REPORT / AGBO STAGES 2025

WORDS BY DAN MORRIS | PHOTOGRAPY ANDREW SCOTT & DAN MORRIS

The picturesque grounds of Weston Park roared to life with the sounds of engines and squealing tyres for the 2025 AGBO Stages. This popular single-venue event annually transforms the Shropshire estate, featuring short yet incredibly fast stages that weave through the estate’s various access roads.

Situated between Telford and Wolverhampton, the AGBO Stages Rally utilises routes once part of the RAC Rally in the 1980s. Organised by the well-established Owen Motoring Club, the event features 10 stages covering over 40 kilometres. These short, sharp stages including the infamous water splash demand that there is no easing into the event, with max attack required from the start.

Lee Edwards and Ben Crump would lead the field away, carrying the number one on their V6 Escort after dominating last year’s event and with it taking Edwards’ second AGBO Stages win. Hot on their heels, would be Oliver Davies and Jack Bowen in car number two. Davies, a nine-time winner, had come close in the past couple of years but fallen just short. This year, he was chasing that milestone tenth victory – exactly twenty years after his first.

Between Edwards, Davies, and Huw James (who sadly had to withdraw his entry this year), these three had dominated the AGBO Stages in recent seasons, winning all but two events since 2011.

But they weren’t the only ones to watch. Gary Thomas and Chris Walton made a welcome return, with Thomas a two-time former event winner, starting at Weston Park for the first time since 2016 in a Tsalta Motorsport run Escort. Dai Roberts and Steve Pugh were also ones to keep an eye on in their Darrian. Despite both driver and co-driver struggling with extreme motion sickness on tarmac, they managed a strong fifth last year, not far off the pace of the leaders. Adding to the mix would be Steve North in his Millington-powered Escort, and Wayne Larbalestier’s rarely seen four-wheel drive entry. (due to regulations prohibiting any sequential boxes for 4WD) His Mitsubishi Evo 3 could throw a real cat among the pigeons at the sharp end of the leaderboard.

STAGES 1 – 5

It was rare for Weston Park to be bone dry at this time of year, but that’s exactly what greeted the crews at the start of the event; blue skies and temperatures hitting double digits. Perfect conditions for Oliver Davies and Jack Bowen, whose Millington-powered Escort thrived in the dry, making full use of the rev range as they tore through the park.

Davies and Bowen set the tone early, knowing they needed to get out of the traps quickly, pulling four seconds clear on the opening stage, then adding another four on the second and three more on the third. Lee Edwards and Ben Crump finally managed to match Davies on the fourth stage, but it was only enough for a shared stage win.

Davies kept up the pressure, taking Stage 5 as well, building a 13-second lead by the halfway point. It might not sound like much on a conventional rally, but with stages under two miles long, clawing that time back in the afternoon would be a tall order.

Behind the two leading Escorts, Dai Davies and Steve Pugh were putting together a consistent run in their Darrian T90 GTR, finishing third on every stage and building a comfortable gap to the returning Gary Thomas in fourth. Rounding out the top five were Steve North and Ian Jones, who had made a strong start in their black Mk2 Escort. 
Wayne Larbalestier and Matt Endean’s Evo topped the 4WD crews, sitting in seventh overall.

AFTER STAGE 3

POS	LEADERBOARD	TIME (DIF)
1	#2 O.DAVIES / J.BOWEN	11:57
2	#1 L.EDWARDS / B.CRUMP	12:10 (+13)
3	#5 D.DOT DAVIES / S.PUGH	12:19 (+9)
4	#3 G.THOMAS / C.WALTON	12:28 (+9)
5	#4 S.CHANEY-NORTH / I.JONES	12:41 (+13)

STAGES 6 – 10

The second loop of stages would be much tighter, with only an extra second separating the top two, but by then, Oliver Davies and Jack Bowen had already built enough of a cushion in the morning. They kept the pressure on, managing the gap in the afternoon and keeping Lee Edwards and Ben Crump at bay. The gap at the halfway point had been 13 seconds, and by the finish it had barely moved to 14. Edwards did fight back, even winning three of the five stages, but still couldn’t close the gap to Davies and Bowen. Davies secured a remarkable tenth overall victory at Weston Park, twenty years after his first. After numerous class wins and titles, this would be Bowen’s first ever overall victory – well done Jack! 

Dai Davies and Steve Pugh began the second loop by losing time to Gary Thomas, but they quickly regained their rhythm and once back on track, extended their advantage and nabbed a stage win (shared with Edwards) on the final stage, confirming their third place finish after a consistent performance. Gary Thomas and Chris Walton took a solid fourth, making an impressive return after a long absence from the Midlands venue. Steve North and Ian Jones rounded out the top five, their Escort standing out with its distinctive circular angel eye headlights, making it hard to miss among the sea of Escorts on the event.

Wayne Larbalestier and Matt Endean dominated the 4WD category, comfortably winning by a few minutes, and had moved up to sixth overall by the end of the event despite some half spins and grassy moments. 

FINAL RESULTS

POS	LEADERBOARD	TIME (DIF)
1	#2 O.DAVIES / J.BOWEN	24:03
2	#1 L.EDWARDS / B.CRUMP	24:17 (+14)
3	#5 D.DOT DAVIES / S.PUGH	24:42 (+25)
4	#3 G.THOMAS / C.WALTON	24:53 (+11)
5	#4 S.CHANEY-NORTH / I.JONES	25:10 (+17)

QUOTES

“The event couldn’t have gone any better for us, really. No moments, the car ran faultless and lots of friendly competition between everyone too. We knew Lee/Ben would be the crew to beat, so we had to get out of the blocks early doors, which we did and built up enough of a margin that we were able to manage during the day. With such short stages, we knew any mistakes would be punished, so we had to keep pushing right until the end.“

Jack Bowen

“Ahh I can’t grumble as much as I’d have liked to get the win we just couldn’t find the times. Possibly a slow start by us initially, 11 seconds down after the first three, then to only be 14 seconds down after the 10 stages. Showed we were closer in the later stages for sure but the damage was done.  Fair play they were in a great pace“

Lee Edwards

“Dai and me both suffer from motion sickness in the Darrian, and Dai was feeling it by the end of the day, but I couldn’t have managed another stage. Happy to win the final stage!“

Steve Pugh

HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO