Early series leader Hugh Hunter will lead off a strong field of contenders in the Pirelli MSA Welsh Forest Rally Championship on round 2, the Mid Wales Stages.
The Ruthin driver and co-driver Andy Marchbank, from Cheshire (pictured) claimed maximum points on the opening round, the Weir Engineering Wyedean Rally, but they will face stiff opposition after taking their Subaru Impreza across the starting ramp in Newtown on Sunday.
Reigning champion Alex Allingham will be looking to bounce back after a disastrous start to the season. The Northwich driver and co-driver Alun Cook were forced out of the Wyedean early on with electrical problems on their Impreza and won’t want to concede any more ground to their rivals.
Having missed the opening round, meanwhile, Rhuddlan driver Luke Francis, partnered as usual by John H Roberts from Colwyn Bay will be looking for a strong points haul in the Mitsubishi Evo IX while Bob Ceen, from Malvern and Birmingham co-driver Andy Bull will be keen to build on an impressive second place in the Forest of Dean.
Newtown’s Dan Humphries and co-driver Steve McPhee and Surrey crew Wug and Max Utting are among other teams making their 2015 championship debuts while Llanon’s Dylan Davies and Llion Williams from Caernarfon will be keen to build on a top five finish on the opening round in their Impreza and West Country duo Martyn and Dawn England also return to the fray.
RAVENOL Goodridge duo Jim McNeil of York and Tony Bassett of Plymouth will be hoping for a change in fortunes after a broken throttle cable on their Impreza effectively ended their event on the very first stage of the season opener.
Worcester pairing Paul Davy and Roger Allen head the standings in Group N, for near showroom specification vehicles, but will be anticipating a challenge from, among others, Haverfordwest driver Roland Llewellin and co-driver Jamie Edwards from Wrexham who were forced out of the Wyedean with fuel pressure problems.
Jason Morgan, with co-driver Dan Nieroda from Conwy, will be seeking to consolidate his lead in the Junior category for drivers under 25. The Cinderford driver also shares the lead in the RAVENOL Welsh Challenge and will resume battle with Port Talbot’s Thomas Lloyd as they fight it out over a prize pot valued at £3000.
The two wheel drive category has attracted an interesting variety of vehicles. Llandysul driver Jamie Jukes and co-driver Dave Williams from Llanferres will be back out in their two litre Suzuki Swift while among their rivals will be the classic Opel Manta 400 of Newtown’s Geraint and Kathy Mills and the more contemporary Citroen DS3 R3 of Meirion Evans from Llanwrda and co-driver Jonathan Jackson from Warwick.
With the event also boasting a strong historic entry, competitors on the Viking Motorsport/ Links Electrical Service Ltd Mid Wales Stages will leave the town centre start from 9am onwards to tackle 4 special stages totalling 45 competitive miles. There will be opportunities to spectate in the classic Pikes Peak and Sweet Lamb stages.
You can find out more about the event on their web site, www.midwalesstages.co.uk and about the Championship on www.wnrc.wamc.org.uk, on the Championship Facebook page and on Twitter @WnRC.
