Tomas Davies and Eurig Davies en route to victory on the West Cork historic rally (Ciandon)
It's been a very busy weekend for club members with action taking place on the loose, in the lanes and on tarmac, with the Get Jerky Rally North Wales, the Mervyn Hughes memorial Rali Llyn and the Clonakilty Park hotel West Cork historic rally all taking place on the weekend of the 16th and 17th of March.
Kicking off in the forests of North Wales the Get Jerky Rally North Wales, which was the opening round of the Welsh forestry rally championship, and would offer some forty-five miles of competition in the forests of Dyfnant and Gartheiniog from its base in Welshpool. Club members Daniel O’Brien and Mark Glennerster were running at 403 (third four wheel drive vehicle) in Daniel’s O’Brien group Ford fiesta world rally car.
The rally would be made up of two loops of four stages, starting with Gartheiniog, which was followed by Big Ray, Dyfnant West, and then Dyfnant east. This loop would then be repeated in the afternoon. It would be a very successful day out for the pair, as they would feature strongly in the top ten through the day, with their best stage time being second quickest overall stage 6, Big Ray 2. This would see them finish the rally in an excellent third overall, and second in the welsh forestry championship. A great start to their year.
Staying in North Wales and heading over to the peninsula for the second event of the weekend which was to be the Mervyn Hughes memorial Rali Llyn. This rally would make up the third round of the welsh road rally championship as well as being the third round in Lampeter’s own road rally championship. A route of some 110 miles, all of which would be on OS map 123 would greet the competitors, starting and finishing in the town of Pwllheli. The rally would see a handful of club entrants venture up, with Cadog Davies being first up. He was reunited with George Williams after Bro Caron organising duties, and they would be seeded at number 5 in George’s familiar Mk2 Ford escort. Arwel Evans was another welsh championship contender at number 10, he would have Richard Williams with him again in his Mk2 ford escort. Navigating in car 15 was Dafydd Evans, he had originally entered to compete on the rally North Wales but a last minute change of plan saw him sit with Liam Kelliher in Liam’s Honda civic. Dafydd venturing into the lanes for the first time since alo organising the Bro Caron. Down at 49 were Osian Lloyd Jones and Llyr Davies, this pairing were also registered for the welsh championship and hoping for a good haul of points here. In the semi expert class Sion Busson and Liam Evans were once again out in Sion’s recently purchased Honda Civic Type R. They would start at number 59, and would be another hoping for a good finish. Carwyn “bol” Jones and Steffan Thomas were out for a finish and hopefully a good number of points in the welsh championship, they would be using Carwyns regular Proton satria, and they were seeded at 69.
The first section of the rally began to the West of Mynytho, with competitive motoring beginning just off of the B4413. There would be a short section of lane which would see competitors pick up two code boards before arriving at a give way junction, where the route would go left. From here there was a short section into the next Time control, which was located on the B road. This Time control was timed to the minute, and the front running competitors would pass through without incurring any penalties, although the tail end would incur the odd minute here and there. Following on from here competitors would go through a farm at Nanhoron and follow a track back out to the road. Following another short B road stint competitors would then slot left onto some tight and technical lanes, passing through six passage controls before arriving at the section finish. Doing best among club members here were George and Cadog who recorded a time of 1 minute and 56 seconds. Next were Liam and Dafydd in the Civic with 2 minutes and 10 seconds. Arwel and Richard were next on 2 minutes and 32 seconds, and then it was Carwyn and Steffan on 2 minutes and 29 seconds. Sion and Liam managed 3 minutes and 48 seconds. Sadly it would be a short night for Osian and Llyr as they would retire in the first half of the event.
The next section would run parallel to the coast and start just outside of Tudweiliog. \The first part of this section would include three “not as map” triangles as well as a section where competitors would follow arrows before arriving at the next Time control. This would be another tight section where penalties were gained and again it was George and Cadog that were setting the standard with 50 seconds of penalties gained, they were followed by Arwel and Richard who also managed to achieve under a minute, with 57 seconds gained. Liam and Dafydd came next with 1 minute and 10 seconds, and then it was Carwyn and Steffan with 1 minute and 21 seconds. They would have a very eventful rally, catching a number of cars and would later put the car off the road into a ditch full of mud whilst looking for a slot. They would however carry on and record a finish. Rounding off club members were Sion and Liam with 1 minute 42 seconds.
The section would continue to run parallel to the coast and would pass through more Time controls including the section finish. Time control 6, located in the middle of the section, wouldn’t cause the front runners any issues, as they pass through without gathering any penalties, however what did cause issues for everyone was the weather! Heavy rain showers would fall all night, and fog would be present on a number of sections, in the worst cases reducing visibility to no more than a few metres. Even so everybody soldiered on and carried on pushing through the lanes, credit should be given to the marshals here who stood out and braved it all for the night’s sport to go ahead.
The section would come to a finish near Rhydlios, and here again competitors gathered penalties. Liam and Dafydd did very well here, with only 15 seconds gained. George and Cadog had 33 seconds, Arwel and Richard managed 47 seconds, and Sion and Liam managed 1 minute and 37 seconds. Carwyn and Steffan managed 6 minutes and 17 seconds here, a sign of the difficult night that they were having.
The next section would be a short one, right on the very edge of the peninsula, and would finish just North of Aberdaron. This is another section where competitors received penalties, again it would be Liam and Dafydd that did best among the club members. They managed a time of 1 minute and 3 seconds here, three seconds up on George and Cadog who were next best.
The next section began near the village of Rhoshirwaun, and would cross the B4413 before heading down to Llanfaerhys, where the route became very challenging with a tight and intricate section. Time control 12 was located here and it was very close among the front running club members, with George and Cadog just edging out in front of everyone else with 42 seconds. Arwel and Richard were next with 48 seconds, and right behind them were Liam and Dafydd on 49. Sion and Liam managed 2 minutes and 47 seconds, and Carwyn and Steffan were on a mission to make up time and managed 1 minute and 7 seconds.
There would be one more section before the petrol halt, and this would be quite the challenge, being some ten miles in length, and using an intricate maze of lanes in and around Bryncroes before heading down to Plas-y-rhiw. The only timing point on this section was the finish clock, so here it was George and Cadog that did best with 1 minute and 7 seconds gained. Liam and Dafydd were still going strong with 1 minute and 12 seconds gained, and behind them it was Arwel and Richard with 1 minute 50 seconds. Carwyn and Steffan came next with 9 minutes and 48 seconds, and Sion and Liam managed 13 minutes and 37 seconds.
At the petrol halt George Williams and Cadog Davies lay in ninth overall with 6 minutes and 14 seconds of penalties, Liam Kelliher and Dafydd Evans were lying in eleventh overall with 6 minutes and 38 seconds. Arwel Evans and Richard Williams were currently holding sixteenth overall with their penalty count of 8 minutes and 18 seconds. Carwyn “bol” Jones and Steffan Thomas were lying in fifty-first with 24 minutes and 15 seconds. Sadly Sion Busson and Liam Evans had gone OTL so they would class as retirements.
The second half began with a section timed to the minute, which included the use of a track in the middle of the section, near Rhyd-y clafdy. All of the surviving club members received a minute of penalties here, although Carwyn and Steffan received two. Following on from here the next section began by Hendre Penprys and crossed the B4354 and went past Bryn Rodyn and finished by LLanerch. Both George and Cadog, and Liam and Dafydd managed to complete this section penalty free. Arwel and Richard received 36 seconds, and Carwyn and Steffan received 1 minute and 1 second.
The following section of the rally went to the North but was later cancelled, so it was the next section, starting in Llecheiddior, that would be tackled next. The first section was timed to the minute, and the second part timed to the second. The majority of the field managed to complete the first part penalty free, but penalties would be had on the second part. George and Cadog received 50 seconds of penalties here, and Arwel and Richard managed 1 minute 4 seconds. Liam and Dafydd managed 1 minute 16 and Carwyn and Steffan had 1 minute 45 seconds.
There would be two final sections for competitors to take on, the first of which would start at Llanystumdwy. From here the route would travel in a Northwesterly direction and finish just before Llanarmon. Here would be another place where penalties were picked up, and George and Cadog were again the pace setters among club members, receiving only 28 seconds of penalties on this section. Liam and Dafydd were next best with 45 seconds gained, and behind them it was Arwel and Richard that had 57 seconds. Carwyn and Steffan managed 1 minute and 35 seconds.
The final section of the event on a white at AfonWen before looping on the lanes West of Chwilog. The section finished as the lane joined the A497. Here again George and Cadog did best, gaining 57 seconds. Arwel and Richard were next on 1 minute and 11 seconds, and then it was Liam and Dafydd with 1 minute and 22 seconds. Carwyn and Steffan achieved 3 minutes and 3 seconds.
Back at the finish of what had been a very challenging event it was George Williams and Cadog Davies that did best among club entrants, finishing in fifth overall with a penalty count of 9 minutes and 29 seconds. Liam Kelliher and Dafydd Evans also made it into the top ten, finishing in ninth overall with their penalty count of 11 minutes and 1 second. Arwel Evans and Richard Williams finished in twelfth overall on a count of 13 minutes and 6 seconds, and Carwyn “bol” Jones and Steffan Thomas finished in thirty-sixth with 33 minutes and 39 seconds. The next round of both championships is the Night Owl rally taking place on the 20th and 21st of April.
The final event contested by club members this weekend was the Clonakilty Park Hotel West Cork historic rally. Father and Son pairing Tomas Davies and Ian Davies were entered, Ian in his BMW M3, and Tomas in his Mk2 Ford escort. Tomas would be with regular partner Eurig Davies for this rally and Ian would have Mark Crisp sat with him. Tomas would be seeded at 4 and his father would take the number 24 slot.
The historic rally would consist of two days of competition, and would include fourteen stages, with eight making up the first day of competition, and a further six on the following Sunday. It would be a short rally for Ian and Mark who would retire on the first stage, but things would go a lot better for Tomas, who began his rally with a third fastest time on the opening stage, the fourteen kilometre test Clogagh 1. He and Eurig would go one better on the second stage with second quickest overall time, this would lift them up to second in the overall standings. There would be a short service halt before a repeat of the first two stages. On Clogagh 2 all competitors would be given a nominal time so there would be no differences in the overall positions, but on stage 4 the competition began again, and here Tomas and Eurig would again be second fastest. They would still hold second overall, and just under fourteen seconds off of the overall lead.
Following another service halt it was time for another pair or stages. On stage 5, Ring 1, Tomas and Eurig would set the overall quickest time, whilst they would remain in second place overall they would close the gap to eleven seconds. The gap would be opened back up to just over nineteen seconds following the sixth stage, Dunworley 1, with Tomas and Eurig setting the second quickest time. One more service halt would follow, then another loop of Ring and Dunworley would finish the day off. Once again Tomas would set the second quickest time, but the quickest time would be a different competitor to previously, therefore Tomas would take the rally lead on this stage. They would then end their day with another outright quickest time on the final stage of the day, opening up a lead of just over thirteen seconds.
On the first stage of the final leg, Tomas and Eurig would open their lead on the first stage, Ardfield 1, to a gap of 26 seconds. They would add to it with another second quickest overall time on the following stage, Glandore 1. Sam’s Cross 1 would be the final stage of the opening loop, and here again they were second quickest, which meant going into the only service halt of the day they would hold a lead of just over thirty seconds.
With service taken care of it would be one more final loop of Ardfield, Glandore and Sam’s Cross to round off the event. Once again Tomas and Eurig managed a fastest overall time, adding another 3 seconds onto their overall lead. With a secure lead they backed off a little for the final two stages, with a third quickest time on Glandore 2 and second quickest time on Sam’s Cross 2, which at the end of the event would see them take the outright win. They had a winning margin of just over eleven seconds. It had been a very tricky but enjoyable event, with poor weather conditions, especially on the Saturday, although it was still a very enjoyable event for all.
Thanks must go to Cian Donnellan (Ciandon) for the use of their image in this report.