Dafydd Evans guides Ieuan Evans to an excellent result on the Rali Ceredigion (Tudor Evans)
The weekend of the 2nd and 3rd of September saw a welcome return to the original closed road rally in Wales, the JDS machinery Rali Ceredigion. Lampeter and district motor club are one of the promoting clubs of this rally along with Teifi Valley, Aberystwyth and District and Newtown and district automobile club.
Made up of two days of competition in the lanes in and around the Aberystwyth area there would be some hundred miles of competition for competitors to undertake with fourteen stages available, including once again the use of the roads on the Aberystwyth seafront for two stages that were to take place on the Saturday evening.
Naturally with some many excellent stages close to home a number of Lampeter members featured on the entry list, the first of which was Andy Davies, using his R5 Ford fiesta he once again would have Michael Gilbey reading the notes, they were seeded at number 14. Behind them at 15 were Dylan Davies and Llion Williams, Dylan having purchased a Mk2 Ford escort for tarmac rallies he would be making another appearance on the event. Dafydd Evans was navigating once again, here he would be with Ieuan Evans, the pair having done a road rally together beforehand this would be their first stage rally together. They were at 17 in Ieuan’s Mk2 Ford escort. Stefan “DR” Davies was also out in a Mk2 Ford escort, he was seeded at 18 and would have Dafydd Sion-Lloyd on the notes. At 26 was Wayne “tar” Jones and Rhys Jones who were once again giving their Darrian T90 GTR an outing. Dorian Evans was once again out on navigation duties, he would be sat in Hywel Davies’ historic specification Mk2 Ford escort RS1800. They were number 48. Jonathan Davies was at 56 in his Peugeot 207, he would be joined by Sion Rowlands in the passenger seat. At 88 was Keith Daniels in his Vauxhall corsa, he would be joined by Andrew Millington. Rounding off club members at 107 were Jamie Evans and Marc Hughes in Jamie’s Mk2 ford escort.
The action began with the first leg on Saturday with three stages each run twice, starting with Borth 1. Here Andy and Michael tied with Ieuan and Dafydd as best club members, both of them achieving a time of 5 minutes and 8.4 seconds. Right behind them were Stefan and Dafydd with a time of 5 minutes and 8.6 seconds. Hywel and Dorian were forty-second overall with a time of 5 minutes and 31.1 seconds in their escort and Dylan and Llion were fiftieth on 5 minutes and 41.7 seconds in theirs. Wayne and Rhys were after the engine of the Darrian cut out, after restarting it ran fine for the rest of the event making it a slightly strange occurrence, their time was 5 minutes and 49.4 seconds. Jamie and Marc got off to a good start with sixty-second quickest time at 5 minutes and 50.7 seconds. Jonathan and Sion achieved a time of 5 minutes and 57 seconds which saw them hold seventieth. Keith Daniels and Andrew Millington rounded off club members in ninety-first with a time of 6 minutes and 33.7 seconds.
Cwmerfyn 1 was the second stage of the event, and this stage included three hairpin bends, with the second proving to be very tricky for the majority of the field, with car after car sliding off the road onto the grass verge. Needless to say this provided excellent viewing for the spectators that gathered there and unfortunately a number of Lampeter members were caught out by this corner, although they all managed to move on with nothing more than a little time loss. It was Wayne and Rhys that did best among club members on this stage with a time that was twelfth quickest. They were followed by Andy and Michael who were sixteenth quickest and one of the many that left the road at said hairpin.
The third stage of the day, CwmYstwyth 1, would be the longest in the rally, measuring some 17 miles, and also the fastest, with many high speed sections along its length. Wayne and Rhys made the most of their Darrian’s powerful engine here and were rewarded with a time that was good enough for twelfth fastest. They stopped the clocks on 14 minutes and 18.5 seconds. Ieuan and Dafydd were also pushing hard, they had the nineteenth quickest time here with 14 minutes and 39.9 seconds in their escort. Dylan and Llion followed with the thirtieth overall time on 15 minutes and 17.7 seconds, sadly this would be their last stage of the day as they would retire with gearbox issues. They would however repair the car and rejoin the rally the following day. Hywel and Dorian were the thirty-eighth quickest here in their historic specification car, achieving a time of 15 minutes and 29.9 seconds. Andy and Michael were forty-fifth after being slowed by a puncture, their time was 15 minutes and 47.3 seconds. Jonathan and Sion were tied for sixtieth with 16 minutes and 37.3 seconds. Jamie and Marc were seventy-second in their escort with 17 minutes and 5 seconds. Keith and Andrew were eighty-second in the corsa on 17 minutes and 38.2 seconds.
A service halt and regroup then took place back in Aberystwyth before competitors ran a repeat of the first stages. Sady here at stage four Hywel and Dorian would have their gearbox give up and they would join the retirements sheet here, although they would be another that managed to carry out repairs and rejoin the following day. Also suffering were Stefan and Dafydd who had the alternator bracket break on their escort. They would be another crew rejoining the next day. It was Wayne and Rhys that did best among club members, once again doing very well with the twelfth quickest overall time. Andy and Michael were right behind them with thirteenth fastest, and then it was Ieuan and Dafydd who were fifteenth. Jonathan and Sion were fifty-sixth overall in their Peugeot and then it was Jamie and Marc in sixty-second. Keith and Andrew in eightieth.
Stage five,Cwmerfyn 2, would be the end of Keith and Andrew’s rally with the vauxhall corsa retiring through mechanical failure. Wayne and Rhys' luck would be somewhat better as they would post their first top ten fastest time, their time of 4 minutes and 39.2 seconds being good enough for ninth quickest overall here. Ieuan and Dafydd were also going strong, setting the fourteenth quickest time, and Andy and Michael wouldn't be far off with seventeenth quickest. Jonathan and Sion tied for fifty-fourth overall and Jamie and Marc were seventy-third.
The 17 miles of Cwmystwyth was then run again, here Wayne and Rhys would once again be the pace setters among club members with tenth quickest overall. Andy and Michael had a great run through and were rewarded with thirteenth, Ieuan and Dafydd were 0.2 seconds behind them with fourteenth. Jonathan and Sion were fifty-second here and Jamie and Marc tied in sixty-third. A regroup and service followed before competitors went over to the seafront for the final two stages of the day. Starting behind the old college competitors would drive past St. Michael’s before turning right onto the front and going around the castle grounds. The stage would be run twice and thousands of spectators had gathered there to catch the competitors fly through. For additional thrills a barrel had been placed at the stage start that competitors had to loop around, this proved very popular for the fans that had gathered there. On the first run of the stage Wayne and Rhys, Andy and Michael and Ieuan and Dafydd set top ten times, with Wayne and Rhys sixth quickest and Andy and Michael right behind being seventh quickest, Ieuan and Dafydd being eighth quickest first time round. On the second running Andy and Michael would be eighth quickest but Wayne and Rhys had a messy run so were seventieth quickest. Ieuan and Dafydd were tenth on the second run. Jamie and Marc had an excellent run on their first run through and managed twenty-first overall, and on the second run they managed a still very respectable thirty-eighth quickest. Jonathan and Sion were seventieth on the first running but had a notional time on the second running which dropped them down the order.
At the end of the first day Wayne and Rhys were in twelfth overall, Ieuan and Dafydd were thirteenth, Andy and Michael held nineteenth. Jamie and Marc were in fifty-seventh. Jonathan and Sion, Dylan and Llion, Hywel and Dorian, Stefan and Dafydd were all running under super rally so whilst featured in the overall standing were way down at the bottom of the leaderboard, however they would run on day two.
The second leg of the rally would feature three more stages, Llanafan, Clywedog and Nant y Moch, and each would be run twice. Llanafan 1 would be the day’s first, and here it would be Andy and Michael that would do best among club entrants, as they set the eleventh quickest time with 5 minutes and 20 seconds. Stefan and Dafydd who were running again, would be next, their time of 5 minutes and 21.8 seconds saw them fourteenth quickest here. Ieuan and Dafydd were next with nineteenth quickest time at 5 minutes and 27.1 seconds. Wayne and Rhys got their day off to a steady start and were twenty-second fastest with their time of 5 minutes and 29.8 seconds. Dylan and Llion were another of the super rally crews and were thirty-second here with a time of 5 minutes and 41.8 seconds. Hywel and Dorian were forty-fourth quickest in 5 minutes and 51.8 seconds. Jonathan and Sion managed 6 minutes and 8.1 seconds. Jamie and Marc were eighty-first in 6 minutes and 27.7 seconds.
Clywedog 1 followed and here again Andy and Michael did best among the club members, once again featuring well inside the top twenty with the twelfth fastest time. They were followed by Wayne and Rhys, again only 0.2 seconds separated them. Ieuan and Dafydd were next, fifteenth fastest on this stage. Stefan and Dafydd were going well with seventeenth fastest, and then it was Hywel and Dorian who were thirty-seventh. Jonathan and Sion managed fiftieth. The stage was then stopped due to a car going off the road, so the following competitors would receive the same stage time, which affected Jamie and Marc who were given a time of 8 minutes and 40.4 seconds. Sadly Dylan and lion would retire permanently on this stage with suspension problems.
The first run over Nant y Moch would be stage 11, and sadly here another club member would join the retirements sheet, with Andy and Michael’s R5 Ford Fiesta leaving the rally with mechanical problems. Ieuan and Dafydd would do best among club entrants here as they set another excellent time that would see them lie eleventh quickest. Stefan and Dafydd followed in twelfth quickest and then it would be the Darrian and Wayne and Rhys, in seventeenth. Hywel and Dorian would be forty-first on this stage and Jonathan and Sion would be fiftieth. Jamie and Marc rounded off club members in sixty-eighth.
Following a service halt it was back to Llanafan for stage 12, and unfortunately here is where Wayne and Rhys’ rally came to an end as they put the Darrian off the road, whilst they picked up minimal damage sadly they could not rejoin the road so would retire. Ieuan and Dafydd were once again going very well and managed thirteenth quickest overall time here, and they were followed by Stefan and Dafydd who were less than two seconds behind them. Hywel and Dorian achieved thirty-sixth on this stage and Jonathan and Sion had a very good run and achieved fortieth quickest. Jamie and Marc were still going strong with sixty-third quickest.
On stage 13, Clywedog 2, it was Stefan and Dafydd that were the pace setters. They achieved a time that would see them thirteenth quickest. Ieuan and Dafydd were once again very consistent and managed the sixteenth quickest overall time here. Hywel and Dorian were doing well in their historic specification car with thirty-fourth quickest time. Jonathan and Sion were doing well with forty-fifth, Jamie and Marc managed seventy-third.
The final stage of the rally before the finish at Aberystwyth prom would be another run over Nant y Moch. Ieuan and Dafydd set the standard here with the tenth overall quickest time, and they were followed by Stefan and Dafydd in eleventh. Hywel and Dorian managed thirty-fifth quickest, while Jonathan and Sion were forty-ninth. Jamie and Marc had a strong end to their rally with fiftieth quickest overall.
Back in Aberystwyth for the finish it was Ieuan Evans and Dafydd Evans that did best among club members, finishing in a very respectable twelfth overall and seventh in class with their total time of 1 hour 32 minutes and 49.5 seconds. A great result for them after an excellent performance. Jamie Evans and Marc Hughes finished in forty-seventh overall and in the process they won their class with their total time of 1 hour, 49 minutes and 27.8 seconds. Jonathan Davies and Sion Rowlands were next, with them running under super rally rules they still achieved a very respectable fifty-ninth overall and fifth in class on 1 hour, 55 minutes and 47.4 seconds. Hywel Davies and Dorian Evans ended their rally in seventy fifth with them being another crew running under super rally rules with a time of 2 hours, 28 minutes and 18.5 seconds. Right behind them in seventy sixth and also running under super rally were Stefan “DR” Davies and Dafydd Sion-Lloyd with their time of 2 hours, 29 minutes and 34.6 seconds. It had been an excellent, well run rally that everyone had enjoyed and there were many competitors saving a space in their calendars ready for next year's event.
Many thanks must go to Tudor Evans for the use of his image in this report.