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Witham Group teams up with the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship

The Witham Group, which is one of the UK's leading independent manufacturers and
suppliers of commercial and industrial lubricants and paints, has become a partner to
the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship.

The privately owned and family run Lincoln-based business has a rich heritage
dating back over 100 years to 1921 and is well known in British motorsport having
supported many teams and events in the BTCC, F4, classic and historic racing, other
rally championships, powerboat racing and many more.

As part of the partnership deal, each Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship registered
contender will have the chance to win one of three £50 vouchers on each event.
Vouchers can be used to purchase items from the Witham Group's award-winning
product range.

As the preferred suppliers of the highest quality oils, paints, greases, and other
essential products to a huge array of businesses throughout the UK and abroad
(specialising in the agricultural, plant and off-highway, commercial vehicles,
horticulture, automotive and marine industries), the Witham Group is one of only a
select handful of companies in the world to have a Royal Warrant for its products
and services provided to the Royal Estates.

Witham Group has two main strategic UK sites (with its head office and lubricant
manufacturing base in Lincoln, Lincolnshire) and has a full direct customer focused
sales team covering the whole of the UK and Ireland.

Richard Scarbrough, Sales Director of Witham Group commented: "We are delighted
to be supporting the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship. The 2023
season is already shaping up to be very exciting and we'd like to wish all the teams
and drivers the best of luck."

Dave Evison, Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship Secretary said: "We
are delighted to welcome the Witham Group to the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally
Championship, where, like Hockly Motorsport, RE Restruct, Ashmores,
OnThePaceNote and of course our title sponsor Pirelli, which has supported the
series since 2012, it will make a great contribution to the success of the
championship, as well as offering rewards for successful registered competitors."

The Witham Group's partnership will be officially launched at this Saturday's
Rallynuts Stages Rally (15 April).
Based at the Royal Welsh Showground in Llanelwedd, Round 2 of the 2023
Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship contains stages in the classic mid-
Wales forests of Myherin, Sarnau, Sweet Lamb and Hafren -
with action live-streamed on the Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship and Special Stage TV Facebook
pages.

Further details on the Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship can be found online at:
wnrc.wamc.org.uk.
Further information on the Witham Group can be found at: withamgroup.co.uk.

Rivals aim to halt Hirst’s run success on the Rallynuts Stages Rally

Matthew Hirst will be aiming to make it two wins from two starts when he contests
Round 2 of the 2023 Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship, the Rallynuts
Stages Rally, on Saturday 15 April.
Co-driven by Declan Dear, Hirst won the event last year in his Pirelli-shod Delta
Salvage Ford Fiesta R5 by a very impressive 34 seconds - having been an
incredible 24 seconds faster than his nearest championship rival over the opening
10.71-mile Myherin stage!
Having won the recent Get Jerky Rally North Wales, which was the opening round of
the 2023 Pirelli Welsh series, Hirst takes a three-point championship lead into the
famous forest stages of mid-Wales - chased hard by his rivals who are determined
to knock him off the top spot.

With a full season of rallying his Ford Fiesta R5 under his belt, Eddie Lewis will be
aiming for victory. The 21-year old, who became British Junior 1000 rally champion in
2018, will be co-driven by Sion Cunniff.

Steve Black, pictured above, - the Pirelli Welsh 2021 class W3 champion who is well-known for his giant-
killing results in his 586 Sports-prepared Suzuki Swift - will drive the Pallas
Connections-backed Ford Fiesta Rally2 (which he shares with his son, the 2017
Pirelli Welsh champion Callum Black). He'll be co-driven by Jack Morton.
Russ Thompson will also make his first Pirelli Welsh appearance of the season. The
2019 championship runner-up finished fourth overall on the Rallynuts last year and
always goes well in these forests and, together with Stephen Link, will be out to
impress in his Dunnow Plant-backed Mitsubishi Evo 9.

Another aiming for overall victory will be Rob Wilson - the reigning Welsh Challenge,
class W13 and OnThePaceNote-supported Welsh Junior champion. He'll be co-
driven by Richard Crozier in his Ravenol-backed Mitsubishi Evo 7.
Simon Rogers had a great run on Rally North Wales in his MacWhirter Motorsport-
prepared Mitsubishi Evo 6 and leads class W13 and is fourth in the overall drivers'
standings. He'll be back with his usual co-driver James How this time.
Meanwhile David Tomlin will be without his normal co-driver, as Keith Ashley is the
event's Clerk of the Course. Stepping into the Axon Ford Fiesta R5's navigator's seat
will be Ian Beamond.

Daniel Moss/Samuel Davies were robbed of a top result on Rally North Wales when
a rear driveshaft snapped on their pink Hurst Haylage Mitsubishi Evo 10 and will be
out for revenge this time - as will Colin Minton/Bonnie Papper who suffered clutch
problems in their Ignition Motorsport Ford Fiesta R5 last time out.

Also hoping to exploit the 4WD traction of their Subaru Imprezas will be Paul

Walker/Geraint Thomas, Wug Utting/Bob Stokoe, pictured, Colin Griffiths/Sion Rowlands,
Charles Campbell/Sam Weller, Rob and Ashley Aslett and Martyn Andrews/Steve
Greenhill (the latter arrive leading the Welsh Challenge category in their Opie Oils
Subaru Impreza), while Peter Baylis/Paul Godden, Geoff Cottrill/Nathan Crewe and
Peter Baylis/Paul Godden wheel out their Mitsubishi Evo 9s.

Boyd Kershaw/Keegan Rees lead the Hockly Motorsport-supported Welsh 2WD
section in their Flying Kiwi Ford Escort Mk2. The defending champions fought
sequential gear down shift problems on the opening round, but still won the class.
Iwan Roberts Jnr/Daniel Jones, pictured above, survived low oil pressure in their Roberts of
Ffestiniog Ford Escort G3 on Round 1 and will also be hoping for a more trouble-free
event this time out, while Kevin Metcalfe/Ian Jones, pictured below, will be looking for their first finish
of the season in their BMW E30.

Also battling for top 2WD honours will be Tim Phelps/Elwyn Manuel, pictured above, (Britpart Ford
Escort Mk2), defending class W12 champions Andrew Fox/Jaime-Lee Fox (Xwatch
Safety Solutions BMW 325), Geoff Phelps/Colin Jenkins (Hartpury Farms Escort
Mk2), Clive Price/John Fellowes (BMW 318ti Compact), Richard Warne/Chris Deal
(Ford Escort Mk2), Dan Chester/Paul Barbet, pictured below, (BMW E30), Mike and Nikola Brown
(BMW E36 Compact) and Will Armitage/Jeremy Pole (Peugeot 306 S16).

The young Griffiths brothers didn't have a clean run on last year's Rallynuts, with a
sensor problem limiting Liam's Fiesta ST to 50mph and Callum retiring his similar
Ford with a broken driveshaft. The Presteigne Tyre Services-backed duo did have a
strong Rally North Wales however, with Callum and co-driver William Lewis beating
Liam and co-driver Daniel James in the OnThePaceNote supported Welsh Junior
section.

Machynlleth's Gethin Price arrives at the Rallynuts leading class W2 in his RKP

Haulage Nissan Micra and will on this occasion be co-driven by Iwan Thomas. He'll
be up again defending class champions Adrian and Matthew Walk in their PartBOX
Ford Ka.

Also contesting the highly competitive Hockly Motorsport-backed 1400cc classes will
be James Dunkley/Jack Morris (Vauxhall Corsa), Edwards James/Charlie Mason
(Nissan Micra), Will Banks/Sam Kelter (Vauxhall Nova), Luke Watts/Matt Rogers
(MG ZR), Nigel and Kaz Jenkins (Vauxhall Nova), Ashley Francis-Adams/Lucy
Wilding (Nissan Micra) and Lucy Wigley/Emma Cooper (Citroën C2).
Tony Simpson had a tremendous run last time out in his Seacon UK Ford Fiesta R2T
to win class W4 and come home runner-up in the 2WD section. He'll be co-driven
this time by Stefan Arndt.

Wrexham's Dan and Cyril Jones won class W10 on Rally North Wales in their Jones
Brothers/North Wales Joinery Vauxhall Nova and will resume their battle with
defending champions Martin Walters/Marie Fletcher in their high-revving Digger
Parts Direct Honda Civic. Alan Desbois/Peter Littlefield join the class battle in their
Peugeot 306 RWD.

Robert Gough is the top driver in the Restruct Welsh Historic W9 class after a
magnificent performance on the opening round. The Ludlow driver is also second in
the overall Pirelli Welsh points table and, together with co-driver Paul Morris, will be
aiming to continue that form this time in his Ford Escort Mk2.

A puncture prevented Rudi Lancaster/Guy Weaver from challenging for the class W9
win last time, but are always quick in their Woolacombe Holiday Parks Escort
RS1800 Mk2, while Ben Friend/Cliffy Simmons make their first championship
appearance of the season in their Allglass Ford Escort Mk2.
Jonathan Brace/Paul Spooner lead the Historic class W8 in their Dave Jenkins
Motorsport-built Brace's Bakery Ford Escort RS1600 Mk1 and will resume their
battle with Andrew Stokes/Jonny Tad Evans and Gareth Lewis/Ryland James who
are also in Escort Mk1s. Lyn Davies/Aled Richards, Jeremy Wells/Martin Saunders
and Freddy Camp/Stephen Spear all appear in Escorts.

As well as the Historic category trophies, the registered crews that finish in the top
three of each Historic class at the end of the season will be put forward for the David
Stokes Historic Challenge award for drivers and the Guy Weaver award for co-
drivers.

Coverage from the Rallynuts Stages Rally will be live streamed on the Pirelli Welsh
Rally Championship's and Special Stage TV's Facebook pages during the event,
featuring action from all the registered competitors.

This year's Rallynuts Stages Rally includes new routes in Myherin forest, as well as
stages in Sarnau, Sweet Lamb and Hafren - with 27 stage miles single usage. The
event starts and finishes at the Royal Welsh Showground in Llanelwedd, which also
hosts the midday service halt.

Paul Evans
Press Officer, Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Pictures by Paul Mitchell. Please credit 'Paul Mitchell Photography' if used.
paulmitchellphotography@gmail.com

Hirst makes flying start to his title defence with victory on Rally North Wales

Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear made a flying start to the defence of their Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship title by winning the opening round of the 2023 series, the Get Jerky Rally North Wales (Saturday 25 March).

Using a new Pirelli tyre compound to excellent effect, especially in the morning's wet and muddy conditions, the 2019 and 2022 champions established a healthy lead after the first loop of four stages through Dyfnant, Gartheiniog, Big Ray and Dyfi forests, despite admitting to a few moments in their Delta Salvage Ford Fiesta R5. They then extended their advantage over the afternoon's repeat run through the stages to a very impressive 3min 39sec winning margin.

It was the third time that they had won Rally North Wales - and both previous victories have led to them claiming the Welsh title!

"When you've built up a nice gap at the top of the leaderboard by the middle of the event it's yours to lose from then on, so we're pleased to have reached the finish here in Welshpool's town centre," said Hirst.

"We underestimated the grip levels on the opening stage and then had a couple of moments when we were pushing after that, but everything has gone really well all day."

Without taking anything away from Hirst's very impressive performance, his big winning margin was helped by a number of his main rivals failing to reach the finish.

Gavin Edwards had brake fade right from the start in his Vaynol Plumbing Ford Fiesta R5. The problem got progressively worse during each stage, leaving the Caernarfon driver will little confidence in the car. He and co-driver Caron Tomlinson managed to survive the first loop of stages but retired the car at the mid-day service halt in Dolgellau.

Jordan and Paul Hone were two seconds quicker than Hirst/Dear on the opening stage, but their lead was short-lived as they retired their Premier Car Parks Ford Fiesta R5 in SS3.

Tommi Meadows had never driven a four-wheel drive car before the morning of the event and started well in his Seacon UK Subaru Impreza. Unfortunately, a puncture on a road section stopped him and co-driver Laura Cooledge's progress in the afternoon. Steve Hollis/Tim Currie got no further than SS2 in their Volkswagen Golf R, while Paul Walker/Geraint Thomas didn't start after a gearbox issue with their Green Paw Subaru Impreza in pre-event testing.

Even some of the 4WD crews that did finish lost time with problems. Daniel Moss/Samuel Davies broke a rear driveshaft on SS4 in their pink Hurst Haylage Mitsubishi Evo 10, Peter Baylis/Paul Godden had a misfire for the first three stages in their Artificial Lawn Company Mitsubishi Evo 9 (cured then they discovered a switch that had been knocked), Colin Minton/Bonnie Papper suffered clutch problems in their Ignition Motorsport Ford Fiesta R5 on SS2, and David Tomlin/Keith Ashley collected a rear puncture in their Axon Ford Fiesta R5 on SS2. Having changed the wheel after the stage, they were now running 10 cars lower than where they started and caught a car on SS3.

Simon Rogers (ably co-driven by late replacement Jack Bowen) had an anti-lag issue with his MacWhirter Motorsport-prepared Mitsubishi Evo6 in the morning - but then launched a magnificent fightback to regain all the positions he'd lost. His pace over the afternoon loop of stages was rewarded with a fourth place Pirelli Welsh points finish.

Martyn Andrews, pictured below, had a "fantastic day" in his Opie Oils Subaru Impreza. Co-driven by Steve Greenhill, the Welwyn Garden City driver picked up sixth placed points and also leads the Welsh Challenge category.

Wug Utting/Bob Stokoe finished just two seconds behind in their Subaru Impreza.
Keith Jones made a successful return to rallying in his Grooms Garage Subaru Impreza, which was fitted with a new engine and gearbox. The Newtown-based driver had a few overheating issues in the morning, but together with Sion Williams he flew in the afternoon - ending the event with an impressive final stage push.

Colin Griffiths quickly got to grips with his new Subaru Impreza STI, which was his first event in a four-wheel drive, left-hand drive, and dog gearbox car. The car's engine initially refused to fire up at the start of SS1, but after that small drama he and co-driver Sion Rowlands got quicker and quicker as the event progressed.

There was a very familiar car running last on the road - the Subaru Impreza that Charlie Campbell has purchased two weeks before from Pirelli Welsh frontrunner John Caine. The Edinburgh driver was partnered by 16-year old Brecon navigator Sam Weller, who was contesting his 35th rally and his first multi-venue stage event. It might have been dark and largely deserted in Welshpool when they arrived at the final control, but it was a tremendous effort and an excellent performance nonetheless.

It was the hard charging rear-wheel drive crews that were the stars of Rally North Wales, for despite heavy overnight rain they were still able to find an awful lot of grip and use their power to very good effect.

Not only did Robert Gough score top points in the Restruct Welsh Historic W9 class, the Ludlow driver also took home second placed Pirelli Welsh points in the overall driver standings. It hadn't been plane-sailing for him and co-driver Paul Morris either, for they had starter motor failure and hydraulic fluid leaking onto the clutch and brake pedals in the morning and wrong tyres in the afternoon. But despite this, they scored a truly magnificent overall result.

Richard Jordan/James Gratton-Smith finished 12 seconds behind Gough in their CarrPrep Allroads Asphalt/Shell Oils Ford Escort Mk2 - and runners-up in class W9.

Rudi Lancaster/Guy Weaver lost 20 seconds with a puncture towards the end of SS4 but fought hard in their Woolacombe Holiday Parks Escort RS1800 Mk2 to finish third in class W9, while Alan Walker/John Conner were a fine fourth in class in their JWC Financial Solutions Ford Escort Mk2.

On his first rally in these forests, James Lepley had a couple of early spins in his Esso-backed Ford Escort Mk2 and lost around a minute in total as the engine stalled and wouldn't restart. He and co-driver Simon Jones enjoyed a good afternoon and not only finished fifth in class W9, but the Newark driver takes the early lead in the OnThePaceNote supported Welsh Junior category.

There was a fierce family battle in the Welsh Juniors between the Presteigne Tyre Services supported Ford Fiesta ST driving brothers Callum and Liam Griffiths. Both had great runs, although this time it was Callum (co-driven by William Lewis) who finished ahead of Liam (co-driven by Daniel James).

Jonathan Brace/Paul Spooner had a great day in their Dave Jenkins Motorsport-built in their Brace's Bakery Ford Escort RS1600 Mk1. Softer tyres in the afternoon improved things even more, as the Blackwood driver won the Historic class W8.

Andrew Stokes/Jonny Tad Evans were also pushing hard in their Ford Escort and finished a trouble-free second, with Gary Smith/Clive Jones making it a trio on Mk1s on the W8 podium.

Brynmor Pierce/Matt Baddeley won the Historic class W7 in their Peugeot 309 GTi, despite not having a working intercom for the entire event.

Ben and Steven Smith started cautiously as their Amigos-backed Ford Escort RS2000 Mk1 was pulling to the left under braking, making it especially tricky on right hand corners. The Eversholt son and father team had a good push on the final stage and won Historic class W6.

On his 600th rally start (in a rallying career that started in 1969 and spans seven decade and 54 years) St. Clears co-driver Ryland James guided Gareth Lewis (Carmarthen) to second in class W6 in their Ford Escort RS2000 Mk1.

Having done a lot of work to his Talbot Sunbeam over the winter, Bala's Julian Birley said the car was the best it has ever been as he and co-driver Emyr Hall romped home to Historic class W5 victory.

As well as the Historic category trophies, the registered crews that finish in the top three of each Historic class at the end of the season will be put forward for the David Stokes Historic Challenge award for drivers and the Guy Weaver award for co-drivers.

Defending Hockly Motorsport-supported Welsh 2WD champions Boyd Kershaw/Keegan Rees said it had been a rally of two halves in their Flying Kiwi Ford Escort Mk2. The morning had been interrupted with sequential gear down shift problems which had really unsettled their rhythm, while the afternoon loop was much better. So much better in fact, that they managed to win the Welsh 2WD category.

Iwan Roberts Jnr. lost the brakes on his Roberts of Ffestiniog Ford Escort G3 on the opening stage. It didn't get much better on SS2, when the car lost oil pressure meaning that for the rest of the event he dare not rev the engine over 6,000rpm. He and co-driver Daniel Jones still reached the finish to score valuable third place Welsh 2WD points.

Tim Phelps/Elwyn Manuel enjoyed a good points-scoring run in their Britpart Ford Escort Mk2, while Kevin Metcalfe/Ian Jones were reported to have parked their BMW E30 on the apex of a hairpin on SS2.

Montgomery's Ricky Crone suffered electrical issues in his MS Textiles Ford Escort Mk2, which forced him to skip three stages in the morning. He and co-driver Ifan Devine re-joined in the afternoon, but with hefty penalties for missing SS2, 3 and 4 they were classified last.

Gareth Edwards had taken two years to build his Ford Escort Mk2 and with fellow Caernarfon man Ifan Rowlands alongside was going well until he stopped in SS5. Graham Palmer/Mike Webbs were also going well in their PGM Caterham Specialist/Panel 2 Paint Ford Escort Mk1 but stopped on the next stage.

Defending class W12 champions Andrew Fox/Jaime-Lee Fox from Newport made a winning start to the season with a great run in their Xwatch Safety Solutions BMW 325, while Dan Chester/Paul Barbet finished second in their BMW E30.

Having rallied an historic Mini before, Tim Green/Jordan Davies had a great run to third in class in their first event in a modern Mini Cooper S - while David Howell Jones/Glyn Price managed to change a puncture before SS1 and came home fourth in what was the 100th rally for the Tanner's Arms/GJ Price Transport BMW E30 and crew together.

Gethin Price had spent the last six months repairing his RKP Haulage Nissan Micra, having rolled it last time out on Rali Ceredigion. The Machynlleth driver was on a road section to a stage when he was hit head-on by other competitor travelling in the oppositive direction. With front panel damage, he and co-driver Steven Brown continued and were rewarded with a class W2 win.

Tony Simpson all-but wrapped up the class W4 win with a tremendous drive in the morning in his Seacon UK Ford Fiesta R2T and spent the afternoon making sure he didn't throw away his advantage - although losing third gear on the final stage made the last few miles a little difficult. He was co-driven for the first time in 11 years by Glynn Thomas, who stepped in at the last moment.

Alex Cannon was contesting his first gravel rally for over 10 years and with Alan Carfree on the notes finished second in class W4 in his Rallyworld Ford Fiesta R2.

Prestatyn's Adam Clews was enjoying his first event in a Ford Fiesta R2, but he and co-driver Mark Thomas were forced to retire the car when a fuel pump problem was discovered in service.

Wrexham's Dan and Cyril Jones had a few moments in the morning and clipped a bale in the afternoon but survived to win the Hockly Motorsport-backed class W10 in their Jones Brothers/North Wales Joinery Vauxhall Nova. Defending class champions Martin Walters/Marie Fletcher admitted to making a slow start but came home an untroubled second in their Digger Parts Direct Honda Civic, while Michael Jenkins/Sophie Buckland had to nurse their Ignition Motorsport Ford Fiesta to the finish after picking up a strange vibration.

The live streaming coverage from Rally North Wales remains available to view on the Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship and Special Stage TV Facebook pages.

Round 2 of the Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship is the Rallynuts Stages on Saturday 15 April, which is based at the Royal Welsh Showground in Llanelwedd.

2023 Get Jerky Rally North Wales - top 10 Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship finishers:
1. Matthew Hirst/Declan Dear (Ford Fiesta R5+).......48mins 27secs
2. Richard Gough/Paul Morris (Ford Escort Mk2).......52mins 06secs
3. Richard Jordan/James Gratton-Smith (Ford Escort Mk2).......52mins 18secs
4. Simon Rogers/Jack Bowen (Mitsubishi Evo6).......52mins 33secs
5. Rudi Lancaster/Guy Weaver (Ford Escort Mk2).......52mins 45secs
6. Martyn Andrews/Steve Greenhill (Subaru Impreza).......52mins 48secs
7. Wug Utting/Bob Stokoe (Subaru Impreza).......52mins 50secs
8. Alan Walker/John Connor (Ford Escort RS1800 Mk2).......52mins 52secs
9. Boyd Kershaw/Keegan Rees (Ford Escort Mk2).......53mins 17secs
10. James Lepley/Simon Jones (Ford Escort Mk2).......53mins 27secs

2023 Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship
Overall drivers' points after Round 1:
1. Matthew Hirst.......30pts
2. Richard Gough.......27pts
3. Richard Jordan.......25pts
4. Simon Rogers.......24pts
5. Rudi Lancaster.......23pts
6. Martyn Andrews.......22pts

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