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:
