Mathew Hirst and Declan Dear were the absolute class of the field on a truly challenging Cambrian Rally on Saturday, October 25, which formed the fifth and penultimate round of this year’s Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship.
In their Delta Salvage/Witham Motorsport Skoda Fabia R5, Hirst and Dear dominated the Interclub section of the event to finish more than 50 seconds ahead of the rest of the field and open up the possibility of winning the championship for a fourth time in a row when the season concludes on the Wyedean Rally on Saturday November 8.
Additionally the pair where crowned new BTRDA Gold Star Champions, getting the better on last years champions Elliot Payne and Patrick Walsh in the tricky Welsh forest conditions.
In Welsh championship terms, leading the chase of Hirst and Dear were Liam Clark and Jack Morton in their Ford Fiesta Rally2 and they had a strong day in the wet and slippery forests of Clocaenog, Brenig and Alwen but we’re a little way back from the winning Fabia.
In Class W14 came good runs the Skoda Fabia R5 of Bob Morgan/Adrian Williams (Winner Garage Skoda Cinderford), the Citroen C3 Rally2 of Rob Morris/Paul Spooner (RMG Groundworks) and the Ignition Motorsport Ford Fiesta R5 of Colin Minton/Jordan Joines, who all battled through the tough stages to return to the finish in Llandudno.
On a day of many retirements, the most significant in PWRC terms was that of James Giddings and Aled Davies in their Fordpad/Tandom/MetDem Mitsubishi Lancer E9 after problems in the opening 12-mile stage in Clocaenog. The non-finish is a clear blow to their overall championship aspirations.
The remaining round of the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship is the Wyedean Rally on Saturday November 8.
