Garry Pearson has taken the lead in the 2021 Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh National Rally Championship after scoring a stunning victory on the Eventsigns Woodpecker Rally in his Asset Alliance Škoda Fabia R5, writes Paul Evans. Despite having never contested the event before, he and co-driver Niall Burns (below) led from start to finish, taking a six second lead after the open stage and building … [Read more...]
Rallying
Entries roll in for London to Brighton veteran car run
Close to 300 pioneering veteran cars dating back to the dawn of motoring have already entered this year’s very special staging of the Royal Automobile Club’s magical RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run on Sunday 7 November. The historic pilgrimage from capital to coast commemorates the famous Emancipation Run of 1896 which celebrated the passing into law of the Locomotive on the … [Read more...]
Woodpecker Stages preview: Black is back
Callum Black will be aiming to extend his early lead at the top of the 2021 Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh National Rally Championship when Round 2 of the series, the Eventsigns Woodpecker Stages, takes place on Saturday 4 September, writes Paul Evans. Black and co-driver Jack Morton won the opening round, the Nicky Grist Stages, in their 586 Sports team-prepared Ford Fiesta R5. They go into the … [Read more...]
Osian Pryce moves up BRC table
Osian Pryce has strengthened his challenge for the British Rally Championship title after scoring his best result of the season so far in his Melvyn Evans Motorsport-prepared Volkswagen Polo GTI R5, writes Paul Evans. Having finished third on both the Neil Howard Stages and the Nicky Grist Stages, the 28-year old Welshman’s speed and determination paid dividends as he finished second on the … [Read more...]
Edwards wants to extend BRC lead this weekend
Welshman Matt Edwards is fully focused on extending his lead in the British Rally Championship, when he takes his Yuasa Rally Team Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 to the ultra-fast Grampian Rally on Saturday. The double British Rally champion took the lead of the drivers’ standings after scoring a sensational victory last time out on the Nicky Grist Stages. He heads to Aberdeenshire three … [Read more...]
Bowler Defender Challenge for 2022
Bowler Motors, the off-road performance specialist, has revealed the Land Rover Defender rally car that will compete in its own championship in 2022. The Bowler Defender Challenge is based on the Land Rover Defender 90 with a 300PS Ingenium 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine. Bowler uses its long experience of competition to transform it into a rally car with a full roll cage, modified … [Read more...]
Book review: Blue Lemon – Rallying for the Buzz by Phillip Haslam
This rather elegant coffee-table book tells the fascinating story of Phillip and Yvonne Haslam's induction into historic rallying, a hobby that subsequently beguiled and converted them into seasoned and serial competitors on some of the most exotic and daunting historic endurance rallies on the calendar, says Ken Davies. Some 100 rallies through 58 countries totalling over 200,000 hard-fought … [Read more...]
WRC Promoter secures European Rally Championship
WRC Promoter has been awarded the commercial rights to promote the FIA European Rally Championship in a multi-year agreement beginning in 2022. The Munich-based company has added an unprecedented fourth FIA series to its burgeoning business portfolio, having managed the commercial rights to the FIA World Rally Championship since 2013. In February, the two parties also agreed to work together to … [Read more...]
Edwards marks triumphant return of Welsh rallying
Welsh rallying successfully returned to the forests, with Matt Edwards scoring a sensational victory on the 2021 Nicky Grist Stages at the weekend. Matt Edwards and Darren Garrod took their Yuasa Rally Team Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 to a hard fought victory on the 2021 Nicky Grist Stages, and in doing so take the lead of the British Rally Championship. They were fourth … [Read more...]
Ford Puma hybrid WRC challenger unveiled
The M-Sport Ford World Rally Team today revealed for the first time a prototype of the new Puma Rally car that will help usher in an exciting new era of electrified competition in the FIA World Rally Championship from 2022. Making its global public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the M‑Sport Ford Puma Rally features a next-generation hybrid powertrain that seamlessly combines the … [Read more...]