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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: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Thompson tops Pirelli Welsh opener

News from the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship

Monday, April 14, 2025

THOMPSON TOPS PIRELLI WELSH RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP OPENER

The 2025 Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship got off to a flying start on Saturday April 12 on the Kielder Carlisle Stages as the Welsh crews tackled the daunting Northumberland stages on a rare away event.

Russ Thompson/Stephen Link (GPM/PD Extinguishers - Mitsubishi Lancer E9) were top PWRC contenders and won the Interclub event overall after a tremendous performance. "We've had a very good day and we really enjoyed it," said Thompson who went into the fifth and final special stage with a 12s lead over the Ford Fiesta Rally2 of Liam Clark/Emily Easton-Page.

Thompson took a measured approach to the 11-mile Buck Fell stage in a bid to try and avoid any punctures and ended the rally with a seven-second winning margin. Thompson confirmed plans to chase the Welsh championship this season but will miss round two, the Plains Rally in May, due to a clash with Link's stag weekend.

Clark drove a strong rally to open his title bid. "We had a couple of moments but nothing major to report," said Clark. "The dust was hanging in the trees but when you got out into the open it was fine. I was just trying to keep up with Russ!"

James Giddings/Aled Davies (Fordpad/Tandom/MetDem - Mitsubishi Lancer E9) took third PWRC points. "We had a really good day and loved the challenge of Kielder," said Giddings, who had only competed there once before in a Fiesta. However, Harry Walshaw took PWRC co-driver points for third overall after a day alongside Alex Vassallo in the Wildwaters Seafood Ltd Ford Fiesta Rally2.

A gaggle of Ford Fiesta R5s packed out the next PWRC four-wheel-drive places as David Tomlin/Keith Ashley (Axon Commercial Catering Equipment) took fourth from

Colin Minton/Jordan Joines (Ignition Motorsport) and Paul Bonas/Glenn Mercer (Rallynuts Motorsport). Rob and Ashley Aslett were seventh but the similar Subaru Impreza of Colin Griffiths/Marc Morgan (Cefnsuran Farm Self Catering Holidays) retired mid-rally.

A strong field of historics chased Welsh points and top of the pack was the Ford Escort Mk2 of Dan Mennell/John Roberts (Mennell Motors/Pirelli/Speedline), which won the H8 class by a handsome margin after a typically attacking performance. Ron Morgan/Jordan Jones (Restruct/Wales Motorsport) and Lyn Davies/Kevin Jones (57 Tyres) were second and third in the class points.

Chris Hellings/Glyn Thomas (Flat Crest Ltd) made their debut in the ex-Craig Jones Ford Escort Mk1 to top class H3 from Tim Jones/Paul Barbet (Ford Escort Mk1). Peter Hinton/Ryan Witty (Yorkshire Garden Maintenance) won H6 in their Escort Mk2 and the Peugeot 205 GTi of Paul Clayton/Veera Johnson (Retro, Race and Rally/PD Extinguishers) clinched class H11 in the PWRC.

Out of luck this time were Ben Friend/Cliff Simmons (Allglass Anglia - Ford Escort Mk2) with gearbox problems and George Lepley/Dafydd Evans (Jordan Road Surfacing - Mitsubishi Galant VR4) who retired with engine issues late in the rally. Robert Gough/Jack Bowen joined the retirement list and Guy Weaver, co-driving for Stefaan Stouf in his Ford Escort Mk2, went OTL after being stuck in a ditch at the end of Buck Fell 1.

Geoff Phelps/Colin Jenkins (Cherry Rock Ltd/Dave Jenkins Motorsport - Ford Escort Mk2) had a fine day to take maximum class 6 points from the similar car of Tim Phelps/Peter Wilson (Britpart), while teenager Riley Chester and co-driver Steve Davey was very impressive as he won class 8 in his ex-Sam Mason Ford Fiesta R2 during what was only his third senior rally.

Dominic Hodge/Brian Cammack (Humphris Motorsport Nissan Micra) took a well-deserved win in class 9 over the Peugeot 106XSi of Joel Lewis/Jamie Mills (Bucknell Auto Services). "We've only got 998cc so it's a little slow up the hills," said Hodge of the hard-charging Micra.

Finally, on his first multi-venue rally, 17-year old Oliver Phillips and co-driver Barry Young (GPM/Damper Tek/Carbon Positive Motorsport - Opel Corsa) joined the retirements list during a demanding rally in the largest man-made forest in Europe.

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. Riley Chester and Harry Walshaw are among the early contenders.

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 full schedule for the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship is:

1             April 12              Kielder Carlisle Stages

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

Full event results are here: https://results.djames.org.uk/results/index.php?EventID=726&e=726&simple

A selection of images is available here (please credit Ben Lawrence):

https://we.tl/t-r5squs9PLP

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.

Rally Japan opportunity for Welsh Championship Juniors courtesy of M-Sport Ford World rally team

News from the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship

Wednesday, March 19, 2025 UNRIVALLED AWARD FOR PIRELLI WELSH CHAMPIONSHIP YOUNGSTERS

Two young contenders from this year's Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship will win a fabulous chance to work with the M-Sport World Rally Championship team on Rally Japan later this year. In a partnership between the Welsh championship and M-Sport, the leading junior driver and co-driver after the third round of the championship season will be invited to join the M-Sport team to work as a weather crew on Rally Japan in November.

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.

This unique prize has been developed to help promote young competitors from Wales and there is a tremendous synergy in that the prize will be awarded following the event supported by former World Rally champion co-driver Nicky Grist. M-Sport, of course, has an impressive record of success in Wales over some of the world's finest gravel special stages. The M-Sport Ford World Rally Team is no stranger to rallying in Wales and the principality was the scene of its most iconic World Rally Championship success at Wales Rally GB in 2017. On that memorable event, Welshman Elfyn Evans scored his first WRC victory in his Fiesta WRC, third place for Sebastien Ogier's Fiesta WRC sealed his fifth WRC drivers' title and M-Sport was confirmed as manufacturers' champions. Those links to Wales and the desire to promote juniors from both M-Sport and the Welsh Championship are the cornerstone of these new awards.

Rich Millener, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Principal, said: "M-Sport has a rich history of developing younger talent, but that development shouldn't necessarily be confined to just focusing on the driving roles. There are many other aspects to becoming professional drivers at the top of their sport. This prize offers the chance for two motivated and upcoming stars to join us on a WRC event to understand how much information is gathered and passed to the crews to operate at the top level of the sport. I hope the experience will give them a competitive edge as they go forward in their careers.''

Bryn Pierce, Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship co-ordinator said: "We'd like to thank M-Sport and in particular Rich Millener for coming up with this wonderful prize. When we approached them with an idea, little did we think that Rally Japan would be offered up. M-Sport has a similar focus on junior development to the championship. We're incredibly excited for our junior contenders this season and we sincerely hope this will be a first step for them into the higher echelons of the sport. Thank you, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team.''

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 full schedule for the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship is:

1 April 12 Carlisle Stages

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: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.