parts Direct/Tegiwa) from the Welsh championship contenders.

The up to 1400cc PWRC pack was again topped by the hard-charging Nissan Micra of Dylan Fowler-Bishop/Dan Evans. Chasing the mighty Micra was the Vauxhall Nova of Geraint Williams/Caron Tomlinson (Gwynedd Skip and Plant Hire/GW Services/RG Hire Ltd/Ceir Seiont Cars/T D Plant Hire/Carafannau Ham), the Peugeot 106 of Joel Lewis/Jamie Mills (Bucknell Auto Services) and the 1000cc Nissan Micra of Dominic Hodge/Brian Cammack (Humphris Motorsport).

Other 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.

The remaining schedule for the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship is:

5 Oct 25 Cambrian Rally

6 Nov 8 Wyedean Rally

Championship registration is open and is available via: https://wnrc.wamc.org.uk

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