Matthew Hirst put his hopes of a record-breaking fourth Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship title right back on track after a dominant performance on the Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally (Saturday 26 October).
Co-driven by Declan Dear, the Doncaster driver shot out of the blocks in his Delta Salvage/Witham Motorsport Škoda Fabia R5 with incredible speed, setting a time 21.6 seconds faster than his nearest Pirelli Welsh rival on the opening Elsi stage.
By the time he’d reached midday service after four stages, Matthew’s Pirelli Welsh lead was over a minute – despite clipping a bale in Alwen (SS4) and damaging a front wing.
The masterclass continued in the afternoon, as Matthew eased off on the final stage to make sure of a Cambrian Rally Interclub Rally win and maximum Pirelli Welsh points.
Russ Thompson/Stephen Link never put a foot wrong in their GPM/PD Extinguishers/The Inn Collection Mitsubishi Evo 9 and were best placed to pounce should Matthew make a mistake.
They finished the event with a fastest stage time (Interclub section) to pick up second-place Pirelli Welsh points, 1min 52.5secs behind. They also move into the lead of the series – but only by three points and thanks to the scores to drop rule.
Iwan Roberts Jnr completed the overall Pirelli Welsh podium after a tremendous run in his Roberts of Ffestiniog Ford Escort G3. The top-placed 2WD driver was on sensational form, outpacing a number of his 4WD rivals with some typically brave and skilful driving. The result gives Daniel Jones the 2WD co-drivers’ title.
Robert Gough/Jez Rogers overcame early steering and brake issues to win the Historic class W9 in their Escort Mk2. It wasn’t enough however to deny the absent Rudi Lancaster/Guy Weaver the class title, after a wonderful season in their Woolacombe Bay Holiday Parks Escort RS18000 Mk2.
Sam Mason won the Junior class on the Cambrian, and took home an impressive eighth-place overall points finish. Michael Jenkins/Jordan Joines won class W10 in their Tutts Clump Fiesta R2 and are now just 15 points behind Martin Walters/Marie Fletcher after the defending class champions recorded a rare retirement in their Digger Parts Direct Honda Civic.
Ashley Francis Adams/Mark Ammonds have won the W2 title after a remarkable run in their PRC Cleaning/JFB Msport/Colliers MOT Nissan Micra.
2024 Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship
Overall drivers’ points after Round 5:
1. Russ Thompson….112pts
2. Matthew Hirst….109pts
3. James Giddings….103pts
4. Rudi Lancaster….88pts
5. David Tomlin….83pts
6. Wug Utting….79pts
