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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

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.

Packed Pirelli Welsh Championship entry for Woodpecker

Monday, August 25, 2025

PACKED PIRELLI WELSH CHAMPIONSHIP ENTRY FOR WOODPECKER

The action in this year's Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship switches to mid-Wales on Saturday, August 30, for the hugely popular Woodpecker Rally.

Round four of the championship season features another bumper PWRC field and takes crews into the stages of Hafren and Myherin from a rally base in Newtown for a day of fierce competition over some of the best gravel stages in Wales.

The popularity of the Woodpecker is evidenced by a capacity entry of 170 cars, including a tremendous field from the Welsh championship. As the championship season reaches its two-thirds point on the Woodpecker, the PWRC action will then continue with the Cambrian Rally at the end of October and the concluding round, the Wyedean Rally in early November.

Heading for Newtown the championship battles are finely balanced and it is James Giddings/Aled Davies (Fordpad/Tandom/MetDem Mitsubishi Lancer E9) who head the overall standings after the first three rounds following some tremendous performances.

However, chasing hard are defending champions Matthew Hirst and co-driver Declan Dear in their Delta Salvage/Witham Motorsport Skoda Fabia R5. Though they didn't score on the opening two rounds, a maximum score on round three, the Nicky Grist Stages in July, kickstarted their title bid, and another strong result on the Woodpecker would be a huge step forward for Hirst and Dear. However, Hirst is quick to point out that this is an event that has not been kind to them over recent years, so they will be hoping for a change of fortune when they head into Hafren forest on Saturday morning.

Liam Clark and Chris Williams will be in the lead contest in their Ford Fiesta Rally2, as will the Mitsubishi Lancer E9s of Russ Thompson/Stephen Link (GPM/PD Extinguishers), and Nik Elsmore/Ifan Devine (CDS Taxis/Calico Interiors).

More leading entries in the four-wheel-drive pack include the Skoda Fabia R5 of Bob Morgan/Adrian Williams (Winner Garage Skoda Cinderford), the Ford Fiesta R5 of David Tomlin/Keith Ashley (Axon Commercial Catering Equipment) and the Citroen C3 Rally2 of Rob Morris/Paul Spooner (RMG Groundworks).

The quality of the four-wheel drive entry continues with the Mitsubishi Lancer E9 of Peter Baylis/Paul Godden (Artificial Lawn Company), Subaru Imprezas for Wug Utting/Bob Stokoe (Utting Estates/Geoff Jones (Wales) Motorsport), Colin Griffiths/Marc Morgan (Cefnsuran Farm Self Catering Holidays), Rob Aslett/Ashley Aslett and Martyn Andrews/Steve Greenhill as well as the Ignition Motorsport Ford Fiesta R5 of Colin Minton/Jordan Joines and the Mitsubishi Lancer E9 of Geoff Cottrill/Nathan Crewe (Cottrill Transport).

Osian Pryce and Dale Furniss lead the two-wheel drive entries in their Wales Motorsport Ford Escort Mk2 from the historic classes and will be very tough to beat as Pryce warms up for the following weekend's Rali Ceredigion. Fierce opposition in historic cars will come from Dan Mennell/John Roberts (Mennell Motors/Pirelli/Speedline), Robert Gough/Jack Bowen, Rudi Lancaster/Guy Weaver and Stefaan Stouf/Paul McCann.

More contenders in historic cars include Richard Gough and Les Forsbrook, Ron Morgan/Jodan Jones (Restruct/Wales Motorsport), Peter Jones/Gareth Davies, Lyn Davies/Aled Richards (57 Tyres), Peter Hinton/Ryan Witty (Yorkshire Garden Maintenance/Rallynuts), Hywel Jones/Sion Rowlands, Neal James/Brian Stubbs

and Graham Palmer/Mike Webb.

Ranged against the Escort pack is the Volvo 244 Darrell Denning/Steve Wellman (Genuine Cars and Classics/J&S Handling), the Peugeot 205 GTi of Paul Clayton/Veera Johnson, the rapid VW Golf GTi of Chris Hellings/Daniel Morefield and the Ford Cortina GT of David Wood/Reece Brookes.

The BMWs of Mike and Nikola Brown, Andrew Fox/Jamie Lee-Fox and David Jones/Glyn Price are the big contenders in Class 3, while rapid teenager Riley Chester and co-driver Steve Davey run in Class 5 in their Ford Fiesta.

Class 6 will be hotly contested and is headed by the flying Ford Fiesta ST150 of Liam Griffiths and Robbie Sandford. Chasing will be the Ford Escorts of Geoff Phelps/Colin Jenkins (Cherry Rock Ltd/Dave Jenkins Motorsport), Jeremy Harris/Alexandra Harris (Kilcot Garage Ltd/PJW Construction/Gurneys Family Butchers), Russell and Wendy Mason, John Woodward/Kevin Ikin and Simon Millington/Samuel Kelter while Paul Gorge and Daniel Hurst bring their Mazda MX-5 into the mix.

Class 7, 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).

The up to 1400cc division will be as competitive as ever but the other contenders will be hard pressed to match the flying Nissan Micra of Dylan Fowler-Bishop/Dan Evans. Chasing will be 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 1000cc Micra of Dominic Hodge/Brian Cammack (Humphris Motorsport) and the Peugeot 106 of Joel Lewis/Jamie Mills (Bucknell Auto Services).

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:

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.

CLARK AND BOWEN CLAIM WELSH RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP AWARDS

Liam Clark and Jack Bowen are the two young contenders from this year's Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship who have won the chance to work with the M-Sport World Rally Championship team on Rally Japan in November.

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 are being invited to join the M-Sport team to work as a weather crew on Rally Japan in November.

Clark and Bowen 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.

This unique prize has been developed to help promote young competitors 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.

Clark, now 25-years old from Skipton in Yorkshire, says that it is a remarkable prize. "It's nice as a young driver or co-driver, especially when you're putting the money in yourself, to actually get something in return," said Clark. "It's brilliant and I think more championships should be looking to do something like this. I'm sure the chance to work with M-Sport is going to open my eyes. It's the preparation that goes into a rally beforehand, it's going to be massive."

Clark had a scare on the Nicky Grist when his Ford Fiesta Rally2 suffered water pump failure. "That wasn't the way that we wanted to finish the round that was going to decide whether we got to go on his trip," admitted Clark.

"We hope to do the next Welsh round, the Woodpecker, and then see how we get on from there. The points are still open and we'll try and complete the season and relieve Matthew Hirst of his title!"

Bowen, meanwhile, is a rising star in the co-driver ranks who turned 25-years old in early June. He is one if the UK's busiest co-drivers and contested 23 rallies last year. This season he has been scoring PWRC points alongside Robert Gough in his historic specification Ford Escort Mk2.

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.''

Championship co-ordinator Bryn Pierce said: "We delighted to confirm Liam Clark and Jack Bowen as winners of this amazing prize. I'm sure it will be a truly memorable trip and an unrivalled chance to learn about how a top team goes about a round of the World Rally Championship."

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:

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.