Rally North Wales podium celebrations. Pic: Paul Mitchell.

Rally North Wales Win Gives Matthew Hirst The Early Pirelli Ravenol Welsh Rally Championship Lead

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By Paul Evans

A clean sweep of four stage wins on the repeat runs through the Pantperthog, Dyfi, Big Ray and Gartheiniog forest tests was enough to give Matthew Hirst and co-driver Declan Dear victory on the WKD Trained Dogs Rally North Wales.

Hirst made changes to his Delta Salvage-backed Ford Fiesta R5+ at the midday service halt in Dolgellau which transformed the car – enabling him to stretch his one second mid-distance advantage to a 24 second winning margin.

It was the perfect way for the 2019 champions to start their Motorsport UK Pirelli Ravenol Welsh Rally Championship campaign, as they take the early lead in this year’s series.

“The morning loop was okay,” said Hirst. “The first stage felt good but the time wasn’t there, the second stage didn’t feel so good but we set fastest time, and then we had a very big moment on stage three so were quite cautious through Garth.

“At midday service we changed the damper clicks and it transformed the car. We were much more competitive in the afternoon and in contrast to the morning we enjoyed a nice clean run.”

The 2019 Pirelli Ravenol Welsh champions Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear won Rally North Wales in their Ford Fiesta R5+. Pic: Paul Mitchell.

Despite having not driven a top-flight R5 car in competition for two years, and without a pre-event test or shakedown, Dylan Davies did brilliantly well to finish second in his Škoda Fabia R5+.

Co-driven by Mark Glennerster, tyre management was the main issue of the day as Davies had to juggle tyres front to rear between stages to maximise traction.

It meant he couldn’t respond when Hirst picked up the pace in the afternoon, yet he was delighted to finish a strong second. Tom Llewellin/Dale Bowen enjoyed an excellent trouble-free run to third in their Brace’s Bakery Mitsubishi Mirage.

The 2019 Welsh Junior drivers’ champion made a cautious start but soon got into a good rhythm and put in a textbook performance for a well-deserved place on the overall podium.

Bob Ceen was contesting his first rally since the 2019 WRGB National, his first Welsh Rally Championship event since 2015, his first ever event in a Ford Fiesta R5+ (having previously rallied a Subaru Impreza WRC) and his first event with co-driver Peredur Davies – yet the 2001 Welsh champion was flying in the Axes Design-backed car and finished a magnificent fourth overall.

He also won the family battle, with Benj Ceen coming home eighth overall. This too was a very impressive result as it was his first rally in a four-wheel drive car, having swapped his Peugeot 106 Cup car for a mighty Ford Fiesta R5+.

Despite the hugely challenging conditions, he and co-driver Dylan Thomas never put a foot wrong and their top 10 result was very well deserved.

Richard Ceen/Alun Hayward also reached the finish, although they lost a lot of time with day-long transmission problems which saw their Coedwigaeth Pencelyn Ford Focus WRC05 engine stall at hairpins and refusing to restart in a hurry.

John Caine/Andrew Sankey won the battle of the Subarus with a fantastic drive to sixth in the Phil Price Rally School Impreza. Caine also picks up maximum points in the Ravenol Welsh Challenge.

Matt Edwards and Hamish Campbell won the Historic section in their flying Fiat Abarth 131. Pic: Paul Mitchell.

Matt Edwards won the Rally North Wales National event, finished fifth overall in the National/Interclub combined results and scored maximum points in the hotly contested Historic class after a tough workout in the RSD-prepared Fiat Abarth 131. Co-driven by Hamish Campbell, the three time British Rally Champion said that he’d never done a more physically challenging 45 gravel stage miles.

A weld on the front suspension broke early in SS2, which caused the Pirelli tyre to rub on the spring and they had to swap tyres front to rear several times to manage the issue. In the afternoon they hit a massive boulder on SS5 which bent the sump guard, subframe, rack and chassis leg which made the steering so heavy that Hamish had to hold the gearstick in fifth gear as Matt needed both hands to keep the car in a straight line!

A positive Covid test ruled Roland Llewellin out of the event, so James Williams jumped into the driving seat of the Hyundai i20 R5 instead. He and co-driver Jamie Edwards set the fastest time on the opening stage, but on stage two the rally leaders got caught the dust of the car in front.

Unsighted, Williams’ rally ended in a ditch on the outside of a tight corner. A positive Covid test result also prevented Tom Cave from starting in his Subaru Impreza WRX STI.

James Bond stuntman Mark Higgins and co-driver Claire Williams won the Bowler Defender Challenge section of the 45 stage mile event by 1min 41secs.

Round 2 of the Motorsport UK Pirelli Ravenol Welsh Rally Championship is the Rallynuts Stages Rally on Saturday 9 April, which is based at the Royal Welsh Showground in Llanelwedd.

WKD Trained Dogs Rally North Wales – Interclub/National top 10 finishers (combined)

1. Matthew Hirst/Declan Dear (Ford Fiesta R5+)….43mins 57secs

2. Dylan Davies/Mark Glennerster (Škoda Fabia R5+)….44mins 21secs

3. Tom Llewellin/Dale Bowen (Mitsubishi Mirage)…. 45mins 22secs

4. Robert Ceen/Peredur Davies (Ford Fiesta R5+)….47mins 37secs

5. Matt Edwards/Hamish Campbell (Fiat Abarth 131).….48mins 19secs

6. John Caine/Andrew Sankey (Subaru Impreza)…. 48mins 20secs

7. Bob Morgan/Ade Williams (Škoda Fabia R5+)….48mins 20secs

8. Benjamin Ceen/Dylan Thomas (Ford Fiesta R5+)….48mins 28secs

9. Nick Elliott/Dave Robson (Ford Escort Mk2)…. 48mins 35secs

10. Lewers Firth/Shaun Lapper (Subaru Impreza)….48mins 45secs

2022 Motorsport UK Pirelli Ravenol Welsh Rally Championship Overall drivers’ points after Round 1

1. Matthew Hirst….30pts

2. Dylan Davies….27pts

3. Tom Llewellin….25pts

4. Robert Ceen….24pts

5. Matt Edwards….23pts

6. John Caine….22pts

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