WELSH / RD2 / SEVERN VALLEY STAGES 2024

WORDS BY ANDY COOK | PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDY COOK, ANDREW SCOTT & NIGEL PRATT

The Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh National Rally Championship relocated a little further south to Mid Wales for the second round of its 2024 Championship. To celebrate the 50th running of the Severn Valley Stages, the event, once again sponsored by Rallynuts would offer up some 62 competitive stage miles, over and above a normal 45-mile one-day rally. It would also feature some of the finest gravel stages that Wales has to offer in the Coed Sarnau, Myherin/Tarennig and Harfren Forest complexes.

4WD

Last time out at the season opener, three times Welsh Champs Matthew Hirst & Declan Dear got their title defence off to the ideal start at the Get Jerky Rally North Wales. In some rather soggy condition out on the stages, the pair secured their first Welsh win of the season over Daniel O’Brien & Mark Glenerster and Hirst was looking to carry over some of the speed into the Severn Valley.

LEG 1 | STAGES 1-4

Hirst would set off into the morning’s loop of stages with a determined drive from the get-go. Opening up the proceedings on the first 4.17-mile test in the Coed Sarnau Forest with his first Welsh stage win over the W13 Class Mitsubishi Evo 9 of Russ Thompson & Stephen Link; with Rob Wilson & Martin Haggett hot in the heels in their EVO VII.

Photo: Matthew Hirst & Declan Dear | By Andrew Scott

The crews headed for two tests in the Tarennig / Myherin complex to the West of Llangurig, but the fog had descended resulting in low visibility out on the stages. Hirst adapted to the conditions fairly quickly and secured the fastest Welsh stage times in both tests to extend his lead out front to a sizable 42+ seconds over Thompson & Link; with a final and longer 11 miles in Hafren left to tackle of the morning loop.

Photo: Russ Thompson & Stephen Link – By Andy Cook (Xlerate.Media) | Rob Willson & Martin Haggett – By Andrew Scott

Matthew Hirst & Declan Dear pulled out an even bigger gap over the Hafren to Sweet Lamb test, boosting their advantage by a further 21 seconds to lead the Welsh field by over one minute and six at the halfway point. Behind the leaders, the skirmish for the second spot between Russ Thompson and Rob Wilson was heating up, it was a lot closer with the pair throwing punches over the morning loop in their Mitsubishi EVO’s. Thompson and Co-Driver Link were to hold the upper hand, heading back to the mid-day service halt with a small gap of 6.5 seconds over Wilson & Haggett.

POS	LEADERBOARD AFTER SS?	TIME
1	#7 M.HIRST / D.DEAR	29.04
2	#20 R.THOMPOSN / S.LINK	30.10
3	#22 R.WILSON / M.HAGGETT	30.16
4	#23 J.GIDDING / A.DAVIES	30.48
5	##59 D.MORRIS / S.ALLEN	32.34

LEG 2 | STAGES 5-7

The afternoon loop would see some slight changes to the route from the mornings activities, although Sarnau would remain the same, Tarennig and Myherin would be joined to make one longer 15.82-mile test and the Hafren stage would see a minor adjustment for the afternoon run.

Photo: Rob Wilson & Martin Haggett | Russ Thompson & Stephen Link | By Andrew Scott

Rob Wilson and Martin Haggett would be able to break Hirst & Dear’s run of stage wins, picking up the repeated pass through Coed Sarnau. Although just half a second wasn’t really going to make much of a dent in Hirst’s lead up front, it was, however, enough to see Wilson take P2 from Thompson who spun mid-stage.

Photo: Matthew Hirst & Declan Dear | By Andy Cook (Xlerate.Media)

Matthew Hirst & Declan Dear remained focused despite being blighted by a severe misfire which caused them a lot of stress over the afternoon loop. Adding the final two stage wins to their tally, the pair would cross the finish line in their Delta Salvage Ford Fiesta R5 car with an overall lead of 1 minute and 35 seconds, securing their back-to-back Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship wins.

Rob Wilson alongside Co-Driver Martin Haggett would come out on top in that Mitsubishi battle for the runner-up spot, their EVO VII was able to see off the EVO 9 of Russ Thompson & Stephen link. Crossing the finish line with almost 42 seconds in hand, they had not only secured second in the Welsh but would also secure the W13 Class honours. 

Photos: Rob Wilson & Martin Haggett – By Andy Cook (Xlerate.Medi) | Russ Thompson & Stephen Link – By Andrew Scott

Taking to the final step of the Welsh podium, Thompson & Link would also have a decent enough gap to James Gidding & Aled Davis (also in an EVO 9) in fourth; Wug Utting & Bob Stokoe would round out the top 5 Welsh crews in their Subaru Impreza.

Photos: James Gidding & Aled Davis – By Andy Cook (Xlerate.Media) | Wug Utting & Bob Stokoe – By Andrew Scott

POS	FINAL LEADERBOARD	TIME
1	#7 M.HIRST / D.DEAR	1:02.33
2	#22 R.WILSON / M.HAGGETT	1:04.08
3	#20 R.THOMPSON / S.LINK	1:04.50
4	#23 J.GIDDING / A.DAVIES	1:05.47
5	#62 W.UTTING / B.STOKOE	1:10.08

2WD

LEG 1 | STAGES 1-4

Having missed the opening round of the season (Rally North Wales), Iwan Roberts Jnr was back in full effect at the Rallynuts Stages to fight for the Hockly Motorsport 2WD honours.

Roberts along with Co-Driver Daniel Jones would waste no time in getting back up to speed in his Ford Escort G3, setting the pace on the opening stage of the day through Coed Sarnau.

Although only a short 4.17-mile blast, Roberts would stop the clocks some 11 seconds quicker than Lewis Hooper in the R2 spec Ford Fiesta; with Round one winners, Chris Richmond Hand & Ryan “Sheep” Jones in their MKII Ford Escort just three seconds behind Hooper in third.

Photos: Iwan Roberts & Daniel Jones – By Andy Cook (Xlerate.Media) | Lewis Hooper & Rhys Edwards – By Andrew Scott | Chris Richmond Hand & Ryan Jones – By Andrew Scott

Hand and Jones would up their game on the second stage through Tarennig, recording the same time through the shortest stage of the event as Roberts & Jones. Alas, Roberts & Jones were having none of it and were back on it over the next two stages through Myherin and Hafren Forest to extend their 2WD lead over Richmond-Hand & Jones to some 51 seconds as they headed back to Builth Wells for service.

Behind that battle for the lead, Dylan Fowler-Bishop had made moves up the leaderboard, from sixth place on Stage 1, to end the morning loop third in the Welsh Two Wheel Drives. With a small gap of just 3 seconds to the MKII Escort of Rob Dennis & Andy Boswell in fourth, Bishop and Co-Driver Dan Evans was getting the most out of their 1400cc Nissan Micra on stages of mid-Wales.

Photos: Dylan Fowler-Bishop & Dan Evans – By Nigel Pratt (Black Mountains Media) | Rob Dennis & Any Boswell – By Andrew Scott | Ashley Francis-Adams & Mark Ammonds – By Andrew Scott

Ashley Francis-Adams & Mark Ammonds, also in a Nissan Micra would round out the top 5 Welsh 2WD crews; having received a last-minute call the night before the off, confirming they had got a run, they appeared determined to get a result on the event. 

POS	2WD LEADERBOARD AFTER SS4	TIME
1	#52 I.ROBERTS / D.JONES	33.01
2	#66 C.RICHMOND HAND / R.JONES	33.52
3	#202 D.FOWLER-BISHOP / D.EVANS	34.20
4	#76 R.DENNIS / A.BOSWELL	34.23
5	#230 A.FRANCIS-ADAMS / M.AMMONDS	34.41

LEG 2 | STAGES 5-7

Iwan Roberts & Daniel Jones set about chasing down their first Welsh 2WD podium of the year. After service, the pair came back out with only one aim, they secured another two stage wins in SS5 Coed Sarnau 2 and SS6 Myherin and would enter the final 13.34 miles of Hafren with a comfortable lead of 1 minute, 19 seconds to uphold.

Photo: Iwan Roberts & Daniel Jones | By Andy Cook (Xlerate.Media)

The pair cruised through the final tests, crossing the finish line in Llandrindod Wells with a margin of 1 minute 13 over Chris Richmond Hand & Ryan “Sheep” Jones to secure maximum Welsh 2WD points and take to the top step of the Hockley Motorsport Welsh 2WD podium.

Photo: Chris Richmond Hand & Ryan Jones | By Andrew Scott

Although runners-up, Hand & Jones had put in a good fight having recorded a stage win and five second fastest stage times, ultimately they couldn’t quite match the pace of the Roberts. Their efforts do, however, mean that they lead the two-wheel drive standings ahead of Rob Dennis and Andy Boswell, who rounded out the 2WD podium having picked up that final stage win in Hafren.

Photos: Rob Dennis & Andy Boswell – By Andy Cook (Xlerate.Media) | Dylan Fowler-Bishop & Dan Evans – By Andrew Scott | Ashley Francis-Adams & Malcolm Ammonds – By Nigel Pratt (Black Mountains Media) | Lewis Hooper & Rhys Edwards – By Andrew Scott

The afternoon loop would not be as good as the morning was for Dylan Fowler-Bishop, having put in a strong morning loop it would all go downhill towards the end of the rally. Bishop and Co-Driver Dan Evans would run in trouble on the penultimate stage through Myherin and would retire from the rally. The demise of Bishop cleared the way for Ashley Francis-Adams & Mark Almonds to take home fourth, with Lewis Hooper rounding out the top 5 of the Welsh 2WD crews.

POS	FINAL 2WD LEADERBOARD	TIME
1	#52 I.ROBERTS / D.JONES	1:10.41
2	#66 C.RICHMOND HAND / R.JONES	1:11.55
3	#76 R.DENNIS / A.BOSWELL	1:12.41
4	#230 A.FRANCIS-ADAMS / M.AMMONDS	1:13.40
5	#106 L.HOOPER / R.EDWARDS	1:15.31

HISTORICS

LEG 1 | STAGES 1-4

With a strong line-up of Historic crews out for round two, it was anyone’s guess as to who could potentially come out on top. Last time out at the season opener, Rudi Lancaster & Guy Weaver got their Welsh campaign off to the best possible start, having driven their MKII Ford Escort RS1800 through the stages of North Wales the quickest out of the Welsh historic crews.

Photo: Rudi Lancaster & Guy Weaver | By Andrew Scott

Lancaster & Weaver would begin their day looking to repeat that performance and picked up the first stage win of the morning in Coed Sarnau but the second test through Tarrenig would prove to be a costly one. The pair would lose a chunk of time having put the MKII Escort off the road, leaving Jonathan Brace and Co-Driver Paul Spooner in the Braces Bread MK1 Escort to pick up the stage win here.

Photos: Rudi Lancaster & Guy Weaver – By Andrew Scott | Jonathan Brace & Paul Spooner – By Andy Cook (Xlerate.Media) | John Morgan & Llinos Jones-Edwards – By Andrew Scott

However, Lancaster & Weaver would soon make amends for the mistake, returning back to the top of timing sheets in the very next test, Myherin. Taking stage wins here and in the following Hafren to Sweet Lamb test, they would end the morning loop with a twelve-second lead over Brace and Spooner. John Morgan & Llinos Jones-Edwards were holding P3 of Historic crews in their RS1800, ahead of Eddie Lewis & Sion Cuniff (4th) and Joss Carr & Osian Owen rounding out the top five and the mid-point in the rally.

Photos: Eddie Lewis & Sion Cuniff – By Andy Cook (Xlerate.Media) | Josh Carr & Osian Owen – By Andrew Scott

POS	HISTORICS LEADERBOARD AFTER SS4	TIME
1	#46 R.LANCASTER / G.WEAVER	33.07
2	#77 J.BRACE / P.SPOONER	34.17
3	#99 J.MORGAN / L.JONES-EDWARDS	35.09
4	#82 E.LEWIS / S.CUNIFF	35.42
5	#228 J.CARR / O.OWEN	35:58

LEG 2 | STAGES 5-7

Over the afternoon’s loop of three stages, Rudi Lancaster & Guy Weaver would remain on course for the overall Welsh Historic honours. Compleating their day with all three afternoon stage wins the pair would secure their second Welsh Historic win at the Severn Valley Stages. Baring that misdemeanour on stage two, the pair had dominated the field by recording the fastest time on six out of the seven stages to not only take top points in W9 Class but to also claim the overall Historic honours.

Photos: Rudi Lancaster & Guy Wever – By Andy Cook (Xlerate.Media) | Jonathan Brace & Paul Spooner – By Nigel Pratt (Black Mountains Media)

Best of the rest Jonathan Brace & Paul Spooner brought their MK1 Escort home 2 minutes and 34 seconds behind Lancaster to secure top points in the W8 Class. Whilst Josh Carr & Osian Owen who rounded out the top three Historic crews, scored maximum points in the W6 Class, their first result having sat out the season opener in North Wales in March.

Photos: Josh Carr & Osian Owen – By Andrew Scott | John Morgan & Llinos Jones-Edwards – By Andrew Scott | Eddie Lewis & Sion Cuniff – By Andy Cook (Xlerate.Media)

POS	FINAL HISTORICS LEADERBOARD	TIME
1	#46 R.LANCASTER / G.WEAVER	1:10.22
2	#77 J.BRACE / P.SPOONER	1:12.56
3	#228 J.CARR / O.OWEN	1:15.17
4	#99 J.MORGAN / L.JONES-EDWARDS	1:15.34
5	#82 E.LEWIS / S.CUNIFF	1:15.59

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING

POS	OVERALL DRIVERS TABLE (RD2)	POINTS
1	M.HIRST	60
2	J.GIDDINGS	49
3	R.LANCASTER	46
4=	P.BAYLIS	43
4=	W.UTTING	43
POS	2WD DRIVERS TABLE (RD2)	POINTS
1	C.RICHMOND HAND	57
2	R.DENNIS	55
3	G.PHELPS	47
4	S.WALTON	45
5	M.WALTERS	38

NEXT TIME

The Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Championship intended to visit Bala, North Wales for the Plains Rally on May 18th, however, due to insufficient entry numbers the Knutsford and District Motor Club were left with the difficult decision to cancel the event or else face significant financial losses. The Plains Rally has a long-standing history in Welsh Rallying, it is a fantastic event and would have offered some world-class gravel stages as used by the Wales Rally GB during Britain’s stint in the World Rally Championship. One can only remain hopeful that it returns to the season next year and attracts the following that it rightly deserves. Therefore, the next round of the Welsh Championship will be the Quinton Motor Clubs Nicky Grist Stages on July 13th, from Builth Wells, the event will once again take on some firm favourite stages in this part of the country.