SHOWGROUND STAGES 2024
25/01/2024On a surprisingly mild morning in January, the rally season officially commenced at the Royal Welsh Showground based just outside the market town of Builth Wells. The North Road Garage Toyota Showground Stages would provide both UK rally fans & competitors with their first event of 2024. The event had been organised and reimagined by the Newton & District Automobile Club and proudly sponsored by the Pritchard family’s North Road Garage Toyota.
The rally would consist of five stage variations, each run twice covering a total distance of 28 miles, utilising the access roads surrounding the Showground. The event had gained recognition for giant-killing performances, with very limited mixed-surface rallying opportunities in the UK. This year brought a significant alteration to the event, with the competition narrowing its focus to exclusively allow participation from 2WD cars, a departure from its previous inclusivity of 4WD vehicles.
Photos: 106 Maxi – Joseph Roche / Ceri Simposon | Swift 1600 – Ian Godney / Stewart Powell
Notably featured on the entry list was Jason Pritchard, the event sponsor. Boasting multiple historic and asphalt championships, Jason took a stroll down memory lane on social media, reminiscing about his childhood experiences watching his father compete at this very event. Expressing his sentiment, he lauded the event as “the best entertainment and spectating” he had ever encountered. Jason continued, stating, “Finally, in a few weeks, my childhood dreams will come true when I take my MK2 out on the North Road Garage Showground stages.” This added a nice personal touch to the event.
STAGES 1 / 2
The event, absent from the calendar since 2019, saw smaller engined cars dominate recent years due to the previous tight and twisty stage layouts, featuring splits that churned up the gravel parts, which seemed to suit them. The event commenced with the initial loop, incorporating hairpins around the main show area separated by long straights. It then navigated access and service roads before ascending to faster gravel roads on the car parks above.
Former event winner Sam Davies, alongside Rhys Edwards in their Vauxhall Nova, led the field of 55 cars into the first stage. Leaning on his vast event experience, Davies secured stage one victory, finishing 2.2 seconds ahead of Lee Edwards and Robbie Pugh in their 3-litre V6 Escort G3. The latter visibly struggling for traction in the morning dew nudging a few bales with the rear of the car. Claiming the third spot on the opener was another former event winner, Dan Evans, paired with Jack Bowen, driving their Evans’ motorsport Nova.
Photo: Sam Davies / Rhys Edwards
During the second stage, car 3, driven by Ian Evans and Julia Perry, secured their first stage win, contributing to the Nova-dominated opening loop. Lee Edwards claimed the second spot once again, propelling himself into an overall lead of 1.5 seconds, while Sam Davies dropped 4.6 seconds, stopping the clock down in 8th position. BHRC regular Richard Jordan and co-driver Dylan Fowler-Bishop made a strong start to the event, wheeling out of MG ZR that he claimed the BTRDA Bronze star in a few years previous. Despite spending the last few years behind the wheel of an RS1800, Richard didn’t need much acclimatising back to front-wheel drive, and held a surprising third position overall despite being seeded down at car 38.
Photo: Jason Pritchard / Anthony Elkes
Event sponsor Jason Pritchard and Anthony Elkes had an opening loop to forget when they clipped a bale on stage 2, resulting in a broken steering that unfortunately forced them to stop on stage. Jason, after being towed back to service, managed to fix the car and later returned under super rally, entertaining spectators with plenty of handbrake & huge slides.
“Messy run on stage one, and really enjoying stage 2. Clipped a bale with the inside wheel and broke the steering”
Jason Pritchard
| POS | AFTER SS2 | TIME |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | #4 Lee Edwards / Robbie Pugh | 8:41.8 |
| 2 | #2 Sam Davies / Rhys Edwards | +1.5 |
| 3 | #38 Richard Jordan / Dylan Fowler-Bishop | +6.0 |
| 4 | #3 Ian Evans / Julia Perry | +6.8 |
| 5 | #7 Meirion Evans / Gwawr Evans | +8.7 |
STAGES 3 / 4
Ian Evans and Julia Perry started the second loop as they ended the first by securing another stage win in their wide-arched Nova, propelling them into third position overall. Sam Davies was close behind, being the only car within 2 seconds of Evans. Lee Edwards maintained his consistent start, securing another top 3 stage time and retaining his overall lead, albeit by less than two seconds from Davies.
Photo: Ian Evans / Julia Perry
Entering stage 4 in 13th place, Steve Chaney-North and Siobhan Pugh went on a huge push and capitalised on the newly available grip in their 2.5 Millington-powered MK2, giving them the stage win. Ian Evans and Lee Edwards crossed the finish line in a dead heat, just 0.7 seconds behind, sharing the second-place position. Evans was now trailing Sam Davies by only 0.3 seconds in the overall standings, while Lee Edwards maintained a 4.4-second lead going into the halfway point.
Photo: Steve Chaney-North / Siobhan Pugh
| POS | AFTER SS4 | TIME |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | #4 Lee Edwards / Robbie Pugh | 17:01.4 |
| 2 | #1 Sam Davies / Rhys Edwards | +4.4 |
| 3 | #3 Ian Evans / Julia Perry | +4.7 |
| 4 | #7 Meirion Evans / Gwawr Evans | +12.1 |
| 5 | #38 Richard Jordan / Dylan Fowler-Bishop | +14.6 |
STAGES 5 / 6
Following another brief service, we swiftly continued with two more 4km stages around the showground. While consistency is crucial in winning rallies, stage victories hold even greater significance. Lee Edwards, who had not finished a stage outside of the top 3 all morning, clinched his first stage win of the event during Stage 5. The extra torque of the sweet-sounding V6 pulling him out of the rallies many hairpins.
Sam Davies, who had his second-place threatened for much of the last loop, responded by clocking a time 1 second faster than Ian Evans, extending the gap to 1.3 seconds.
Lee Edwards secured consecutive stage wins with another victory on SS6, surpassing Ian Evans by 0.9 seconds. Evans, in turn, narrowed the gap to Sam Davies by taking 0.2 seconds off him in the battle for second place. The overall gap between the duelling novas now 1.1 seconds going into the last 4 stages. The top 3 were now 18.9 seconds clear of 4th-placed Richard Jordan and Dylan Fowler-Bishop, who continued to have a fantastic rally in their MG ZR.
Photo: Lee Edwards / Robbie Pugh | Richard Jordan / Dylan Fowler-Bishop
| POS | AFTER SS6 | TIME |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | #4 Lee Edwards / Robbie Pugh | 25:15.8 |
| 2 | #1 Sam Davies / Rhys Edwards | +5.9 |
| 3 | #3 Ian Evans / Julia Perry | +7.0 |
| 4 | #38 Richard Jones / Dylan Fowler-Bishop | +25.9 |
| 5 | #7 Meirion Evans / Gwawr Evan | +25.9 |
STAGES 7 / 8
The sun was out as the cars started the penultimate loop and with the improved weather, came our 4th stage winner in 7 stages. This time it was rallycross ace Jack Thorne claiming the honours in his MK2 Escort winning by 2.5 seconds and ascending to 7th place on the overall leaderboard. There was another tie for position in second place, this time between rally leader Lee Edwards & Sam Davies. In 4th place, Ian Evans pursued them, trailing the pair by just 0.7 seconds, keeping the gap to second place at a mere 1.8 seconds.
Photo: Jack Thorne / Andrew Richards
Demonstrating that SS7 wasn’t an isolated success, Jack Thorne secured yet another stage win, wringing the neck of his escort and advancing a further two positions on the overall leaderboard to claim fifth. He now trails Wales Motorsport Director Meirion Evans and his RS1800 by a mere 3.5 seconds. Out front, Lee Edwards continued his march towards victory, securing yet another second place and extending his lead over Sam Davies to 7.8 seconds as they approached the final loop. Unfortunately, the duo of Ian Evans & Julia Perry faced an untimely end to their podium challenge, grappling with gear linkage issues that relegated them to the lower reaches of the top ten. The demise of Evans promoted Richard Jordan up to third position in the flying MG ZR.
| POS | AFTER SS8 | TIME |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | #4 Lee Edwards / Robbie Pugh | 33:33.0 |
| 2 | #1 Sam Davies / Rhys Edwards | +7.8 |
| 3 | #38 Richard Taylor / Dylan Fowler-Bishop | +29.5 |
| 4 | #7 Meirion Evans / Gwawr Evans | +37.7 |
| 5 | #27 Jack Thorne / Andrew Richards | +41.2 |
STAGES 9 / 10
With two stages remaining, Lee Edwards kicked off the final loop in impressive fashion, securing his third stage win by 1.7 seconds and establishing a comfortable 10-second lead heading into the final stage of the event. Second place witnessed its third tie, as Meirion Evans and Richard Jordan shared the honours. Richard now had carved out an 8.2-second lead over Meirion heading into the final stage. 2.5 seconds further back was Sam Davies, still flinging his Nova around the narrow car park stages and setting himself up nicely for a comfortable second-place finish.
Going into the final stage, Lee Edwards and Robbie Pugh concluded their event with a fourth-stage win, solidifying their overall victory and ending the event with a 17-second lead. Consistently achieving top 3 stage times throughout the entire event, the win was undeniably well-deserved. Sam Davies, opting for a sensible approach, closed the last stage in 10th but comfortably secured the runner-up position. Richard Jordan closed out a remarkable performance, steering his 1.4 MG ZR to clinch the final spot on the podium. Ian Evans and Julia Perry, overcoming earlier mechanical issues, claimed second on the last stage, landing them in a respectable 6th overall. Reflecting on what might have been, they surely pondered the time lost in stages 8 and 9.
Photo: Lee Edwards / Robbie Pugh
| POS | FINAL LEADERBOARD | TIME |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | #4 Lee Edwards / Robbie Pugh | 42:17.0 |
| 2 | #1 Sam Davies / Rhys Edwards | +17 |
| 3 | #38 Richard Jordan / Dylan Fowler-Bishop | +34.4 |
| 4 | #7 Meirion Evans / Gwawr Evans | +43.5 |
| 5 | #27 Jack Thorne / Andrew Richards | +52.6 |
The return to the Royal Welsh showground proved to be exceptional, and the Newton & District Car Club has a truly outstanding rally on their hands. Spectators were granted a bit of trust, and permitted to wander and stand in secure locations, and the competitors I conversed with had nothing but positive comments regarding the stages. Mastering single venues is challenging, often leaving spectators confined and unable to watch the action. Competitors can bring their families & friends along, enjoy watching the events unfold, and conveniently stroll back to service between stages. Not to mention the event finished at 4 pm, experiencing virtually no delays – a testament to its efficient organisation.
While the current focus of rallying seems to lean heavily towards closed roads and making the longest stages possible, there undeniably exists a niche in rallying for short, fast events that offer a family-friendly environment, great value for money and excellent viewing opportunities.
To sum up, a quote made on social media by BTRDA bronze star champion co-driver Kaz Jenkins:
‘As a competitor on this weekends rally I would just like to say a massive well done to you all (all being the organising committee). It was a well organised fun fab event. It really brought back how rallying events should be. So nice to have time to social with other competitors not the usual short service and no time to do anything. I even managed to go out complete our runs and get back and then catch my son who was running further down! And the spectator areas were brilliant and so nice to see so many people enjoying the days sport. Big well done to you all’
Kaz Jenkins
Words & Photos By Dan Morris
