Owain Evans and Marc Hughes on their way to second in class and Fourth overall on the Powys Lanes (Gary Jones)

We may be getting to the end of the year but the rallying action shows no sign of slowing down with events happening all over the country. Going back to the 28th of October the Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally took place in Llandudno. This 5 stage event would make up the sixth round of the welsh forest rally championship and would include a couple of club members on the entry list. At number 43 was Dafydd Evans who would sit with Ieuan Evans in Ieuan’s historic specification Mk2 Ford escort. They would be using this car on the up and coming Roger Albert Clark rally, and they were using this rally as a shakedown to familiarise themselves with the car and conditions of loose surface rallying. Also out was Gareth Bevan in his historic specification Mk2 Ford escort, he had Daniel Petrie on the notes. 

The first of the five stages would be Elsie 1, at over 14 kilometres it was a great opening test for competitors. Ieuan and Dafydd got off to a great start in their escort, even though they were using the day as a test they still opened their event with the twentieth quickest overall time. Gareth and Bevan also got off to a great start with twenty-ninth quickest overall time. Ieuan and Dafydd were twenty-fourth on the second stage, Craig, and Gareth and Daniel were thirty-third. 

Brenig was the next stage, this one being shorter than the previous two at just over 7 and a half kilometres. Ieuan and Dafydd were twentieth once again in their escort, Gareth and Daniel were pushing hard and were rewarded with twenty-third overall here. Following this there was a service halt.

The fourth stage of the event was meant to be another run over Elsi, but this stage was cancelled, so it was over to Hiraethog Trial for the longest and final stage of the event, with this stage being over 21 kilometres in length. Here Ieuan and Dafydd managed a very respectable thirteenth quickest overall time, this gave them an excellent 16th overall at the finish, even though they had been slowed by a puncture. They would also take the class win. Gareth and Daniel were twenty-eighth quickest over this final stage, so they would end their event in a very respectable twenty-fifth overall and second in class.

Jumping forward a couple of weeks to the 11th and 12th of November, the final round of the welsh road rally championship took place, with Epynt motor club running the Powys Lanes road rally. This 110 mile event made up of OS maps 146, 147 and 160 started in Llandovery and among the 85 starters saw a number of Lampeter and district members entered. 

First up at number 2 were Andy Davies and Michael Gilbey who were giving IDZ, Andy’s Subaru Impreza, another outing in the lanes after their recent second place on the Cilwendeg. Number 3 went to Cadog Davies who once again was with George Williams, they had a mathematical chance of taking victory in the welsh road rally championship on this event but were hoping for a good fun night more than anything.  At 15 were Wayne “tar” Jones and Owen Rowcliffe in a peugeot 206. Wayne switched to a Peugeot after having his clio drown out in a ford on the Autumn and leaving it out of action. Owain Evans and Marc Hughes took the number 19 spot in Owain’s Mk2 ford escort, and at 22 was Alan Gaunt in another Peugeot 206, he had Marc Davies navigating for him. Arfon Griffiths was at 26, he was navigating for Jonathan Davies in a Proton Satria. Sam Woodcock and Lewis Jenkins were at 37 in Sam’s Subaru impreza, freshly repaired from its Cilwendeg outing. Maurice Leach was once again navigating, this time for Brian Jones, they were seeded at 40 in Brian’s Mk2 Ford escort. Osian Jones and Llyr Davies were once again out in Osian’s Nissan micra. They were seeded at 41. Rhodri Lewis was behind them at 42 in his Citroen saxo. He had Dafydd Jones navigating for him. AT 66 was Sion Busson, this time using a Proton Satria instead of his regular Ford Fiesta, he had Llion Evans sat with him. Right behind them at 67 were Carwyn Jones and Steffan Thomas in Carwyns Proton Satria. They have been doing very well recently with some excellent class rewards and were hoping for a repeat here. Evan Justin Jones was at 86 in his Mk1 Ford escort, he had Jac Davies navigating for him. Rounding off club members at 89 were Arfon Jones and Mathew Pryce in Arfon’s Subaru impreza. 

The first section of the event would begin just North of Llandovery, sadly George and Cadog’s rally would end here after only 3 miles or so as they shared the wheel nuts on their escort, forcing their retirement and ending their hopes of Welsh championship victory. There were a couple of tight sections in this first section with the route heading towards Porthyrhyd but a couple of them had to be scrubbed from the results as a non competing car went off the road and blocked the route for many. Time control 1C was passed by everyone so the times from this section were kept. Here it was Owain and Marc that were best of club members with 16 seconds gained. Following them were Wayne and Owen with 29 seconds. The subaru’s of Sam and Lewis and Arfon and Mathew tied on 36 seconds, then it was Osian and Llyr with 39 seconds. Alan and Marc came next with 47 seconds, and they were followed by Rhodri and Dafydd at 53 seconds. Close behind them on 57 seconds were Brian and Maurice and then it was Sion and Llion with 1 minute and 26 seconds, Carwyn and Steffan were close behind on 1 minute 28 seconds. Jonathan and Arfon were on 3 minutes and 21 seconds, then Evan Justin and Jac rounded off club members with 5 minutes and 34 seconds. 

The second section of the rally was far longer, starting in Pumpsaint the route would then go up through Cwrt-y-Cadno, before heading down by Nant-y-Bai. Following here competitors would turn left and head North past the Llyn Brianne reservoir and Tywi forest. They would then turn right and finish in Abergwesyn, using a section of the infamous Abergwesyn-Tregaron pass. Time control 2B was located in a farmyard at Llandre and would be another location where competitors gathered penalties. Wayne and Owen had a very good run on this section and picked up only 28 seconds. Also going really well here were Osian and Llyr with 38 seconds gained. Sam and Lewis were right behind with 40 seconds, then it was Owain and Marc who managed 45 seconds, and they were followed by Jonathan and Arfon with 46 seconds. Brian and Maurice 1 minute and 3 seconds, and right behind them on 1 minute and 4 seconds were Alan and Marc. Both Rhodri and Dafydd and Sion and Llion managed 1 minute and 6 seconds, and following on 1 minute and 7 seconds were Carwyn and Steffan. Evan Justin and Jac managed 1 minute 30 in their escort, then it was Arfon and Mathew with 1 minute 42 seconds. Andy and Michael would retire in this section with their Subaru becoming beached and unable to move.

The next tight section came at the end of the section just before entering the village of Abergwesyn. Time control 2J would again see penalties gained, with Wayne and Owen continuing their excellent run and stopping the clocks with only 10 seconds gained. Next were Owain and Marc with 17 seconds. Both Jonathan and Arfon and Rhodri and Dafydd achieved 32 seconds. Brian and Maurcie were still going well with 38 seconds, and behind them were Carwyn and Steffan with 42 seconds. Osian and Llyr managed 45 seconds at this control, and Alan and Marc 55. Another tie followed with Sam and Lewis as well as Sion and Llion managed 1 minute and 2 seconds. Following them were Arfon and Mathew with 1 minute 13 seconds, and then Evan Justin and Jac with 1 minute 41 seconds. 

A straightforward run from Abergwesyn to Beulah followed where everyone passed through without gaining penalties, to the petrol halt that was located on Beulah. As things stood it was Wayne and Owen that were best club members, they currently lay in fourth overall with a penalty count of 1 minute and 7 seconds. Owain and Marc were next with 1 minute and 21 seconds in seventh place. Osian and Llyr were in fourteenth with 2 minutes and 59 seconds. Sam and Lewis were close behind in sixteenth place with 3 minutes and 16 seconds. Brian and Maurice were in twentieth with 3 minutes and 34 seconds, and then it was Rhodri and Dafydd in twenty-second with 3 minutes and 44 seconds. Carwyn and Steffan were in twenty-eighth after a good first half and had a penalty count of 4 minutes and 15 seconds. Alan and Marc were in thirty-fifth with 4 minutes and 53 seconds. Sion and Llion were holding thirty-eighth with 5 minutes and 17 seconds. Jonathan and Arfon were in forty-first with 5 minutes and 37 seconds of penalties. Arfon and Mathew were in forty-sixth with 6 minutes and 55 seconds. Evan Justin and Jac were in sixty-first with 13 minutes and 31 seconds. 

A short section North of Beulah kicked off the second half, with the section beginning just outside of Glandulas. Here it was Sam and Lewis that did best, taking the outright best time here of 26 seconds. Next were Wayne and Owen with 40 seconds. Owain and Marc managed 44 seconds, and then it was Jonathan and Arfon on 47 seconds. Osian and Llyr were right behind them on 48 seconds. Rhodri and Dafydd were going well with 56 seconds. Carwyn and Steffan came next with 1 minute and 4 seconds, and they were followed by Sion and LLion on 1 minute and 10 seconds. Alan and Marc were next with 1 minute and 20 seconds, and then it was Evan Justin and Jac on 1 minute and 24 seconds. Arfon and Mathew managed 1 minute 52 seconds. 

Another short section followed and would use the lanes between Pentre Llwyn-Llwyd and Llanfechan. Time control 5B was located in the middle of this section that would see some of the front runners pass through without gathering penalties, although some further down the entry did gather a few seconds here and there. 

The sixth section of the rally began south of Garth and would head east to the outskirts of Builth-wells before turning right and going South past Maesmynis, with the section ending just as it joined the B4520. Time control 6C was a tight one where everyone gained penalties. Here again Sam and Lewis set the standard, setting a time no one could match and stopping the clocks on 22 seconds. Brian and Maurice and Osian and Llyr were also doing well and both achieved 27 seconds here. Carwyn and Steffan were still going well and managed a time of 35 seconds. Owain and Marc had a penalty count of 37 seconds, and they were followed by Wayne and Owen with 40 seconds. Jonathan and Arfon had 46 seconds and then it was Rhodri and Dafydd with 54 seconds. Alan and Marc achieved 1 minute and 10 seconds, and Arfon and Mathew had 1 minute and 20 seconds. Evan Justin managed 1 minute and 22 seconds and Sion and Llion had 6 minutes and 35 seconds.

The seventh section would pass through Merthyr Cynog, before turning left at Pont Rhyd-y-Beri. From here the route went south, via a few not as map triangles before finishing at Aberbran. There would be two TIme controls here that would see competitors gain penalties, with Time control 7C seeing competitors gain a handful of seconds, but Time control 7E was a lot tighter again and everyone lost over a minute, with the majority dropping more than 2. Evan Justin and Jac dropped 23 minutes after getting lost, sadly they would go over time limit and not count as finishers. 

The eighth section of the rally was a short one and ran parallel to the A40, and would finish just outside of Sennybridge. The ninth section would also run parallel to the A40, and would begin just outside of Llywel. This piece of road was quite tight and had a technical twisty section about three quarters of the way through, needless to say everyone would gain penalties here. Owain and Marc were on route to a strong finish to their event with only 11 seconds gained here. Following them were Osian and Llyr with 26 seconds, they were a second ahead of Wayne and Owen with 27 seconds. Jonathan and Arfon were doing well and achieved 37 seconds. Evan Justin and Jac were still running and achieved 41 seconds although sadly too late for their result. Rhodri and Dafydd managed 43 seconds and following them were Sam and Lewis who managed 46 seconds. Alan and Marc were on 1 minute and 8 seconds, then it was Brian and Maurcie with 1 minute and 11 seconds. Carwyn and Steffan followed on 1 minute and 15 seconds and Sion and Llion were on 2 minutes and 2 seconds. Arfon and Mathew managed 3 minutes and 55 seconds. 

The final section of the rally began to the West of Halfway and would go back to Llandovery. Time controls 10B and 10C would see competitors add to their penalty count, Wayne and Owen would have 38 seconds at B and 12 seconds at C. Owain and Marc passed through B without gathering a penalty, and only 8 seconds at C, so they would finish in an excellent position. Alan and Marc had 46 seconds at B and 25 seconds at C. Jonathan and Arfon managed 24 seconds at B and 21 seconds at C. Sam and Lewis were also finishing strongly, gathering only 9 seconds at B, and managing to pass through C penalty free. Brian and Maurice managed 2 minutes and 47 seconds at B and 41 seconds at C.Osian and LLyr finished strongly with 22 seconds at B and 6 seconds at C. Rhodri and Dafydd aso finished strong with 22 seconds at B and 3 seconds at C. Sion and Llion finished their rally with 1 minute and 21 seconds at B and 52 seconds at C. Carwyn and Steffan pushed hard at the end and were rewarded with times of 25 seconds at B and 22 seconds at C. Evan Justin managed 2 minutes and 32 seconds at B but didn't record a time at C. Arfon and Mathew rounded off the rally with 1 minute and 29 at B and 1 minute 2 at C.

Back in Llandovery after what had been a challenging but enjoyable end to the welsh road rally championship it was Owain Evans and Marc Hughes that were the first club members, finishing in an excellent fourth overall, and second in the expert class. Their penalty count was 5 minutes and 22 seconds. Wayne “tar” Jones and Owen Rowcliffe finished in seventh overall and fourth in expert class with 8 minutes and 10 seconds. Osian Jones and LLyr Davies had an excellent outing and achieved their first top ten placing together, finishing in tenth overall with a count of 9 minutes and 9 seconds. They would also be second in the semi expert class. Sam Woodcock and Lewis Jenkins finished in a very respectable thirteenth overall after setting some excellent times in the second half of the event. Their penalty count stood at 10 minutes and 4 seconds. This saw them take seventh in the expert class. Rhodri Lewis and Dafydd Jones finished in nineteenth overall and seventh in expert class with 12 minutes and 24 seconds. Jonathan Davies and Arfon Jones finished in twenty-second overall and ninth in expert class with a penalty count of 14 minutes and 42 seconds. Brian Jones and Maurice Leach finished in twenty-fifth overall and eleventh in the semi expert class with their count of 15 minutes and 44 seconds. Carwyn Jones and Steffan Thomas managed a very respectable twenty-eighth overall and first in the novice class with 16 minutes and 15 seconds of penalties. Alan Gaunt and MArc Davies were right behind them in twenty-ninth and eleventh in expert class with 16 minutes and 42 seconds. Arfon Jones and Mathew Pryce finished in forty-third overall and fourth in the novice class with 25 minutes and 44 seconds of penalties. Sion Busson and Llion Evans finished in forty-fifth overall and fifth in the novice class with 29 minutes and 43 seconds. 

Many thanks to Gary Jones for the use of his image in this report.