News
50 PWRC CONTENDERS ALREADY ENTERED FOR NICKY GRIST
News from the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship
Thursday, June 5, 2025
50 PWRC CONTENDERS ALREADY ENTERED FOR NICKY GRIST
Another packed entry for the Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship will be a key feature of this year's Nicky Grist Stages on Saturday, July 12.
For the third round of the PWRC, 50 crews have already entered the popular Builth Wells-based event, and it is likely that more will join the entry list with five weeks still to go until the rally.
The Nicky Grist Stages, which runs on classic special stages in the Epynt region of mid Wales, is the mid-point of this year's Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship as it marks round three of six. With close to 140 entries across the entire event, it is also a strong indicator that forest rallying in Wales is back to very good health after a delayed start to the year due to the damage caused by Storm Darragh.
Two notable PWRC entries will join many of the championship regulars in search of more points in the season-long contest. Defending champion Matthew Hirst and co-driver Declan Dear will make their first PWRC start of the season in their Skoda Fabia R5 while former British Rally champion Osian price has also registered for the PWRC with his historic specification Ford Escort Mk2 from the Wales Motorsport team.
It all adds up to another superb field for the Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship, which will continue at the end of August with round four, the Woodpecker Stages based in Newtown.
Championship co-ordinator Bryn Pierce said: "I'm delighted that we've already got 50 registered crews entered for the Nicky Grist and I'm sure we have a few more still to come. It will be great to have Matthew Hirst back in the championship and we look forward to welcoming Osian Pryce to the PWRC."
Two young contenders from this year's championship will win a fabulous chance to work with the M-Sport World Rally Championship team as a weather crew on Rally Japan later this year.
The top scoring under 25 driver and co-driver after the Nicky Grist Stages on July 12, will have a unique opportunity to see how the M-Sport team works on an event, the chance to learn from team professionals and meet the current M-Sport drivers and co-drivers. Accommodation with the team and travel whilst at the event is included so the lucky pair will only need to cover their flight costs to Japan.
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:
3 Jul 12 Nicky Grist Stages
4 Aug 30 Woodpecker Stages
5 Oct 25 Cambrian Rally
6 Nov 8 Wyedean Rally
Championship registration is now open and is available via: https://wnrc.wamc.org.uk
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:
JUNIORS IN PWRC BATTLE FOR M-SPORT PRIZE
JUNIORS IN PWRC BATTLE FOR M-SPORT PRIZE
The under-25 contenders in the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship are currently battling for the chance to attend Rally Japan as a weather crew thanks to an amazing prize from M-Sport.
The top scoring under 25 driver and co-driver after the Nicky Grist Stages on July 12, will have a unique opportunity to see how the M-Sport team works on an event, the chance to learn from team professionals and meet the current M-Sport drivers and co-drivers. Accommodation with the team and travel whilst at the event is included so the lucky pair will only need to cover their flight costs to Japan.
After two of the season's six rounds, it is Liam Clark and Riley Chester who top the driver ranks while Jack Bowen has a handy lead in the co-drivers' table. However, it could all change on round three, the Nicky Grist Stages
U25 drivers' points after two rounds
1 Liam Clark 54
2 Riley Chester 32
3 Oliver Phillips 5
= Harri Reynolds 5
= Dylan Fowler-Bishop 5
U25 co-drivers' points after two rounds
1 Jack Bowen 25
2 Liam Jones 12
3 Harri Evans 10
4 Harry Walshaw 7
5 Jack Morris 5
Championship co-ordinator Bryn Pierce said: "The Nicky Grist is going to be a very important date for our under-25 contenders. There is everything to play for and the two top scorers after round three will receive an amazing opportunity to see just how a WRC team works. We are very grateful to everyone at M-Sport for making this award possible."
Othe 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:
3 Jul 12 Nicky Grist Stages
4 Aug 30 Woodpecker Stages
5 Oct 25 Cambrian Rally
6 Nov 8 Wyedean Rally
Championship registration is now open and is available via: https://wnrc.wamc.org.uk
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:
PURCELL GRABS PIRELLI WELSH RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP VICTORY
PURCELL GRABS PIRELLI WELSH RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP VICTORY
Irish crew Andrew Purcell and Martin Brady made a very late call to contest the Plains Rally (Saturday May 17) in their Ford Fiesta Rally2 and came away with an event victory and maximum points in the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship.
As forest rallying made a very welcome return to Wales, the sun bore down on the stages of Alwen, Aberhirnant and Dyfnant to deliver a fast and very dusty rally for the second round of the Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship.
Purcell only decided to contest the event three days before as he sought further seat time and was a late registration for the PWRC. Despite struggling to find the right pace for the event, Purcell finished the day 10 seconds up on the similar Fiesta Rally2 of Liam Clark and Jack Morton, as Clark moved into the overall lead in the PWRC points.
Clark suffered a diff problem in the first run of Dyfnant, which he reckoned cost him around 10 seconds. The fact that Purcell's winning margin was also 10 seconds means that it could have been very close at the end of the day. Into a fine podium position came James Giddings/Aled Davies (Mitsubishi Lancer E9: Fordpad/Tandom/MetDem), after a typically storming drive while next in the Welsh points were historic contenders Dan Mennell/John Roberts (Mennell Motors/Pirelli/Speedline) who had a tremendous day despite Mennell injuring his wrist when it was caught in the steering wheel. A bag of frozen peas, bought from a small village shop on a road section, helped get him through to the finish.
Back in the four-wheel-drive section of the rally, David Tomlin/Keith Ashley (Ford Fiesta R5: Axon Commercial Catering Equipment) and Bob Morgan/Adrian Williams (Skoda Fabia R5: Winner Garage Skoda Cinderford) had a wonderful battle that was only settled on the final stage when Tomlin edged ahead by a single second after a great performance from both crews.
Half a minute back from them came Wug Utting/Bob Stokoe (Subaru Impreza: Utting Estates/Geoff Jones (Wales) Motorsport) while Jonathan Jones/Osian Owen had a good debut forest run in their Mitsubishi Lancer E10 to chase Utting home.
Finishing well on his gravel rally debut was Rob Morris with Paul Spooner alongside. This was only Morris's third rally after making the switch from off-road motorsport and he loved every minute of learning about his new Citroen C3 Rally2 in the forests. Wrapping up the PWRC scorers in Class 1 were Colin Minton/Jordan Joines (Ford Fiesta R5) and Paul Lomas/Mark Leader (Ford Fiesta R5: Plant Speed Ltd).
Giddings/Davies were clear winners in Class 2 from Jones/Owen while PWRC points were claimed by Peter Baylis/Paul Godden (Mitsubishi Lancer E9: Artificial Lawn Company), Rob Aslett/Ashley Aslett (Subaru Impreza) and Geoff Cottrill/Nathan Crewe (Mitsubishi Lancer E9: Cottrill Transport).
Andrew Fox/Jaime Lee-Fox (BMW 325: Fitzgerald Plant Services/ Severnside Defibs & Training) had a strong run in tough conditions to claim Class 3 but only by 48s from David Jones/Glyn Price (BMW E30), while Utting/Stokoe topped Class 4.
Riley Chester/Steve Davey (Ford Fiesta R2) continued their impressive season as Chester bagged more important PWRC points towards the M-Sport Under 25 Award.
Lee Robinson/Daniel Robinson (Ford Fiesta) were next up in Class 5 among the PWRC contenders.
A fine Class 6 victory went to Geoff Phelps/Colin Jenkins (Ford Escort Mk2: Cherry Rock Ltd/Dave Jenkins Motorsport). Next up were Jeremy Harris/Alexandra Harris (Kilcot Garage Ltd/PJW Construction/Gurneys Family Butchers) and Tim Phelps/Peter Wilson (Britpart) while Paul Gorge/Harriet Worth did well to guide their Mazda MX-5 though some demanding stages.
Martin Walters/Marie Fletcher (Honda Civic: Digger Parts Direct) had a very good day to scoop maximum PWRC points in Class 8 while a strong PWRC contingent in Class 9 finished in the order of Geraint Williams/Liam Jones (Vauxhall Nova: Gwynedd Skip and Plant Hire/GW Services/RG Hire Ltd/Ceir Seiont Cars/T D Plant Hire/Carafannau Ham), Adam Booth/Daniel Granger (Vauxhall Corsa), Dominic Hodge/Brian Cammack (Humphris Motorsport) and Joel Lewis/Jamie Mills (Peugeot 106: Bucknell Auto Services).
With a strong historic field for the event, notable class performances for PWRC points included those from the Ford Escorts of Chris Hellings/Glyn Thomas (Flat Crest), Hywel Davies/Sion Rowlands and Peter Hinton/Glenn Mercer (Yorkshire Garden Maintenance/Rallynuts), while the Volvo 244 of Darrell Denning/Alex Lewis (Genuine Cars and Classics/J&S Handling) topped Class H7 in style.
The pace in Class H8 was intense and leading the PWRC chase of Mennell were Ben Friend/Cliffy Simmons (Allglass Anglia), Rudi Lancaster/Guy Weaver and Robert Gough/Jack Bowen, with Gough dropping time in the early stages with a puncture.
Gareth Bevan/Craig Nelson (Freemans Bodyshop) were next up in H8 while a quartet of PWRC contenders battled all day in Ford Escorts and finished in the order Ron Morgan/Jordan Jones, Jeremy Wells/Martin Saunders, Lyn Davies/Aled Richards (57 Tyres) and Peter Jones/Gareth Davies. Finally, the Peugeot 205GTi of Paul Clayton/Veera Johnson (Retro, Race and Rally/PD Extinguishers) won Class H11.
Two young contenders from this year's championship will win a fabulous chance to work with the M-Sport World Rally Championship team as a weather crew on Rally Japan later this year.
The top scoring under 25 driver and co-driver after the Nicky Grist Stages on July 12, will have a unique opportunity to see how the M-Sport team works on an event, the chance to learn from team professionals and meet the current M-Sport drivers and co-drivers. Accommodation with the team and travel whilst at the event is included so the lucky pair will only need to cover their flight costs to Japan.
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:
3 Jul 12 Nicky Grist Stages
4 Aug 30 Woodpecker Stages
5 Oct 25 Cambrian Rally
6 Nov 8 Wyedean Rally
Championship registration is now open and is available via: https://wnrc.wamc.org.uk
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:
Pirelli Welsh Championship Returns to home ground
News from the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
PIRELLI WELSH RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP RETURNS TO HOME GROUND
Round two of the 2025 Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship will be a prominent element of Saturday's Plains Rally (May 17) as rallying makes a welcome return to the Welsh forests.
For the first forest rally in Wales since the end of October, due to the aftermath of Storm Darragh, the Bala-based Plains Rally has drawn a tremendous entry and no less than 50 of the competing crews will be chasing points in the second round of the Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship.
The PWRC season started with an away date on the Kielder Carlisle Stages in April, but now it's back to home ground for the Welsh contenders with gravel special stages in Alwen, Aberhirnant and Dyfnant making up a full day of forest action on this popular north Wales event. However, absent from the entry list will be Russ Thompson and Stephen Link who took maximum points in Kielder as the Plains' date clashes with Stephen's stag weekend and so their attention will be elsewhere.
Instead, it is Liam Clark who will head the four-wheel-drive contenders away in his Ford Fiesta Rally2 and he will be strong in a bid to score maximum PWRC points. At the time of writing, his co-driver was yet to be confirmed. Setting off in hot pursuit of Clark will be James Giddings/Aled Davies (Mitsubishi Lancer E9: Fordpad/Tandom/MetDem), Bob Morgan/Adrian Williams (Skoda Fabia R5: Winner Garage Skoda Cinderford), David Tomlin/Keith Ashley (Ford Fiesta R5: Axon Commercial Catering Equipment), Martyn Andrews/Steve Greenhill (Subaru Impreza)
and Wug Utting/Bob Stokoe (Subaru Impreza: Utting Estates/Geoff Jones (Wales) Motorsport).
PWRC contenders pack out the four-wheel-drive element of the rally and 14 of the 24 four-wheel-drive cars will be chasing Welsh points. The field is packed out by Colin Griffiths/Marc Morgan (Subaru Impreza: Cefnsuran Farm Self Catering Holidays), Peter Baylis/Paul Godden (Mitsubishi Lancer E9: Artificial Lawn Company), series newcomer Jonathan Jones with co-driver Osian Owen (Mitsubishi Lancer E10), Colin Minton/Jordan Joines (Ford Fiesta R5), Paul Lomas/Mark Leader (Ford Fiesta R5: Plant Speed Ltd), Rob Morris/Paul Spooner, Rob Aslett/Ashley Aslett (Subaru Impreza) and Geoff Cottrill/Nathan Crewe (Mitsubishi Lancer E9: Cottrill Transport).
Of particular note is newcomer Rob Morris, who has the super experienced Paul Spooner alongside as co-driver in his potentially very quick Citroen C3 Rally2. Their progress will be one of the talking points of the four-wheel-drive competition.
The Plains features a strong historic field as a gaggle of historic contenders chase PWRC points. Top of the pack are George Lepley and Dafydd Evans (Mitsubishi Galant VR4: Jordan Road Surfacing/Workflow Services/Tyre Shop Ollerton/Kielder WT/Witham Motorsport). Lepley will be chased by a horde of rapid Ford Escort Mk2s, including Dan Mennell/John Roberts (Mennell Motors/Pirelli/Speedline), Ben Friend/Cliffy Simmons (Allglass Anglia), Robert Gough/Jack Bowen, Rudi Lancaster/Guy Weaver and Gareth Bevan/Craig Nelson (Freemans Bodyshop).
Also running in historic specification BDG-powered Escorts are Lyn Davies/Aled Richards (57 Tyres), Ron Morgan/Jordan Jones, Peter Jones/Gareth Davies and Jeremy Wells/Martin Saunders.
Among the other historic classes are the quick Ford Escort Mk1 Pintos of Gary Smith/Clive Jones, Chris Hellings/Glyn Thomas (Flat Crest) and Tim Jones/Yvonne Walton (Walton Contracting), while young racer Harri Reynolds, son of former rally champion Julian, will make his forest rally debut with Pat Walsh alongside in their Pinto-engined Ford Escort Mk2.
Peter Hinton/Glenn Mercer (Yorkshire Garden Maintenance/Rallynuts) go up against Reynolds in a similar car and historic variety comes with the Volvo 244 of Darrell Denning/Alex Lewis (Genuine Cars and Classics/J&S Handling) and the Peugeot 205GTi of Paul Clayton/Veera Johnson (Retro, Race and Rally/PD Extinguishers).
The third PWRC element of the event, and one of the strongest, is the non-historic two-wheel-drive division. In the 2-litre class, the Ford Escort Mk2s of Geoff Phelps/Colin Jenkins (Cherry Rock Ltd/Dave Jenkins Motorsport), Tim Phelps/Peter Wilson (Britpart) and Jeremy Harris/Alexandra Harris (Kilcot Garage Ltd/PJW Construction/Gurneys Family Butchers) go up against Paul Gorge/Harriet Worth (Mazda MX-5) and Mike Brown Snr/Nikola Brown (BMW Compact).
The 1600cc class should be a straight fight between Chris Butcher/Jonathan Hawkins (Vauxhall Corsa: Severnside Defibs & Training) and Greg Mills/Andrew Sankey (Ford Escort Mk2) while the hotly contested 1400cc class is topped by the remarkably rapid Nissan Micras of Dylan Fowler-Bishop/Dan Evans and Ashley Francis-Adams/Mark Ammonds. Ranged against the Micas will be Geraint Williams/Liam Jones (Vauxhall Nova: Gwynedd Skip and Plant Hire/GW Services/RG Hire
Ltd/Ceir Seiont Cars/T D Plant Hire/Carafannau Ham), Adam Booth/Daniel Granger (Vauxhall Corsa), Joel Lewis/Jamie Mills (Peugeot 106: Bucknell Auto Services) and the one-litre Micra of Dominic Hodge/Brian Cammack (Humphris Motorsport).
Other two wheel drive contenders include David Jones/Glyn Price (BMW E30), leading junior contender Riley Chester with Steve Davey in his Ford Fiesta R2, Lee Robinson/Daniel Robinson (Ford Fiesta), the VW Polo of Martin Pendlebury/Emma Cooper (Wilsons Auctions) and the Peugeot 206 of Brynli Thomas/Catrin Price (WA Motorsport).
The rally starts from Bala on Saturday morning and at around 5pm the finishers will return to Bala to spray the champagne and celebrate their results. With dry weather forecast for the build up to the event, this could be a dusty rally over fast and flowing special stages and will be a glorious celebration of forest rallying as it makes its return to Wales.
Championship registration remains open and can be taken at scrutineering for the Plains Rally in Bala on Friday, May 16.
Two young contenders from this year's championship will win a fabulous chance to work with the M-Sport World Rally Championship team as a weather crew on Rally Japan later this year.
The top scoring under 25 driver and co-driver after the Nicky Grist Stages on July 12, will have a unique opportunity to see how the M-Sport team works on an event, the chance to learn from team professionals and meet the current M-Sport drivers and co-drivers. Accommodation with the team and travel whilst at the event is included so the lucky pair will only need to cover their flight costs to Japan.
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 schedule for the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship is:
2 May 17 Plains Rally
3 Jul 12 Nicky Grist Stages
4 Aug 30 Woodpecker Stages
5 Oct 25 Cambrian Rally
6 Nov 8 Wyedean Rally
Championship registration is now open and is available via: https://wnrc.wamc.org.uk
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:
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