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THE SECOND HALF GETS UNDERWAY WITH EVERYTHING TO PLAY FOR
Competitors in the Pirelli Motorsport UK Welsh Forest Rally Championship begin the second half of their championship season this weekend (Sunday June 23rd) with their only visit of the year to the South Wales valleys for the Red Kite Stages
Scott Faulkner currently holds a one-point advantage at the top of the overall driver’s table. The Mitsubishi Evo IX driver took maximum points on the last two rounds of the Championship, the Rallynuts Stages and the Plains Rally, but still holds the narrowest of leads over Matthew Hirst, the overall winner of round two, Rally North Wales and the 2018 Junior champion. Currently in third place, a further three points back is early season Championship leader Tom Llewellin.
Unfortunately, Scott Faulkner will not be competing this weekend. His car needs further work following the last event and he plans to be back in action on the Nicky Grist Stages next month. So that means we are likely to see a new Championship leader on Sunday evening.
Matthew Hirst’s co-driver, Declan Dear leads the overall standings in his category, two points ahead of Gareth Parry with Bob Stokoe holding third place.
Meanwhile, reigning Champion Dylan Davies is scheduled to make his first appearance of the season, partnered by Mark Glennerster in a Subaru Impreza.
Faulkner and Parry also lead the Group N Championship, five points clear of Surrey based duo Wug Utting and Bob Stokoe in their Subaru Impreza. Zak Hughes and Tom Woods hold third place in their Ford Fiesta.
It’s Tom Llewellin, son of double British Rally Champion David Llewellin, who leads the two-wheel drive category in his historic Specification Mark II Ford Escort with a healthy 20-point advantage over fellow, for this event, Escort driver Chris Powell. Perry Gardener lies in third place.
Looking to make up ground in the two-wheel drive standings following a non-finish on the Plains Rally, his second of the season, will be BMW stalwart Colin Griffiths in his 2.8 litre Compact. Former two-wheel drive champion Andy Fox, meanwhile, has teamed up with Den Golding in the E30 BMW and should benefit from Den’s extensive knowledge of the South Wales stages. Also looking for a strong points haul on only their second Championship appearance of the season will be Rudi Lancaster and Guy Weaver in their RS 1800 Escort.
Top two-wheel drive co-driver is Jim Lewis, co-driver to Chris Powell, ahead of Caron Tomlinson and Keaton Williams.
Tom Llewellin also tops the junior drivers category from Gethin Price and Zak Hughes. Leading the junior co-driver standings is Tom Murphy with a five-point advantage over both Keaton Williams and Rhys Stoneman. Rhys is in the Subaru Impreza of Craig Cameron this weekend
It is Llewellin as well who leads the RAVENOL Welsh Challenge for drivers ahead of Perry Gardener and Tony Simpson. Heading the RAVENOL Welsh Challenge for co-drivers is Tom Murphy four points clear of Keaton Williams while Ian Bevan and Tom Woods are in joint third place.
The rally, organised by Amman and District Motor Club, starts from Rheola Mart with cars leaving from 9.00am on Sunday morning to tackle a total of six special stages. Competitors can see the teams in action on the Rheola stage, which runs twice from 11.22am and again from 2.22pm.
More information about the rally is available on the official website, www.redkitestages.co.uk and information about the Pirelli Motorsport UK Welsh Forest Rally Championship can be found at wnrc.wamc.org.uk, on the Championship Facebook page and on Twitter @WnRC.
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Issued by Peter Hughes Media on behalf of the Pirelli MotorSport UK Welsh Forest Rally Championship.
19TH JUNE 2019
Images Rallysportmedia.com
Faulkner is Fastest in the Forests
A second successive maximum points score means that Scott Faulkner leads the 2019 Pirelli Motorsport UK Welsh Forest Rally Championship by a single point as the series reaches its Halfway stage.
Having taken top points score on the previous round, the Rallynuts Stages, a similar performance on the weekend’s Plains Rally, organised by Knutsford and District Motor Club, moved Scott clear at the top of the table while co-driver Gareth Parry moves into second place overall in his part of the Championship.
From the start in Oswestry, competitors tackled five special stages in Dyfnant, Aberhirnant and Llangower. Scott and Gareth took the lead among the championship contenders on the opening stage ahead of Russ Thompson and Andy Murphy in a similar Group N specification Mitsubishi Evo IX. Third place was held by joint series leaders going into the event, Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear but they would be among a number of competitors to suffer punctures in stage 2, Aberhirnant 1.
That promoted Richard Hill and Patrick Cooper to third place in their Subaru Impreza although they conceded it to the Mark II Ford Escort of Ieuan Rowlands and Emyr Hall on the following stage. Hill and Cooper reclaimed the position on the following stage, holding on to it to the finish.
Fourth place was enough to ensure that Matthew Hirst left the event just one point adrift of Faulkner while his co-driver Declan Dear continues to lead that section of the Championship two points clear of Gareth Parry.
Another strong run in the Historic specification Ford Escort means that former series leader Tom Llewellin lies in third place, four points off the lead.
Faulkner and Parry also lead the Group N Championship, five points clear of Surrey based duo Wug Utting and Bob Stokoe in their Subaru Impreza.
Tom Llewellin leads the driver standings in the two-wheel drive section from Chris Powell and Perry Gardener although it was Callum Black and Michael Gilbey who took top two-wheel drive points for the second event running in their MG ZR. Top two-wheel drive co-driver is Jim Lewis ahead of Caron Tomlinson and Keaton Williams.
Tom Llewellin also tops the junior drivers category from Gethin Price and Zak Hughes. Leading the junior co-driver standings is Tom Murphy with a five point advantage over both Keaton Williams and Rhys Stoneman.
It is Llewellin as well who leads the RAVENOL Welsh Challenge for drivers ahead of Perry Gardener and Tony Simpson. Heading the RAVENOL Welsh Challenge for co-drivers is Tom Murphy from Keaton Williams while Ian Bevan and Tom Woods are in joint third place.
The next round of the Pirelli Motorsport UK Welsh Forest Rally Championship is the Red Kite Stages. Based in Resolven in the Neath Valley and organised by Amman and District Motor Club, the event takes place on June 23rd.
You can find out more about that event on their website, www.redkitestages.co.uk and about the Championship at wnrc.wamc.org.uk, on the Championship Facebook page and on Twitter @WnRC.
CHAMPIONSHIP UPDATE - May 12th 2019
Following Round 4 the Plains Rally the latest championship tables have been uploaded to the website and can be found by following this link or clicking on the Results Tab https://bit.ly/2WxSVsB
It’s Not Plain Sailing for Welsh Rally Title.
Competitors in the 2019 Pirelli Motorsport UK Welsh Forest Rally Championship reach the half way point in the series this weekend when they take on the 53rd running of the Plains Rally organised by Knutsford and District Motor Club.
As they head to the start of the event in Oswestry, two of the youngest drivers in the Championship currently share the overall series lead. 2018 Junior champion Matthew Hirst took his first outright rally win on the second event of the series, the North Wales Rally, but missed out on making it back to back maximum points scores by just one second on the next event, the Rallynuts Stages.
An overshoot by Hirst in his Mitsubishi Evo VI on the penultimate corner of the event cost him the top points tally with that going to Scott Faulkner in a similar, but Group N specification, car. While that moves Faulkner up to third place in the standings, Hirst shares the lead with 18-year-old Tom Llewellin. Tom, son of double British Rally Champion David Llewellin, has put in some impressive performances in his less powerful, historic specification Mark II Ford Escort to hold that joint lead.
In the co-driver category it is Declan Dear who tops the table with a seven-point advantage over Gareth Parry while Jim Lewis lies third, a further eight points back.
There is also a tie at the top of the Group N table, Faulkner sharing the lead with Surrey driver Wug Utting while Rhydian Price trails them by just a single point. Their respective co-drivers make up the top three in that category, Gareth Parry and Bob Stokoe sharing the lead, one point clear of Stephen Brown.
The strongly supported two-wheel drive class is headed by Tom Llewellin, followed by Chris Powell and Hywel Davies. Top two-wheel drive co-driver is Jim Lewis ahead of Simon Jones and Tom Murphy.
Llewellin also leads the junior driver category from Gethin Price and Zak Hughes while the Junior co-driver standings are topped by Rhys Stoneman from Tom Murphy and Keaton Williams.
It’s also Llewellin who leads the way in the RAVENOL Welsh Challenge for drivers with Hywel Davies second and Josh Taylor third. Simon Jones heads the RAVENOL Welsh Challenge for co-drivers four points ahead of Tom Murphy with Jonny Tad Evans in third place.
Competitors will set out from the Wynnstay Hotel in Oswestry from 8.00am to tackle five classic Welsh forest stages in Dyfnant, Aberhirnant and Llangower.
Spectator information is available on the event web site, www.plainsrally.co.uk while more information about the Pirelli Motorsport UK Forest Rally Championship can be found at wnrc.wamc.org.uk, on the Championship Facebook pages and on Twitter @WnRC.
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