WELSH / RD1 / RALLY NORTH WALES 2024
29/03/2024WORDS BY DAN MORRIS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY: ANDREW SCOTT & DAN MORRIS
The 2024 Pirelli Welsh Championship kicked off with the Get Jerky Rally North Wales, centered in Welshpool and featured 45 miles of iconic Welsh stages. The planned route comprised of Gartheiniog, Big Ray (Dyfi), and Dyfnant, divided into east and west sections, with each stage scheduled to run twice.
Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear would be back to defend their championship and try and make it three consecutive titles in a row. They were joined by Trevor Gamble in his Fiesta rally2 and James Giddings making a comeback after taking a year off to be with his young family. Daniel O’Brien was a welcome addition to the entry list with his Ford Fiesta WRC, while last year’s championship runner-up Simon Rogers returned in his Evo 6.
STAGES 1 – 4
Matthew Hirst, accompanied by Declan Dear would be aiming for a fourth consecutive victory on Rally North Wales. This was looking likely as they surged ahead, establishing a dominant lead by gaining a 21-second advantage within the initial 5.51 miles of Gartheinog, and then further extending it to well over a minute by the end of the first loop. The pair would head back into Welshpool for service with no reported issues and a very comfortable lead.
PHOTO: MATTHEW HIRST & DECLAN DEAR | BY ANDREW SCOTT
The battle would be much closer behind Hirst, with the returning James Giddings showing little rustiness after over a year out (‘22 Cambrian – last event) with a best of the rest drive through Garth, one second clear of the chasing Trevor Gamble/Phill Kenny, who were a further six seconds clear of the two Fiestas of Dave Tomlin & Dan O’Brien.
During stages 2, 3, and 4, Giddings would maintain a slight advantage, holding a 6-second gap ahead of Gamble, with Dan O’Brien just behind, steadily improving his pace and closing in on the two cars ahead. The first rear-wheel-drive car, driven by Rudi Lancaster, surged to an impressive fifth overall, piloting his RS1800 Escort.
PHOTOS: JAMES GIDDINGS & ALED DAVIES | TREVOR GAMBLE & PHIL KENNY | BY ANDREW SCOTT
Last year’s championship runner up Simon Rogers would have a miserable morning, picking up a puncture in Dyfi, before having brake issues on the final stage of the loop which would drop him down to tenth overall.
PHOTO: SIMON ROGERS & JACK BOWEN | BY DAN MORRIS (APEX CAPTURE)
| POS | LEADERBOARD AFTER SS4 | TIME |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Hirst / Declan Dear | 22.49 |
| 2 | James Giddings / Aled Davies | +1.34 |
| 3 | Trevor Gamble / Phil Kenny | +1.40 |
| 4 | Daniel O’Brien / Mark Glennerster | +1.46 |
| 5 | Rudi Lancaster / Guy Weaver | +2.28 |
STAGES 5 – 8
Despite the heavy and persistent rain in the afternoon loop, Matthew Hirst maintained his relentless pace. He extended his lead further by taking an additional 20 seconds through Garth, followed by 22 seconds through Dyfi, and then an impressive 36 seconds through the two short Dyfnant tests. As a result, secured the victory and his fourth Rally North Wales victory in a row by over 3 minutes.
James Giddings and Aled Davies began the second half of the event mirroring their performance from the first, securing yet another second fastest in a very wet and misty Gartheinog. However, on the very next stage, a fifth gear spin would cost them a significant 20-second time loss, and due to narrow margins, this would drop them two places to fourth. Trevor Gamble and Dan O’Brien would benefit, and move up to second and third respectively, with O’Brien now only one second behind Gamble heading into Dyfnant forest for the last two stages.
Now feeling confident in the car, Dan O’Brien would take 15 seconds out of Gamble in the first, and then a further 11 on the final test moving him comfortably up to second overall. Behind him, James Giddings was on a charge through the last two, and moved himself back onto the final step of the podium, dropping the unfortunate Trevor Gamble two places in two stages down to fourth. Rounding out the top 5 would be Rudi Lancaster and Guy Weaver, who were second fastest overall through the last stage – a cracking effort in a RWD historic car!
PHOTOS: DANIEL O’BRIEN & MARK GLENNERSTER | BY DAN MORRIS – RUDI LANCASTER & GUY WEAVER | BY ANDREW SCOTT
| POS | FINAL LEADERBOARD | TIME |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Hirst / Declan Dear | 47.05 |
| 2 | Daniel O’Brien / Mark Glennerster | +3.05 |
| 3 | James Giddings / Aled Davies | +3.24 |
| 4 | Trevor Gamble / Phil Kenny | +3.30 |
| 5 | Rudi Lancaster / Guy Weaver | +4.18 |
‘Rally North Wales Win number 4!
Really enjoyed our day, it doesn’t get better than driving a top car in Dyfi, Dyfnant and Garth at ten tenths, what a treat.
Big thanks to our team, organisers and Marshalls who stood out in some pretty horrendous conditions, it really did throw it down in the afternoon. Very challenging conditions inside the car never mind being stood out there!’
Matthew Hirst
‘What a day on Rally North Wales yesterday!
I felt a bit nervous for my first rally in over a year, but after a few stages and with Aled Davies alongside me in the car I started to regain some confidence, although I have to admit my driving was very messy for the first few miles.
We set a few decent stage times, and after the 1st loop of stages we found ourselves sitting in 3rd overall, which I was obviously very happy with!
For the second loop of stages we just needed to keep up our pace and hold off the charging Fiesta WRC of Dan O’Brien behind us, but a 5th gear spin on stage 6 saw us lose over 15 seconds and this meant we gave up the 2nd place that we were in then!
Next up for us is the Rallynuts Stages Rally in just a few weeks time, and I already can’t wait to get back into some more world class stages!’
James Giddings
‘Awesome to be back in the Welsh woods throwing a WRC car around in anger. I came into the weekend with low expectations and just targeting to build speed throughout the day and most importantly get all the mileage and experience available. Mark was fantastic on the notes and pushed me on more throughout the day which seen us climb up to second going into the final stage. We’ll aim to tackle the rally nuts with the same type of patient approach and keep building the speed up!’
Dan O’Brien
NEXT TIME
The next round of the Pirelli Welsh championship will be The Rallynuts Severn Valley Stages, where competitors will take on over 60 miles of the country’s best gravel stages such as Myherin, Hafren, and Sweet Lamb.
