The 2025 Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship got off to a flying start on Saturday April 12 on the Kielder Carlisle Stages as the Welsh crews tackled the daunting Northumberland stages on a rare away event.
Russ Thompson/Stephen Link (GPM/PD Extinguishers – Mitsubishi Lancer E9) were top PWRC contenders and won the Interclub event overall after a tremendous performance.
Thompson took a measured approach to the 11-mile Buck Fell stage in a bid to try and avoid any punctures and ended the rally with a seven-second winning margin. Thompson confirmed plans to chase the Welsh championship this season but will miss round two, the Plains Rally in May, due to a clash with Link’s stag weekend.
Clark drove a strong rally to open his title bid to take second while James Giddings/Aled Davies (Fordpad/Tandom/MetDem – Mitsubishi Lancer E9) took third PWRC points.
A strong field of historics chased Welsh points and top of the pack was the Ford Escort Mk2 of Dan Mennell/John Roberts (Mennell Motors/Pirelli/Speedline), which won the H8 class by a handsome margin after a typically attacking performance. Ron Morgan/Jordan Jones (Restruct/Wales Motorsport) and Lyn Davies/Kevin Jones (57 Tyres) were second and third in the class points.
Out of luck this time were Ben Friend/Cliff Simmons (Allglass Anglia – Ford Escort Mk2) with gearbox problems and George Lepley/Dafydd Evans (Jordan Road Surfacing – Mitsubishi Galant VR4) who retired with engine issues late in the rally.
Robert Gough/Jack Bowen joined the retirement list and Guy Weaver, co-driving for Stefaan Stouf in his Ford Escort Mk2, went OTL after being stuck in a ditch at the end of Buck Fell 1.
