REPORT / KIELDER FOREST STAGES 2026

WORDS BY ANDY COOK | PHOTOGRAPY ANDREW SCOTT & ROB SAYER

The BTRDA Rally Series returned to action, reaching its most northerly event in the mighty Kielder Forest for Round 2 of its 2026 season. Delivering ample drama, along with heartbreak and head-to-head battles, there would be a thrilling end to the rally.

From the rally HQ in Hexham, Northumberland, the Kielder Forest Stages rally offered up an ultra-compact event, with six stages covering just over 41 competitive miles.

Previously, at the opening round of the season, Rally North Wales, a two-way shoot-out occurred between last year’s GoldStar Champion, Matthew Hirst, and previous multiple GoldStar winner, Elliot Payne.

Payne and Co-Driver Patrick Walsh were the ones to scoop the top step on the podium in Wales, arriving in Kielder with the upper hand. Hirst, who is looking to defend his crown this season, was once again tackling the second round of the season without his long-term co-driver Declan Dear, but he would be with a safe pair of hands with Jack Bowen returning to call the notes.

MORNING LOOP

Hirst began the day with a determined first drive through the opening six-mile Smales Leap test, stopping the clocks in his Skoda Fabia R5 six seconds quicker than Championship rival Payne (Ford Fiesta Rally2), who was also matched on pace by Daniel Sigurðarson (Skoda Fabia Rally2).

PHOTO: MATTHEW HIRST & JACK BOWEN – BY ROB SAYER

However, being the fastest horse to bolt out of the paddock, on this occasion, was perhaps to be the downfall of Hirst and Co-Driver Bowen. The pair, who showed lightning speed from the get-go, by setting a pace which was a second per mile quicker than rival Payne, slid into one of the infamous Kielder ditches a few miles into the second stage, and there was no coming back from it, putting a premature end to their rally.

PHOTO: ELLIOT PAYNE & PATRICK WALSH – BY ANDREW SCOTT

With Hirst being seeded car No 1, Payne would have passed the stricken Fabia of Hirst in the stage, and from here on, Payne’s target was to just keep it clean and make it to the end of the rally, hopefully in P1. Whilst Payne backed off, Rory Young & Allan Cathers (VW Polo GTi R5) would snap up the fastest stage time in SS2 Whitehill 1 and leapfrogged into the lead of the rally. But Young’s lead was short-lived, as Daniel Sigurðarson ended the morning loop with the final stage win in SS3 Camstone Rigg to snatch the lead of the rally heading into the mid-day service halt.

PHOTO: DANIEL SIGURÐARSON & ÁSTA SIGURÐADÓTTIR – BY ROB SAYER

In the SilverStar, Boyd Kershaw was rallying as if he’d never been away from the sport; he and Co-Driver Keegan Rees had bagged all three fastest times in the SilverStar field in their MKII Ford Escort and were leading the Vauxhall Chevette of Ben Jemison & Adam Burkill by a sizable 39 seconds. Jemison was, however, the leading BTRDA Historic crew, holding an eight-second gap to Barry Jordan & Arwel Jenkins in the Mitsubishi Galant VR4.

PHOTOS: BOYDE KERSHAW & KEGGAN REES – BY ANDREW SCOTT | BEN JEMISON & ADAM BURKHILL – BY ANDREW SCOTT | BARRY JORDAN & ARWEL JENKINS – BY ROB SAYER

Meanwhile, in the BronzeStar, an epic battle was in full swing over the morning loop, between Dave & Freddy Brick (Vauxhall Nova) and Luke Watts & Matt Rogers (MG ZR). Brick had got the jump on the opening stage of the day by six seconds, but Watts was well up for the scrap and returned fire in Stage 2 to claw back three seconds. Watts followed that up in Stage 3 to claim back the other three seconds, and with that, we had the makings of an epic battle in the BronzeStar. The pair would reach half-time tied on times, setting things up just nicely for a full-on head-to-head shoot-out in the afternoon.

PHOTOS: DAVE & FREEDY BRICK – BY ANDREW SCOTT | LUKE WATTS & MATT ROGERS – BY ROB SAYER

AFTERNOON LOOP

Elliot Payne & Patrick Walsh returned to the stages with their eyes set on the prize; they just had to catch and overhaul the rally leaders, Daniel Sigurðarson & Ásta Sigurðardottir. They would begin the afternoon’s loop with just two seconds to find, and the pair slashed that to one second in Stage 4, the repeated run of Smales Leap.

PHOTOS: DANIEL SIGURÐARSON & ÁSTA SIGURÐADÓTTIR – BY ANDREW SCOTT | ELLIOT PAYNE & PATRICK WALSH – BY ROB SAYER

But Sigurðarson wasn’t ready to give this one up just yet, and reacted in the penultimate stage of the rally, blasting Payne’s stage time by 5 seconds, sending a clear signal of intent, also giving him a bit of a buffer heading into the final stage of the rally.

Payne headed into the final 7.33 miles in Camstone Rigg with six seconds to find, and somehow Payne pulled off a stage win, which was a gobsmacking 9 seconds faster than Sigurðarson. Overturning that deficit into a 3-second victory was simply stunning, and it would see him and Co-Driver Patrick Walsh not only steal the win but also secure their second back-to-back BTRDA victory.

PHOTO: ELLIOT PAYNE PODIUM CELEBRATION – BY ROB SAYER

Having led from the third stage of the rally, this was bitterly disappointing for Daniel Sigurðarson & Ásta Sigurdardottir; they could almost taste the champagne but had been denied their first BTRDA victory and what would have probably been Daniel’s first event win on British soil since the 2008 Mid Wales stage in the old ANCRO days.

PHOTO: DANIEL SIGURÐARSON & ÁSTA SIGURÐADÓTTIR – BY ANDREW SCOTT | IAN BAINBRIDGE & ANDREW ROUGHHEAD – BY ROB SAYER

After climbing the leaderboard to P3 in the third stage in the morning, Ian Bainbridge & Andrew Roughead would round out the podium in their Skoda Fabia Rally2, crossing the finish line back in Hexham a further 28 seconds off the pace from that battle up front.

Throughout the afternoon, Boyd Kershaw & Keegan Rees continued to dominate the SilverStar in their MKII Ford Escort, adding a further two fastest stage times to their tally in Stages 4 & 5. Thanks to all the hard work, the pair were able to relax a little and enjoy the final stage of the event; their winning margin was well over a minute.

PHOTO: BOYDE KERSHAW & KEEGAN REES – BY ROB SAYER

The battle for the BronzeStar would continue to rage on between Brick and Watts. Dave & Freddy Brick got the upper hand in Stage 4 by a single second, but Luke Watts & Matt Rogers responded immediately in the penultimate test (SS5 Whitehill 2), taking that second back and some. By recording a time that was five seconds quicker, Watts & Rogers were now just one stage away from victory with a few seconds in hand.

PHOTO: DAVE & FREDDY BRICK – BY ANDREW SCOTT

Alas, that penultimate stage in Whitehill would sadly be the end of this epic two-way fight as Dave & Freddy Brick would unfortunately retire their Nova with a broken rad on the road section before the final stage of the event. The demise of the Bricks would see Luke Watts & Matt Rogers leaving Kielder as the victors, and a maximum points haul towards their BronzeStar championship campaign. Giles Armitage & Josh Rhodes peddled their Peugeot 205 GTi home in second.

PHOTO: LUKE WATTS & MATT ROGERS – BY ANDREW SCOTT

Going into the final stage of the event, Ben Jemison & Adam Burkhill were the leading BTRDA-registered Historic crew with a sizable buffer, but would sadly retire their Vauxhall Chevette. Bryan Jardin & Ashley Trimble, who were next in line, in their MKII Ford Escort, entered that final stage with just three seconds in hand over Barry Jordan & Arwel Jenkins.

PHOTOS: BRYAN JARDIN & ASHLY TRIMBLE – BY ANDREW SCOTT | BARRY JORDAN & ARWEL JENKINS – BY ROB SAYER

However, after holding third throughout the day in their Mitsubishi Galant, Baz Jordan & Arwel Jenkins were handed a late twist of fortune. They stole the show by posting a time that was a whopping 11 seconds quicker, which gave them the final winning margin of 8 seconds and the BTRDA Historic honours.

FINAL RESULTS

PHOTOS BY ROB SAYER

NEXT TIME

The BTRDA Rally Championship heads back to Wales for the Plains Rally (June 12th), where the crews will tackle some more quality Welsh gravel in mid-Wales for Round 3.

CLOSING SHOT BY ROB SAYER