Port Talbot Motor Club has reached agreement with a new sponsor for it’s long established and successful Tour of Epynt, writes Roger Gale.
The special stage rally that last year opened the revitalised Protyre MSA British Asphalt Rally Championship, and will do so again in 2019, and on 10 March it will run as the Rallynuts National Tour of Epynt.
The business has evolved into a specialist retail, e-commerce and mail order company that serves customers from around the World on a daily basis, and both the company and Port Talbot MC are delighted to be joining forces to again organise what has become one of the longest established tarmacadam rallies on the legendary military ranges above Sennybridge. The Rallynuts Tour of Epynt will – in addition to being the first round of the Protyre Championship – be included in the JD Tyres Welsh National Tarmacadam Championship, the Hirefit King of Epynt series, and the Maesteg MC run FMP Motor Factors Rally Challenge, in which it will be the second round. More good news has been announced in respect of that latter championship, as the ‘FMP’ contest moves up a gear for 2019. The FMP Motor Factors Rally Challenge will now include what are likely to be the two highest profile rallies to take place in Wales in 2019, with the announcement that all sections of Wales Rally GB are to be included. Challenge Co-ordinator Terry Frayne of Swansea commented ‘Half a dozen FMP Contenders took part in the National section of Wales Rally GB in 2018 and we were delighted with the tremendous atmosphere on the stages and value per stage mile provided.’ | The Rallynuts organisation is a successful motorsport supplier that has been trading in the Motorsport industry since 1992. It has been involved in everything from preparing race and rally cars, to on-event service and management, through to supplying International race and rally teams with products and services. The business was originally founded by Nick James and operated from various locations for over twenty three years in Cornwall, dispatching to over a hundred countries in the world, regular weekly shipments established via Rallynuts distributorships with over sixty of the largest and most well respected companies in the Performance and Motorsport industry Worldwide. From 2015 Rallynuts Limited moved the greatly expanded operation to the Midlands, becoming Rallynuts Motorsport Limited from its new home in Redditch, the company now run by Paul Bonas and Craig Cameron, who are supported by a team of people working together to enable Rallynuts to be the place to source all the products needed for rallying and motorsport requirements generally. |
Inspired by this initial interest and success Frayne approached WRGB Clerk of the Course Iain Campbell with a view to expanding that interest, and the invitation was virtually immediately accepted and confirmed by Mr. Campbell.
In addition to encouraging more competitors from the FMP series to contest the biggest rally in Britain , Maesteg and District Motor Club will have the opportunity to approach high profile drivers and World Rally teams to display the series decals, to help promote the Wales Air Ambulance charity, that both FMP and Maesteg MC have long supported.
Another big addition to the series is the news that the newly conceived Rali Bae Cerdigion is to be a qualifying round. The Aberystwyth based event which is scheduled to run in September will use closed public roads and MDMC have offered support for the first running of the event and aim to be further involved in the coming years. Thus far the FMP Rally Challenge is the only Championship to be included in the Aberystwyth based rally.
The first 2019 FMP round will be the ‘Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally’ that runs in the forests of North Wales on 16 February, followed by Port Talbot MC’s Rallynuts Tour of Epynt in March , the Tour of Caerwent also on tarmacadam on 24 March at the former RAF base between Chepstow and Newport.
Round four takes competitors to Mid Wales and forest rallying for the Rallynuts Stages on 13 April. Based at the Builth Wells Showground, the rally will once again be included in the popular Jordan Road Surfacing BTRDA Rally Series, Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship and a host of regional series, through some of the most challenging stages in Wales .
Action stays in the Welsh forest for the Welshpool based Plains Rally on 11 May , and for the Amman & District MC Red Kite Stages in the Vale of Neath on 23 June . Sealed surface competition resumes for round eight, the Brawdy Stages on the clifftops of West Wales on 7 July , followed by more forest action in Mid Wales as the Nicky Grist Stages takes a large number of championships into the woods on 13 July 13th. while 28 July marks the return of the FMP Challenge to Epynt with the Stephens and George Print Group Harry Flatters Rally scheduled 28 July.
Four ‘reserve’ events have also been announced should any of the other events be cancelled, and they are the Minafon Garage Gareth Hall Memorial Rally 18 August, Eventsigns Woodpecker Stages 31 August, Trackrod Rally Yorkshire 28September and Patriot Stages 29 September.
The series also confirmed Rali Bae Ceredigion 8 September, Wales Rally GB 3-6 October , plus Fairfield Merlin Stages 20 October as qualifiers, plus the option to nominate one overseas event on which to claim points.
Visit www.fmprallychallenge.com for regular updates.