WOODPECKER RALLY 2025

WORDS BY DAN MORRIS | PHOTOGRAPY BY ANDREW SCOTT, NIGEL PRATT & ROB SAYER

The Phil Price Memorial Woodpecker Rally is now firmly settled into its new Mid Wales base after last year’s move from Ludlow. The switch has opened up some of the sport’s most famous gravel stages, with around 45 competitive miles on offer through Hafren and the rarely used Tarenig – stages that have shaped rallying history for decades.

With rounds of the BHRC, BTRDA, and Welsh championships thrown in, and stages that wouldn’t look out of place in November’s RAC rally, Sixty & Worcestershire Motor Club would have been delighted to roll into Newtown early on Saturday morning with a capacity entry.

The BHRC brought out a heavyweight historic lineup to the Woodpecker, with Nick Elliott making a welcome return in his Fiat 131 Abarth, breaking the mould of the sea of Escorts that usually dominate at the sharp end. Northern Irish crew David Crossen and Ben Teggart were first of the MKIIs; already double winners this season, with usual suspects David Henderson and Dan Mennell bulking out an already strong front-running entry, with 2018 British Historic champion Paul Barrett also making a welcome return.

On the overall championship front, Barry Jordan and Arwel Jenkins only need a finish to win the 2025 title. The new category-based points system has played to their favour this year, and they arrive in Newtown with everything to lose and everything to gain in their Cat 4 Mitsubishi Galant.

Out front for the overall rally win, all eyes would be on reigning BTRDA champion Elliot Payne, with Patrick Walsh calling the notes in their Fiesta Rally2. They start at number one but won’t have it easy with long-time rival Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear desperate to put their Woodpecker hoodoo to bed in the Fabia. Iceland’s Daniel Sigurðarson continues his Rally2 learning curve in one of the latest RS Fabias, with Tom Williams making a rare home outing in another one of the Czech Republic’s finest. Liam Clark completes a stacked top five in his Fiesta.

LEG 1

Despite not being registered for BHRC points, Osian Pryce & Dale Furniss would set an untouchable pace amongst the historics from the get-go. Using the Woodpecker as a competitive test for November’s RAC, Pryce stormed through Hafren forest in his Wales Motorsport MkII Escort, setting a time some 13 seconds ahead of the next 2WD car, and placing himself sixth overall. As the morning loop continued, Pryce continued to top the Historic stage times by considerable margins. By the mid-rally service, he had already pulled out over 40 seconds on his nearest historic rivals, effectively in a class of his own.

PHOTO: OSIAN PRYCE & DALE FURNISS – BY ROB SAYER

The battle for the BHRC points behind Pryce was intense. Paul Barrett (Ford Escort MkII) and Dan Mennell (Escort MkII) were locked in a fight throughout the morning. They actually tied for fastest BHRC time on SS1 and traded seconds on the subsequent stages, before Barrett pulled out an eight-second advantage through the fast Tarenig stage. That gave the Northern Irishman an eight-second lead at the midpoint service, with Robert Gough’s Escort keeping within striking distance a further 15 seconds behind in third.

PHOTOS: PAUL BARRETT & ARTHUR KIERANS – BY ANDREW SCOTT | ROBERT GOUGH & JACK BOWEN – BY NIGEL PRATT

It wasn’t all plain sailing at the front, however. Championship frontrunner David Crossen hit trouble almost immediately, a broken throttle cable on SS1 forcing him out before the rally had really started, unfortunately ending his slim overall title chances for good. Last year’s event third-place man Nick Elliott was also having a torrid start, a puncture costing him nearly two minutes on the opening stage and dropping him well outside the top 20.

PHOTO: BAZ JORDAN & ARWELL JENKINS – BY ROB SAYER

Series leader Baz Jordan was playing the long game in the Galant. He drove the Mitsubishi through the morning tests at a conservative pace, focusing on preserving the car for that crucial finish needed to seal the BHRC crown, rather than chasing stage times in a car that has been previously known for its reliability woes.

PHOTOS: MATTHEW HIRST & DECLAN DEAR – BY ROB SAYER | ELLIOT PAYNE & PATRICK WALSH – BY ANDREW SCOTT | TOM WILLIAMS & MICHAEL GILBEY – BY NIGEL PRATT

At the sharp end of the overall rally, Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear made the best possible start in their Skoda Fabia R5. They were fastest on the opening Hafren test by six seconds from defending BTRDA champion Elliot Payne (Fiesta Rally2), with Tom Williams (Fabia RS Rally2) close behind on his UK return after spending most of this year rallying in Portugal. Hirst added two more stage wins through the heart of the Hafren forest complex, adding wins in Severn Way and Maesnant, carrying a 16-second lead into service. Behind Williams, Liam Clark and Co-driver Chris Williams ran fourth overall and second in the Welsh standings, behind Hirst in their Fiesta.

PHOTOS: DAVID HENDERSON & WILL ATKINS – BY ROB SAYER | LEWIS HOOPER & RHYS EDWARDS – BY NIGEL PRATT

Osian Pryce and Dale Furniss not only dominated the Historic ranks but also sat comfortably ahead in the SilverStar. Behind them, David Henderson/Will Atkins kept the Escort theme going with second, while Lewis Hooper/Rhys Edwards (Fiesta R2) ran best of the modern front wheel drives. The Bronze Star 1400s saw a familiar name back on top, with double champions Nigel & Karen Jenkins taking their Nova into the morning lead, fending off Dylan Fowler-Bishop/Dan Evans in their Micra.

PHOTOS: NIGEL & KAREN JENKINS | DYLAN FOWLER-BISHOP & DAN EVANS – BY ANDREW SCOTT

AFTER STAGE 3

POS	LEADERBOARD	TIME (DIF)
1	#2 M.HIRST / D.DEAR	21:33
2	#1 E.PAYNE / P.WALSH	21:49 (+16)
3	#5 L.CLARK / C.WILLIAMS	22:31 (+42)
4	#4 T.WILLIAMS / M.GILBEY	22:38 (+7)
5	#3 D.SIGURÐARSON / Á.SIGURÐADÓTTIR	22:59 (+21)

LEG 2

As the cars headed back into Hafren for the afternoon, the weather that had started in Tarenig just before service intensified,with heavy rain rolling in over Mid Wales as the repeat loop turned into a mud fest.

In the historics, Osian Pryce picked up right where he left off. The MKII Escort was flying even in the worst of the weather, and he continued to top the category on SS5 and SS6. By now, his lead was out to nearly a minute, and the only real question was who would come out on top in the BHRC points battle behind.

That fight came alive on SS7 Maesnant, where Paul Barrett upped the tempo further. The Northern Irishman went fastest of the BHRC crews (even pipping Pryce by a whisker) to finally shake off the close attention of Dan Mennell, who had clung to him all morning. A repeat performance on SS8 Tarenig sealed the deal, with Barrett and Co-driver Arthur Kierans again matching Pryce’s time through the final test and confirming themselves as the top BHRC-registered crew. Barrett’s decisive afternoon earned him maximum points and dragged the Cat-3 title fight on to the Trackrod.

PHOTOS: DAN MENNALL & JOHN ROBERTS | ROBERT GOUGH & JACK BOWERN – BY ANDREW SCOTT

Behind them, Dan Mennell/John Roberts had to be content with second among the BHRC crews, the Escort pair unable to match Barrett’s late pace but keeping the car intact through the worst of the rain. Robert Gough/Jack Bowen finished fourth, a minute further back, though their place was far from comfortable. A late push from both Paul Thompson and Richard Hill meant just twelve seconds covered fourth to sixth at the finish.

PHOTOS: BARRY JORDAN & ARWELL JENKINS – BY ROB SAYER | PAUL BARRETT & ARTHUR KIERANS – BY NIGEL PRATT

Further down the order, Barry “Baz” Jordan/Arwel Jenkins guided their Mitsubishi Galant to 19th overall. The result was enough to confirm them as 2025 BHRC champions, the first time a Category 4, turbocharged four-wheel-drive car has taken the title. In the supporting classes, David Wood/Reece Brookes won Category 1 in their Cortina, Tim Pearcey/Andy Boswell headed Category 2 in their MkI Escort, Paul Barrett took Category 3 with his MkII, and Jordan/Jenkins secured Category 4 alongside their overall title.

PHOTOS: TIM PEARCEY & ANDY BOSWELL – BY ANDREW SCOTT | DAVID WOOD & RECCE BROOKES – BY ROB SAYER

Out front of the overall rally, Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear looked to have finally broken their Woodpecker curse. Three more stage wins on the afternoon loop left them with a seemingly unassailable lead; the Skoda Fabia pair were fastest on five of the eight stages in total and reached Newtown holding what looked like a winning margin of nearly a minute. But rallying can be cruel: a mistake at a time control handed them a two-minute penalty, instantly knocking them off the top step of the podium.

PHOTO: MATTHEW HIRST & DECLAN DEAR – BY ROB SAYER

This promoted Elliot Payne and Patrick Walsh to the overall win. The Fiesta crew had stayed close enough all day to take advantage and, after three previous podiums, finally won their first Woodpecker. It was a result that also handed Payne a vital haul of BTRDA Gold Star points to boost his title defence.

PHOTOS: ELLIOTT PAYNE & PATRICK WALSH – BY ANDREW SCOTT

PHOTOS: TOM WILLIAMS & MICHAEL GILBEY – BY NIGEL PRATT | LAIM CLARK & CHRIS WILLIAMS – BY ROB SAYER

Tom Williams and Michael Gilbey came through in second in their Fabia RS Rally2, while Liam Clark/Chris Williams bagged third overall. For Clark, it also meant maximum Pirelli Welsh points, as the highest placed registered crew after Hirst’s penalty demoted him to second in the Welsh standings. Hirst was forced to settle for fourth overall, a result that belied the pace they had shown on the stages. Rounding out the top five were Irish visitors Vivian Hamill/Darragh Mullen in their Fiesta.

PHOTOS: OSIAN PRYCE & DALE FURNNISS – BY ANDREW SCOTT | DAVID HENDERSON & WILL ATKINS – BY ANDREW SCOTT | LEWIS HOPPER & RHYS EDWARDS – BY NIGEL PRATT

Pryce’s exploits naturally meant he also wrapped up the Silver Star (2WD) win with ease, leaving David Henderson/Will Atkins to take second and Lewis Hooper/Rhys Edwards in third, as best of the modern FWDs. In the Bronze Star (1400s), Nigel & Karen Jenkins had a fine run to victory in their Nova, fending off Dylan Fowler-Bishop/Dan Evans in their Micra. It was a return to form for the double 1400 champions, and their first BTRDA class win of the season.

PHOTOS: NIGEL & KAREN JENKINS | DYLAN FOWLER-BISHOP & DAN EVANS – BY ANDREW SCOTT

FINAL RESULTS

POS	LEADERBOARD	TIME
1	#1 E.PAYNE / P.WALSH	44:49
2	#4 T.WILLIAMS / M.GILBEY	44:55 (+6)
3	#5 L.CLARK / C.WILLIAMS	45:36 (+41)
4	#2 M.HIRST / D.DEAR	45:46 (+10)
5	#6 V.HAMILL / D.MULLEN	46:07 (+21)

PHOTOS BY NIGEL PRATT

NEXT TIME

With the overall BHRC crown now sewn up by Barry “Baz” Jordan and Arwel Jenkins, Category 2 already sealed by Tim Pearcey and Phil Hall wrapping up Cat-5 in his Skoda, the big prize left is Category 3. Paul Barrett and Dan Mennell will take that fight to the Trackrod’s (26th Sept) notorious Dalby night stages later this month, with Category 1 also still undecided. So while some titles are done, there’s still plenty on the line in the historics.

In the BTRDA, Elliot Payne’s Woodpecker win has put him back on top of the Gold Star table, but the championship is far from settled. Payne and Matthew Hirst both carry strong scores into the run-in, and with the Trackrod (26th Sept), Cambrian, and a daunting December trip to Grizedale still to come, that battle looks set to go all the way to the wire.

PHOTO: ELLIOT PAYNE & PATRICK WLASH – BY ROB SAYER