By Paul Evans
Meirion Evans did what the Welsh rugby squad failed to do last weekend – beat the Irish!
And he did it on their home turf too, scoring a sensational away win on the Galway International Rally.
The high-speed victory gives the Llanwrda driver the lead in the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship for the first time in his career.
Co-driven by Jonathan Jackson, Evans battled for the top spot throughout the event, which was held on the notoriously slippery and narrow closed country lanes on Ireland’s Atlantic west coast.
I've no idea what @TheMeirionEvans and @aJonJackson had for breakfast this morning – but whatever it was, it worked wonders.
Well done to the Welsh crew for taking a brilliant victory on Galway International Rally 2023 today!@IrishTarmacTROA | #GalwayRally https://t.co/agpkZbRzpf
— Rallying UK 🌐 (@RallyingUK) February 5, 2023
Evans briefly took the lead of the event on SS6, but it was his incredible push on the last four stages that gave him victory in his Michelin-shod and Castrol / The Scan Station-backed Volkswagen Polo GTI R5.
Having taken a 4.8 seconds lead on SS12, he increased that to 8.3 seconds, 11.1 seconds, and finally 12.7 seconds over the remaining stages – to defeat defending Irish Tarmac Rally champion Josh Moffet (Hyundai i20 R5) at the end of the 15-stage event.
“I don’t know what to say, but I think we can be proud of that win,” said Evans.
“As usual, Galway has been a challenge from start to finish – with so many guys fighting for the win through the weekend.”
“It’s an unreal feeling to take victory on the opening round of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship after a great battle with the lads over the weekend,” added Jackson.
🏆🏆🏆
What an unbelievable feeling to take the win on the @GalwayIntRally and get our @IrishTarmacTROA season off to the perfect start after a huge battle over the 2 days!🙌
A huge thanks to all the boys, and our supporters who make it all possible for us! 👌 pic.twitter.com/VNYZKyOGvA
— Meirion Evans (@TheMeirionEvans) February 6, 2023