Four-time British Rally champion Keith Cronin put the hammer down for a fifth title bid last weekend, taking his Volkswagen Polo GTi to a sensational Beatson’s Building Supplies Jim Clark Rally victory in the Scottish Borders. Cronin and co-driver Mikie Galvin were a forced to be reckoned with all weekend long, opening up an unassailable forty second lead in their Pirelli-shod Polo over James … [Read more...]
Rallying
Hirst closes his locker
Matthew Hirst has made it three wins from three starts in this year’s Motorsport UK Pirelli Ravenol Welsh Rally Championship after scoring victory on the Plains Rally on Saturday. Co-driven by the soon to be married Declan Dear, Hirst clinched another impressive victory in his Pirelli-shod Delta Salvage Ford Fiesta R5+, this time winning by 1 minute and 25 seconds. With Hirst’s nearest … [Read more...]
Triple bid by Hirst this weekend in Wales
Matthew Hirst will be targeting an unblemished hat-trick of wins in the 2022 Motorsport UK Pirelli Ravenol Welsh Rally Championship when he contests the Plains Rally on Saturday. Hirst and co-driver Declan Dear have made the perfect Pirelli Ravenol Welsh Championship start by winning both the WKD Trained Dogs Rally North Wales and Rallynuts Stages in their Pirelli-shod Delta Salvage Ford Fiesta … [Read more...]
50 years of WRC festival in Portugal
The biggest ever gathering of FIA World Rally champions will celebrate the series’ half-century at a star-studded festival in Portugal next week. Title-winning drivers, co-drivers and team managers will honour the WRC’s 50th season in Matosinhos during five days of celebrations at Vodafone Rally de Portugal 19 - 22 May, this year’s fourth round. A host of historic cars will be displayed in the … [Read more...]
Nicky Grist Stages in six rally championships
Quinton Motor Club is gearing up for what promises to be a fantastic festival of rallying in mid-Wales on Saturday 9 July when spectators are again allowed into stages to watch competitors from six major rally championships gather for the 2022 Nicky Grist Stages. Based in Builth Wells, the event will play host to the Motorsport UK British Rally Championship for the fourth time. Twice the … [Read more...]
The Yorkshire Rallying Mafia
I’ve recently reviewed several authoritative books recalling the golden 1960s/70s era of road and stage rallying, all written by authors who were active in the sport and Jonathan Pulleyn is no exception. Having joined York Motor Club aged 12 years Jonathan enjoyed his rallying from the tender age of 8 when family friends who competed visited. He also started marshalling too from that early age … [Read more...]
Welshman’s “perfect start” to 2022 BRC series
Osian Pryce has made the perfect start to his British Rally Championship campaign by winning the opening round of the 2022 series, the Corbeau Seats Rally Tendring & Clacton last weekend in his Demon Tweeks-backed Volkswagen Polo GTI R5. And what’s even more encouraging is that his strongest rallies – events where he has more experience and that contain the type of stages that better suit his … [Read more...]
WRC Croatia washout win for Rovanperä
Kalle Rovanperä snatched an extraordinary Croatia Rally victory on Sunday afternoon as a downpour turned the event on its head in the final kilometres of the last stage. The Finn led from the start of the three-day rally in the hills around Zagreb in his Toyota GR Yaris, only for a storm in the penultimate speed test to wipe out his hard-earned advantage. A resurgent Ott Tänak, whose gamble on … [Read more...]
Hybrids hit the hard stuff this weekend in WRC
Kalle Rovanperä starts on the back foot this weekend as he defends an early-season FIA World Rally Championship lead in Croatia at the event that marked his low point of 2021. The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver holds a 14-point advantage ahead of the Zagreb-based Croatia Rally (21 - 24 April), round three of the year and the first pure asphalt fixture of the new hybrid-powered era. Twelve months ago … [Read more...]
Osian Pryce hits 100……
Osian Pryce will celebrate his 100th rally start on this year’s British Rally Championship, as he attempts to win the title for the first time in his Volkswagen Polo GTI R5. And to make the occasion even more special, the centenary falls on one of his home rounds of the series, the Nicky Grist Stages on 9 July. The 29-year old Machynlleth born driver has finished runner-up in the BRC three times … [Read more...]