REPORT / BRANDS HATCH WINTER STAGES 2025

23/01/2025 Off By admin

WORDS BY DAN MORRIS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROB SAYER

The Protyre Circuit Rally Championship resumed after the Christmas break with its annual visit to Kent for the MGJ Engineering Brands Hatch Winter Stages; where eight stages totalling 35 miles awaited the crews.

This year, the event was confined to the circuit, with no stages using the paddock or rally school areas. This change allowed the Paddock Hill grandstand to be used, offering spectators a full panoramic view of the circuit. However, from a driver’s perspective, it may have detracted slightly from the event due to the lack of variety provided by those additional sections.

2024/24 CIRCUIT RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

John and Alex Stone (VW Polo R5) headed into Brands Hatch as the championship leaders, having secured three podium finishes at the first three rounds. With dropped scores coming into play later in the season, attention has already turned to the two drivers who have dominated the overall standings in recent years: John Griffiths, in his freshly painted and liveried Fabia R5, and former British GT racer Michael Igoe (Citroen C3 Rally2), who dominated the previous season by winning seven events in a row.

Brands Hatch attracted one of its strongest entries in recent years, with impressive depth beyond the top three championship regulars. Multiple Barbadian champion Stuart Maloney made the trip over and competed in a Polo R5 run by the British Championship-winning Melvyn Evans Motorsport. Irishman Barry Morris returned to the series in his Darrian T90 GTR+, heading the battle for 2WD honours, with Chris West’s Millington engined 306 Maxi no doubt close behind. Another notable entry was former M-Sport driver Rhys Yates, competing in a Clio.

STAGES 1 – 4

Michael Igoe and Will Atkins took an early advantage, claiming victory on three of the first four stages. Driving cleanly and taking full advantage of the benefits of 4WD. They capitalised on the damp, misty conditions that greeted the crews at the start of the rally.

The outlier came on Stage 2, where Barry Morris and Tom Hutchings in their Darrian, beat Igoe by a single second. Morris thrived in the absence of loose surface sections and jumps, making the most of the fast, flowing stages to close the gap to Igoe to just seven seconds by the halfway point.

John and Alex Stone held third place, pushing hard and staying ten seconds ahead of Chris West and Keith Hounslow in the screaming 306 Maxi. Behind them, Richard Weatherly and Shaun Layland rounded out the top five in their Citroen C3 Rally2.

In sixth place were circuit championship contenders John Griffiths and Emma Morrison, who endured a challenging morning in their Fabia. Two spins on the first two stages, both in exactly the same spot, cost them valuable time. Cold tyres were identified as the culprit.

AFTER STAGE 4

POS	LEADERBOARD	TIME
1	#1 M.IGOE / W.ATKINS	14:02
2	#5 B.MORRIS / T.HUTCHINGS	+7
3	#3 J.STONE / A.STONE	+14
4	#11 C.WEST / K.HOUNSLOW	+ 24
5	#4 R.WEATHERLY / S.LAYLAND	+30

STAGES 5 – 8

Michael Igoe finally broke his streak of recent bad luck with victory at the 2025 MGJ Brands Hatch Stages. Alongside Co-Driver Will Atkins, Igoe delivered a flawless afternoon performance, winning all four stages and securing the win by a margin of 19 seconds ahead of a fully committed Barry Morris & Tom Hutchings, who beat plenty of Rally2/R5 machinery in the mid-engined Darrian.

John Stone narrowly held onto the final podium spot, finishing third by just one second, as John Griffiths and Emma Morrison staged a resurgent comeback during the afternoon loop. Climbing from sixth to fourth, Griffiths pushed hard to make up for their morning mistakes but ultimately fell just short of the podium.

Chris West gave it everything to keep his 306 Maxi ahead of the charging Fabia, using every inch of tarmac and pushing the car to its absolute limit. Despite his effort, he was narrowly beaten by Griffiths, finishing fifth – just three seconds off the podium. Reflecting on the rally, West remarked, “It’s 4WD territory today, they must be pulling two seconds on me off the line!”

Finishing just outside the top five were Stuart Maloney and Steve McNulty. The Barbadian driver quickly adapting to the MEM (Melvyn Evans Motorsport) run Polo R5, posting three top-three stage times along the way. With an entry lined up at Snetterton in a few weeks, a bit more seat time could see Maloney challenging for the very top positions next time out.

‘It feels like a while since we’ve been in first position! It’s nice to have a nice clean day, the cars gone well and we’ve driven well and it’s been clean today which has been good’
Michael Igoe

‘it’s been enjoyable, it’s great to get back over here and reconnect with Tom (Hutchings) and many other familiar people. And to get a bit of a result too means I’m more than happy.’
Barry Morris