Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear will begin the defence of their Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship titles – and attempt to win the series for a record-breaking fourth time – when they contest this weekend’s opening round, the Get Jerky Rally North Wales on Saturday 16 March, in their Delta Salvage/Witham Motorsport Ford Fiesta R5.
The pair have an impressive record on Rally North Wales, having won the event three times – and each time they’ve won it they have gone on to become Pirelli Welsh champions! Rally North Wales was also the scene of their very first overall rally win in 2019.
Simon Rogers finished a career-best runner-up in last year’s all-gravel Pirelli Welsh Championship after a very impressive and consistently fast season in his MacWhirter Motorsport-prepared Mitsubishi.
The Evo 6 driver will be partnered on this occasion by Jack Bowen, who will this year be aiming for the OnThePaceNote / Restruct-supported Welsh Junior co-drivers’ title.
James Giddings returns to the series – the Carmarthen driver was super-fast in 2022 and picked up second-placed Pirelli Welsh points on the Plains Rally, along with three other top six finishes.
Co-driven by Aled Davies, the former Fiesta ST Trophy and Citroën C2 Challenge champion will be a title contender in his Fordpad/Sar Metals Mitsubishi Evo 9.
Andrew Fox/Jaime-Lee Fox return to defend their class W12 title in their Xwatch Safety Solutions BMW 325. The Phelps brothers are back too, with Tim Phelps/Elwyn Manuel battling for class W12 glory in their Britpart Escort Mk2 and Geoff Phelps/Colin Jenkins aiming for class W11 honours in their Hartpury Farms Escort Mk2.
As well as Pirelli Welsh Championship points, the much sought-after special Witham Motorsport awards will be up for grabs on Rally North Wales for registered 2WD, 4WD and Historic competitors.
