Dylan Davies and Michael Gilbey on route to a top 5 placing on the Rali Ceredigion
The weekend of the 30th of August through to the 1st of September saw what many described as “the big one” with the JDS machinery Rali Ceredigion taking place from its base in Aberystwyth. This year's event was to be included in both the British rally championship as well as a round of the FIA European rally championship after the hard work of the organising committee that had managed to secure a three year deal. This would make it the first European championship rally in Wales for the last 28 years, an achievement the organisers should feel proud of! The rally would consist of 113 miles of stages, all of which were on closed tarmac roads, something only possible with the excellent working relationship the organisers have the with the local public and would consist of fourteen stages, two of which would run in the rally’s hometown of Aberystwyth on the Friday evening, before visiting again on the Saturday evening. Naturally these would see huge crowds gathered, attracting the more dedicated and casual followers of the sport from all over the UK and further afield.
The rally would consist of two separate events, both of which would cover the same stages with the International event that would see likes of the European championship and British championship contenders as well as the national event that would see the likes of the Protyre MSUK asphalt rally championship and the Welsh tarmac championship competitors as well as those who entered purely for the enjoyment of the event.
There would be a number of entrants from Lampeter and district motor club running in the national section of the event, first of which was Dylan Davies, who would have a last minute change of navigator, Michael Gilbey stepping in to read the notes. They would be competing in Dylan’s R5 specification Skoda Fabia and were seeded at 105, fifth in the national section (national numbers were seeded 101 onwards). Right behind them was Andy Davies, who for this event was reunited with Lee Taylor, Lee having been Andy’s navigator some years ago it was great to see them back together, they would be in Andy’s R5 specification Ford fiesta and were running at number 106. Both would be entered in class 6, for four wheel drive vehicles over 2000 cc's, due to both cars having forced induction. Running at number 111 was Stefan “DR” Davies, he would be competing in his Mk2 Ford escort, and would have Marc Mayes reading the notes for him, they were entered in class M5, for two wheel drive vehicles running over 2000 cc's.
At number 124 was Thomas Davies, fresh after recently taken victory in the Irish historic championship crown he would be once again competing in his historic specification Mk2 Ford escort, and would have Shane Buckely on navigator’s duties. Running at number 127 was Rhys Wyn Davies who would be out in his Darrian T90 GTR+, he would have Gerwyn James sat with him. Dorian Evans was navigating in car 144, once again with Hywel Davies, they were in Hywel’s historic specification Mk2 Ford escort RS1800. Another navigator competing was Thomas Hughes, he sat with Cerith Jones and they would be competing in Cerith’s Mk2 Ford escort. They were seeded at 161. Chris Palmer and Fiona Hill were running at number 170 in Chris’ Historic Mk2 Ford escort, this would be the first time Fiona would be reading pacenotes, having only recently completed her first stage rally back in the summer. Jamie Evans and Marc Hughes were at number 175 in Jamie’s Mk2 ford escort, they have competed on this event together and had some great class results, they were hoping for more of the same here. Keith Daniels was also out at number 177, this time competing in a Renault clio, and he would have Corey Powell-Jones sitting with him. Kevin Davies would once again be accompanied by Sion Rowlands in Kevin’s Vauxhall corsa kit car, they would be seeded at number 181. Rounding off club members at 189 were Jonathan Davies and Owen Rowcliffe in Jonathan’s Peugeot 206 GTI.
The rally would consist of two legs, with the Friday’s evening stages and Saturday’s stages making up the first leg, and Sunday’s stages forming the second. With everyone signed on, everyone’s attention turned to the town’s seafront for the first two stages. This year a different layout had been created, with the stage beginning in the town’s football club car park before looping around the old harbour. From here they would then head down the South marine terrace before going around the castle and finishing by the old college.
On the opening stage it was Rhys and Gerwyn that did best among club entrants, achieving an excellent time of 1 minute and 28.6 seconds, they would improve to a 1 minute 26.1 seconds on the second running. Dylan and Michael were right behind them on the first running, they managed a time of 1 minute and 28.8 seconds, and would then do a 1 minute and 25.4 seconds on the second running, which would see them pass Rhys and Gerwyn on the overall leaderboard. Andy got off to a great start, considering he hasn’t been competing as much as he would have wished recently he and Ian stopped the clocks on a very respectable 1 minute and 31.1 seconds on the opening run, they followed this up with a 1 minute and 28.2 seconds on the second run.
Tomas and Shane came next, as they achieved 1 minute and 35.6 seconds on the first run through, they would then manage a 1 minute 37.7 second run on the second go. Stefan and Marc achieved 1 minute and 36.1 seconds on the first run, entertaining all the spectators in the process as Stefan threw the car around, sadly they would be among the early retirements as on the second running of the stage, Stefan would spin the car, in the process of correcting the mistake he would accidentally reverse into one of the concrete barriers installed, damaging the car in the process, a great shame as they would of been in contention for a great result, having set some excellent times on the rally last year. Jonathan and Owen got off to a great start on the opening stage, they would set a time of 1 minute and 40.9 seconds on the first run through the town, sadly however the stage would have to be stopped due to an incident, which meant that the later runners did not get to go around again, they would be given a notional time of 1 minute and 57.7 seconds, a great shame as they would of no doubt been much quicker than this.
Cerith and Thomas came next with 1 minute and 40.1 seconds on their first run. They would knock over four seconds off their time on the next run with 1 minute and 40.1 seconds being recorded. Jamie and Marc were right behind them with their first time being 1 minute and 47.5 seconds, however they would go nearly ten seconds quicker on the second run, achieving an excellent time of 1 minute and 38.1 seconds! Hywel and Dorian would manage 1 minute and 48 seconds on the opening run, they would also improve with a time of 1 minute and 43.5 seconds on the second pass. Keith and Corey had 1 minute and 50.8 seconds on their first run through, they would then manage 1 minute and 47.7 seconds on their second run. Chris and Fiona would achieve 1 minute and 51.5 seconds on their first running, having a half spin on one of the junctions on the stage, they would then go on to achieve a time of 1 minute and 38.1 seconds on the second run, this would see them climb thirteen places in the overall standings with that performance. Kevin and Sion managed 1 minute and 58 seconds on the opening run, but they would be another affected by the incident so they too received a time of 1 minute and 57.5 seconds for the second stage
Saturday would be the most action packed day of the event, with eight stages taking place. The first would be Brechfa, and that would be followed by Llyn Brianne, and then Nant y Moch. These stages would then be repeated in the afternoon, before another two stages on the Aberystwyth seafront to finish what would be a very busy day.
The Brechfa stage would begin off of the B4337 road to Rhydcymerau before heading over Llanybyther mountain before heading down to Gwernogle where there would be a tight harpin right turn just before entering the village, from here the stage briefly went North before turning back South and finishing just before reaching the village of Brechfa. Rhys and Wyn would have an excellent run through this stage and post the fifth fastest time, with 11 minutes and 11.4 seconds in their Darrian. Andy and Lee also did well here with the eighth quickest time which was 11 minutes and 36.4 seconds, sadly they would go off on the following stage and retire, both crew members completely fine but unable to continue. Dylan and Michael were finding their rhythm, this being the first time they had sat together in over 10 years, they achieved a time of 11 minutes and 43.4 seconds. Tomas and Shane were also going great in their historic specification car, managing a time of 11 minutes and 52.4 seconds here. Hywel and Dorian also had a great time out of their historic car, they achieved 12 minutes and 31.9 seconds.
Jonathan and Owen were going well in their road rally class Peugeot, road rally regulations being far more strict then stage rallying and their more basic specification car putting in a time that rivalled far more impressive vehicles, stopping the clocks on 12 minutes and 48.8 seconds. Jamie and Marc were doing well in their pinto powered escort with a time of 13 minutes and 9 seconds, and Cerith and Thomas were also doing well with 13 minutes and 15.8 seconds in their similar specification escort. Kevin and Sion achieved a time of 13 minutes and 25.2 seconds and Chris and Fiona achieved 14 minutes and 8.7 seconds in their escort. Keith and Corey would manage 14 minutes 18.3 seconds in their clio.
Llyn Brianne was the next stage and here competitors would use the road that ran parallel to the dam before turning right as they joined the famous Abergwesyn-Tregaron pass, which they would travel down for a couple of kilometres before arriving at the stage finish. Disaster would strike on this stage for Jonathan and Owen as the alternator would fail on their Peugeot, they would be able to repair the car and rejoin the rally under super rally rules but for now they would be out of it, and would receive a stage maximum for the remaining stages of the day, which dropped them down the overall positions significantly.
Rhys and Gerwyn would once again be the pace setters among club entrants in the Darrian, here they would achieve a time of 14 minutes and 35.5 seconds. Dylan and Michael would be next with 14 minutes and 53 seconds, and then it was Tomas and Shane with 15 minutes and 52 seconds.
Competition would move North for the final stage of the morning loop with Nant Y Moch, which would in fact be the most Northerly stage of the event. The stage would begin just outside of Ponterwyd and head North past the Dinas reservoir and then run parallel to the Nant y Moch reservoir. Here again Rhys and Gerwyn were the pace setters, achieving an incredible time of 8 minutes and 10.9 seconds. They were again followed by Dylan and Michael on 8 minutes and 23.1 seconds, and Tomas and Shane who managed 8 minutes and 51.7 seconds. Hywel and Dorian weren't far off their pace with 8 minutes and 57.1 seconds with their historic specification car, even after getting a 10 second penalty for a jump start on the stage. The 4 door escorts of Cerith and Thomas and Jamie and Marc were in a great battle for class honours, but sadly this battle came to a premature end with Cerith’s escort collecting two punctures on this stage, which would see them record a time some 3 minutes off that of Jamie and Marc. Keith and Corey would also break down in this stage, but would rejoin the rally the following day under super rally rules.
Following a service halt back in Aberystwyth the loop of stages was repeated. Rhys and Gerwyn would have an excellent run over the second Brechfa stage as they would set the second quickest time in the national event. This would see them leapfrog up to third overall. Dylan and Michael would continue to do well and set the sixth best time. They would be holding seventh overall at this point. Tomas and Shane also did very well and got into the top ten fastest times here with the eighth quickest time. This would see them climb three places to thirteenth overall. Hywel and Dorian were twenty-seventh quickest on this second running of the stage. This would see them climb into the top thirty overall as they now lay in twenty-ninth. Cerith and managed thirty-fifth in their Mk2 escort on this stage, they would begin to climb back up the leaderboard after their punctures, and would currently hold fifty-first place. Jamie and Marc would set the thirty ninth best time on this stage, they would also climb up in the overall leaderboard, now holding the thirty-fifth place. Kevin and Sion set the forty-fourth best time on this run, they were now knocking on the door of a top forty overall position in forty-first place. Chris and Fiona would sadly be another that would require super rally rules after having a run in with a slippery 90 left.
Sadly the rally would come to an end for Rhys and Gerwyn on the second run of Llyn Brianne, they would suffer a blown engine in the Darrian, and unfortunately would not be able to rejoin the rally. The stage would go better for Dylan and Michael as they would manage a top three time with third place. They would now hold fifth overall. Tomas and Shane would continue to do well and set the twelfth, they would now climb to twelfth overall. Hywel and Dorian would climb further into the top thirty as they now lay in twenty-sixth overall after this stage.
The second running of Nant y Moch wouldn't see too much change at the top of the leaderboard, although Tomas and Shane would climb up another position into eleventh overall. Hywel and Dorian would also climb, they now held twenty-fourth overall. Kevin and Sion would break into the top forty, now holding thirty-seventh position overall, and Cerith and Thomas would continue their climb back up the leaderboard, they gained four positions on this stage and now held forty-second.
Back to Aberystwyth for another two runs around the seafront for the day’s final stages. Once again there was a huge crowd gathered with rows of people at every spectator location. Little changed in the overall standings over the two stages, so at the end of the day it was Dylan and Michael that were best club members as they lay in fifth overall. Tomas and Shane remained in eleventh, and Hywel and Dorian remained in twenty-fourth place. Jamie and Marc were in thirty-second place in their escort and Kevin and Sion were in thirty-seventh place in their Vauxhall. Cerith and Thomas still held forty-second place and there would be a few more rejoining on the final leg.
Sunday would see another four stages undertaken, they would be the Bethania stage and the Hafod stage, and both would run twice, giving some fifty-seven kilometres of competition. Bethania would be run first, and here the stage would begin at the village Bwlchllan, and travel North up the B4576 through Crynfryn. They would then turn left into Bethania before turning right at the junction in the middle of the village and continue up the B4576 to the stage finish, which was located just off the B road where competitors would turn a harpin left.
Dylan and Michael would do best among the club members here with their time of 6 minutes and 21.5 seconds which was the fifth fastest time. Tomas and Shane came next with the thirteenth quickest time of 6 minutes and 36.2 seconds, and behind them were Hywel and Dorian with 6 minutes and 54.5 seconds which would be the twenty-seventh quickest time. Cerith and Thomas managed an excellent time of 7 minutes and 8.9 seconds in their single cam escort here which was the thirty-third best time. Jonathan and Owen were back running, they would have a very good day and catch cars on all four of the day’s stages. Here they achieved a time of 7 minutes and 16.1 seconds which saw them as forty-first quickest. Kevin and Sion were fiftieth quickest here with 7 minutes and 29.8 seconds, and then it was Chris and Fiona who were another crew back out and achieved the fifty-fifth quickest time with 7 minutes and 32.2 seconds, Chirs admitting the car had some minor teething issues but showing some excellent potential, this would also be happiest on this stage using roads close to home. Jamie and Marc were right behind with the fifty-sixth best time of 7 minutes and 32.9 seconds, they now held a comfortable lead in the single cam class. Keith and Corey also made it back out, here they would set the sixty-second best time of 7 minutes and 52.9 seconds.
Hafod would be the next stage. It would be a real tight and twisty affair with a mixture of lanes and B roads included. This stage would start just outside of Llanafan before travelling North. Then they would turn right and join the B4343 and travel South down it. After this they would head East and use the roads passing the Hafod estate, before coming to finish on the B4574 approximately 3 kilometres later. Sadly on this stage Jamie and Marc’s rally would come to an end. Whilst taking it steady to maintain their class lead the distributor would fail, forcing their retirement. A great shame as they were on course for an excellent result. Also retiring were Chris and Fiona who would retire with transmission problems. For those still running it would be Dylan and Michael that did best among club members here with the eighth quickest time. Tomas and Shane would follow them, and then it would be Jonathan and Owen who were really beginning to push and were among the class leaders.
After another service halt at the rally’s hometown crews would venture out once again for the final pair of stages. Tomas and Shane would have an excellent run on the second Bethania stage, and would set the sixth fastest time in their escort, great going for a historic specification vehicle. Dylan and Michael would still do very well, consistently featuring in the top ten, they would once again be up there with the seventh quickest time. Jonathan and Owen were now really flying, they would set the quickest time for a road rally class vehicle and be twenty-sixth quickest overall time on this stage, showing some excellent potential, had they had a little more luck a great result was no doubt on the cards.
Back over to Hafod for the final stage of what had been a marathon of an event, once again both Dylan and Michael and Tomas and Shane both set top ten times, this time Dylan being in front with the sixth quickest time and Tomos benign seventh quickest. Hywel and Dorian put in a strong finish to their event, they set the twenty-second best time on this final stage. Jonathan and Owen would be twenty-seventh quickest on this stage, and again would be the quickest road rally car in the process. Cerith and Thomas would be thirtieth quickest here in their escort, they inherited the class lead with Jamie and Marc retiring, it showed that even after losing time earlier in the event with punctures, not giving up and carrying on could still give a great result. Kevin and Sion were still going strong and finished this stage with the forty-second best time. Keith and Corey were still going well too, they would be sixtieth overall here.
Back at Aberystwyth for the finish of what everyone had enjoyed the event and many were already making plans for next year's event. Dylan Davies would be the highest placed club member, he and Michael Gilbey would finish in an excellent fifth overall, and would take the class win in the process, an excellent result for them considering they hadn’t sat together for a number of years and Dylan hasn’t competed much in the last couple. Tomas Davies would be next, he and Shane Buckley would finish in an excellent eleventh overall and second historic vehicle, a great way to round up what had been a successful year for Tomas. Dorian Evans would be the first club navigator, he and Hywel Davies had a great rally in their Mk2 Ford escort, finishing in twenty-fifth overall and seventh in class. Kevin Davies and Sion Rowlands finished in a very respectable thirty-fifth overall and second in their class for up to 1600cc vehicles, and Cerith Richards and Thomas Hughes would manage an excellent thirty-seventh overall and first in their class. Keith Daniels and Corey Powell-Jones finished fifty-seventh overall and thirteenth in class, a great result considering they had to run under super rally. Jonathan Davies and Owen Rowcliffe finished in sixtieth in their Peugeot, they would also be seventh in class and another competitor running under super rally.