REPORT / RALI CEREDIGION 2026

WORDS BY JAMIE MOONE | PHOTOGRAPY ANDREW SCOTT, JAMIE MOONE & NIGEL PRATT

For the second consecutive event, the British Rally Championship crews had the opportunity to test themselves against some of the world’s best drivers, with former WRC factory drivers Kris Meeke and Teemu Suninen among the headline names competing in this year’s JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion. Despite this, the battle for British Championship points was the ultimate priority for many. 

Following the cancellation of the Carlisle Stages in June, Rali Ceredigion took on added importance in the championship battle. To make up for the cancelled round, the event became a double header, with Friday and Saturday forming Round 4 before Sunday’s action counted as Round 5.

Based out of Aberystwyth, three days of competition would see the crews tackle more than 100 miles of closed road action on some of the most challenging roads in British rallying. The fast and technical stages offered little room for error, while the unpredictable Welsh weather would add another challenge across the weekend.

As the event formed part of the European Rally Championship, the BRC1 crews contested a qualifying stage to determine the running order for the opening leg. The stage was held in the familiar surroundings of the Pendam test, but it proved troublesome for the championship contenders. Both Osian Pryce and Max McRae picked up punctures, leaving them towards the back of the timesheets. Meirion Evans, meanwhile, was the highest-placed BRC crew in seventh overall amongst the European Championship regulars, giving him a potential road order advantage over his British championship rivals.

ROUND 4

As is tradition, the ever-popular Aberystwyth street stage once again got things underway on Friday evening. However, new for 2026, two night stages in the lanes outside Aberystwyth awaited them afterwards.

It was far from plain sailing for the crews on the opening stages. Max McRae was hampered by a shaking light pod, making visibility difficult and proving a major distraction, while Evans suffered with pop-off issues. Championship leader Osian Pryce was also struggling, admitting at the end of SS4 that he had been “off the road more than we were on the road” during what he described as a nightmare opening to the rally. Despite his troubles, Pryce still ended the night second, behind McRae, with just 2.5 seconds separating the top three at the head of the field.

In the Junior BRC, Luke Constantine and Ifan Devine led the way after Friday evening’s opening stages. The Opel Corsa Rally4 crew held a 15 second advantage over Irish challenger Oran England, with fellow Irishman Ben McFall a further nine seconds behind in third. With McFall leading the championship by 16 points, Constantine was keen to make inroads into that advantage over the double header weekend.

Saturday saw the crews tackle some of Rali Ceredigion’s most iconic stages. The Cwm Elan and Soar y Mynydd tests have become firm favourites over the event’s relatively short history, although both featured some changes for 2026, with altered routes creating a fresh challenge for the crews.

It was the equally challenging Aberffrwd test that got Saturday morning underway and once again, the top three were separated by mere tenths of a second, with Evans, McRae and Pryce completing the 12km test within just 1.2 seconds of one another. Things didn’t get off to such a good start for Sam Touzel and Max Freeman as they were caught out under braking, leaving the road and damaging their Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, forcing them to retire from the entire event.

The morning loop was disrupted by a communications issue, resulting in the first run through Soar y Mynydd being cancelled for all BRC competitors. That left just one test before the return to service, where McRae took four seconds out of his rivals to extend his advantage to 7.1 seconds.

The afternoon saw a repeat of the three morning stages, before a return to the seafront in Aberystwyth for two final runs. Evans and Pryce now had work to do if either was to overhaul McRae and claim the Round 4 victory.

Pryce set about closing the gap to McRae, setting the fastest time on the following two stages to reduce the deficit to just 0.4 seconds ahead of the second run through Cwm Elan. With little separating the pair, the fight for the Round 4 victory remained close heading into the final stages of the afternoon.

McRae responded, pulling the gap back out over the remaining stages before eventually securing the victory by 4.4 seconds over Pryce. Evans was unable to match the leading pair during the afternoon but still brought the Yaris home in third, with the second run through Soar y Mynydd proving particularly special for the Welshman.

“I drove this road for the first time when I was six-year-old with my dad. I said, ‘Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could rally this road one day?’ And here we are. It was special. I didn’t care too much about the time.”

Merion Evans

Elsewhere, the Junior battle was equally intense, with McFall, Constantine and England all claiming stage wins throughout the day. It was England who overcame the deficit from Friday’s night stages to win Round 4 of the Junior British Rally Championship, beating Constantine by just 2.1 seconds and claiming victory on his JBRC debut.

In BRC3, 2025 Junior BRC competitor Kallum Graffin returned to the championship for the first time this season, having made the step up to ERC3 for 2026. Graffin took the Round 4 victory ahead of championship leader Aoife Raftery.

With McRae opting to use his joker on Round 4, he claimed an additional five points and moved into the championship lead. The result gave him a two-point advantage over Pryce, with Evans a further 19 points behind.

OA RESULTS AFTER LEG 1

ROUND 5

Sunday marked Round 5 of the British Rally Championship and also brought a change in the character of the stages, with Sunday’s route featuring two tests run twice. Unlike Saturday’s stages, the roads were noticeably narrower, with hedgerows lining much of the route and leaving little room for error. With only two rounds remaining in the 2026 season, the short but challenging day would prove significant in the championship battle.

Evans made the strongest start, opening up a 3.5 second advantage over Pryce on the first stage of the day, while McRae found himself 10.2 seconds adrift of the lead.

Disaster struck for Pryce on the second stage of the morning, as mechanical issues forced him into retirement and dealt a major blow to his championship challenge. His retirement left McRae in a strong position, although it was not how he wanted to gain an advantage over his rival.

“That is a shame about Pryce. It is a big shame for him, but obviously it is good for our British Championship. That is not the way we want to do it. We will just make sure we get to the finish,” said McRae.

Evans emerged from the morning with wins on both stages, opening up a 15 second advantage over McRae as the crews headed back to service.

The Junior BRC crews faced an even more unusual Sunday. After both stages in the opening loop were cancelled, their first opportunity to set a competitive time came in the afternoon. However, the disruption continued when Oran England crashed out on the third stage of the day, resulting in another cancellation for the Junior crews.

It meant the entire field headed into the final 11km stage on equal terms, with a full round of championship points effectively coming down to a single stage.

It was Luke Constantine who seized the initiative, winning the decisive 11km test by more than 10 seconds to secure his second Junior BRC victory of the season. The result also saw Constantine claim the Stellantis Rally Trophy UK title, earning him a prize drive in Hungary and a test in a Lancia Ypsilon Rally2.

After his strong run in the morning, Evans had a comfortable buffer over McRae, taking some of the pressure off heading into the afternoon loop. The pair took a stage win apiece in the afternoon, with McRae pushing on the Power Stage to benchmark himself against the ERC crews.

Evans eventually secured his first victory of the season, finishing Round 5 nine seconds ahead of McRae. Following Pryce’s retirement, BRC3 winner Kallum Graffin completed the overall BRC podium in third.

There was also reason to celebrate for Aoife Raftery, who secured the BRC3 championship with a second-place finish, wrapping up the title with a round to spare. The DirtFish Women in Motorsport driver has enjoyed a strong season while also competing in the American Rally Association (ARA) Championship.

Both McRae and Evans made their jokers count across the weekend, with Evans following McRae’s Round 4 maximum by collecting the full championship points available on Sunday. The result moved him up to second in the standings, just seven points behind McRae, while Pryce’s retirement and subsequent non-score left him 20 points adrift of the championship lead. It leaves everything to play for ahead of the season finale at the Cambrian Rally at the end of October.

FINAL RESULTS (OA)

GALLERY