Rally North Wales - (Sat) 24 Mar 18

Elliott and Davies take Rally North Wales wins

Posted: September 4, 2018 6:21 AM

Nick Elliott and Dave Price took a dominant two wheel drive victory at the North Wales Rally Services – Rally North Wales today (24th March), with Dylan Davies and Llion Williams picking up the four wheel drive win at the re-vamped event.

The 60th running of the Wolverhampton and South Staffordshire Car Club organised rally saw a shift in format for the 2018 event as over 120 crews headed to Dolgellau for the opening round of the Fuchs MSA British Historic Rally Championship, Rally2 series and second round of the Pirelli MSA Welsh Rally Championship.

In a change from previous years, the rally consisted of two separate events with the two wheel drive contenders (Rally2WD) starting early on Saturday morning before a lunchtime finish. The four wheel drive group (Rally4WD) then started their event, returning to the ceremonial finish just before dark. Both events enjoyed 45 miles of world famous stages in the Dyfi and Gartheiniog forest complex.

In the two wheel drive event, Ieuan Rowlands and Emyr Hall would set the pace for others to follow with a time 22 seconds faster than the chasing pack in their Hillman Avenger. Their impressive hard work would sadly be undone on the very next stage, parking the Barry Jordan loaned machine up with mechanical issues.

This left last year’s Rally North Wales winners Elliott and Price to head the field on stage two in their Ford Escort MK2 and it would be a position they would never relinquish, taking maximum BHRC and Welsh Championship points in the process.

“There was some big pressure on us today with plenty of really good people behind so to come away with the win is a great start to the season” said Elliott.

“The pace out there has been impressive but we had a really clean run and kept out of trouble. The stages have been excellent and I’m glad we hooked it all together, we are very grateful winners!”

Behind Elliott, the battle was well and truly raging with Dolgellau residents Osian Pryce and Dale Furniss marking out their debut in a Ford Escort MK2 with a string of impressive times throughout the day.

Marty McCormack made the trip over from Ireland, recruiting 2017 BHRC champion co-driver Phil Clarke alongside. They had a somewhat slower start to the day, but turned their pace around in the afternoon to take second spot. Paul Barrett and Dai Roberts also worked hard to climb the leader board to take third.

Local knowledge aside, Pryce soon adapted to his new surroundings and could have easily taken the battle to Elliott, but a final loop puncture saw him drop down the order to finish fourth. Steve Bennett and Osian Owen rounded off the top five.

A small but competitive field of four-wheel-drive crews headed out to contest the same loop of stages, leaving Dolgellau just as the Rally2WD contenders returned. Leading the group away, Lampeter’s Dylan Davies and Llion Williams were pre event favourites in their Subaru Impreza and they did not disappoint, taking fastest time on each test to win by over a minute from Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear’s Mitsubishi Evo IX.

“It’s the same as every rally we needed some good points (for the Welsh Championship) but you still want to do well at the same time so we just came here and tried our best” said Davies.

Wug Utting and Bob Stokoe took the final step of the podium in their Impreza with Paul Davy and Roger Allen’s similar machine just behind in fourth. Bob Morgan and Adie Williams rounded off the top five in their unique Skoda Fabia VRS.

Awesome opener for BHRC on Rally North Wales

Posted: September 3, 2018 10:51 AM

Nick Elliott and Dave Price got the FUCHS LUBRICANTS MSA British Historic Rally Championship off to a fantastic start on Rally North Wales (Saturday 24 March) with a mighty historic victory at the head of a tremendous field.

As well as being the first of eight BHRC rounds, Rally North Wales was also the first round of the BHRC Forest Challenge, supported by Rally and Competition Equipment, and the opening event for the new BHRC2, supported by Sherwood Engines. A sensational field lined up for the BHRC opener and there was tremendous competition across all classes.

Elliott and Price (Ford Escort Mk2) threw a marker down on the opening test of six top quality stages in the Dyfi complex and took a lead they would never lose. However, they had a big rival on that opening stage as the BRM-powered Hillman Avenger of Ieuan Rowlands and Emyr Hall was believed to have finished the stage within four seconds of Elliott. Sadly Rowlands went out on stage two with distributor problems.

However, Elliott could never relax as Marty McCormack/Phil Clarke and Paul Barrett/Dai Roberts kept up the chase. At the halfway point, Ryan Barrett and Paul McCann were even closer to Elliott but a broken diff ended their rally on stage four. Instead, Ryan’s elder brother Paul was getting quicker and quicker in his fresh car and ended the rally just two seconds down on McCormack. But another overall historic victory and a win in the Rally and Competition Equipment Category 3 went to Elliott.

A good day for Steve Bennett and Osian Owen netted fifth behind the non-registered Osian Pryce, despite losing a place back to Pryce when they knocked a tyre off the rim on the final stage. Alan Walker and John Connor battled all day with a misfire, but rounded out the top six after a friendly battle with Simon Webster/Jez Rogers, while James Slaughter/James Whitaker had a good day in eighth overall despite a steering rack issue before service.

An amazing performance from Adam Milner and Roy Jarvis (1600cc Ford Escort Mk1) claimed overall spoils in the Skipton Ford Category 2 (see below). Meanwhile Barry Jordan and Paul Wakely had a good day to win class C3 in their Hillman Avenger while Chris Skill and Tom Murphy (Ford Escort Mk1) topped class C5 with Mark Holmes/Craig Simkiss and Chris Browne/Ali Cornwell-Browne chasing hard.

Class D3 produced another of the drives of the rally as Stuart Egglestone and Brian Hodgson claimed a superb victory in their Pinto-powered Escort Mk2. Over the first three stages Egglestone had to push hard to fend off Josh Browne/Jane Edgington and Ben Friend/Cliffy Simmons. Egglestone headed the young chargers by 10 seconds at service but then had an easier afternoon as Browne retired at service with an oil leak and Friend suffered a final stage engine failure.

BHRC2 supported by Sherwood Engines

Rally North Wales was the first round of the new BHRC2, supported by Sherwood Engines, which has been created to turn the spotlight on the REIS Category 1 (pre-1968) and all other up to 1600cc cars in the championship.

Well over 20 cars lined up for the inaugural round of BHRC2 and it was the class C2 Escort Mk1 of Milner/Jarvis that set an outrageous pace to take a place in the overall top 10. However, they had a late worry when a loose oil union was found going into the second run of Gartheiniog. It all held together and Milner went seventh fastest through the nine-mile stage.

The amazing Bob Bean headed the strong Category 1 field. Fresh from his 80th birthday, Bob and new co-driver Miles Cartwright were mighty in their Ford Lotus Cortina and showed hallmark pace to win the category overall.

Other class winners in Category 1 were Malcolm Rich/Arwel Blainey (Ford Anglia) and Rikki Proffitt/Graham Wild (Porsche 911). The Porsche crew struggled with a misfire but went clear once 911 rival Dessie Nutt left his car teetering on the edge of a big drop at the flying finish of the first stage.

In Car

Posted: September 3, 2018 10:47 AM

Ryan Barrett & Paul McCann (Ford Escort Mk II) SS2


Nick Elliott & Dave Price (Ford Escort MkII) SS1


Marty McCormack & Phil Clarke (Ford Escort Mk II) SS6

Video Clips

Posted: September 3, 2018 10:44 AM

Results

Posted: September 3, 2018 10:41 AM

Rally North Wales - (Sat) 24 Mar 18 - RESULTS - 2WD
Rally North Wales - (Sat) 24 Mar 18 - RESULTS - 4WD

Results on line: North Wales 2018 2WD | North Wales 2018 4WD
Results by: Tynemouth Computer Services Rally Results

Seeded Entry Lists

Posted: March 23, 2018 5:00 PM

Rally North Wales - (Sat) 24 Mar 18 - SEEDED ENTRY LISTS (2WD & 4WD)

Bumper entry for re-vamped Rally North Wales

Posted: March 22, 2018 4:45 PM

The 2018 North Wales Rally Services – Rally North Wales is set to house one of the biggest entries in many years, as the popular forest stage rally attracts around 120 crews to the 24th March event.

The 60th running of the Wolverhampton and South Staffordshire Car Club organised rally has attracted over 110 two-wheel drive entries thanks to a shift in format and adopting the new Rally2WD initiative.

Devised by three Shropshire-based enthusiasts, the idea was launched in a bid to rekindle support for gravel rallying and two-wheel drive cars who previously suffered from less than ideal road conditions.

The all new format sees effectively two separate events from the Dolgellau base. The Rally2WD event starting early on Saturday morning, before finishing back in the town at around lunchtime. Rally4WD competitors will then start their event, returning to the ceremonial finish just before dark. Both the 2WD and 4WD events will consist of 45 miles of prime, classic stages in the Dyfi and Gartheiniog forest complex as in previous years.

The event forms the opening round of the Fuchs MSA British Historic Rally Championship (BHRC) who is joined by the Pirelli MSA Welsh Rally Championship, the new Rally2 series, The ANWCC Forest Rally Championship and the Suzuki Swift Shining Stars series.

All-eyes will be on the Rally2WD event at the weekend as the British Historic Championship brings a sizeable entry to Wales thanks to the new format. Picking a winner from the list could be futile at this stage and the battle will be played out in the forests during the morning’s six stages.

In a surprise entry, local hero and 2017 Rally North Wales winners Osian Pryce and Dale Furniss will lead the field away but not in their Fiesta R5 from last season, this time in a Rally Xtreme Ford Escort MK2. This will mark Osian’s debut in the rear wheel drive machine and he despite his lack of knowledge of the car, he will be looking to retain the number one on the door for next year.

Last year’s BHRC runners up and Rally North Wales Historic victors Nick Elliott and Dave Price start behind Pryce and will be one of the firm favourites for category honours in their Escort MK2. However, 2017 Roger Albert Clark winner Martin McCormack will be hot on Elliott’s heels in his similar Escort and will make the trip from across the Irish Sea and will have the benefit of Phil Clarke in the co-driver’s seat.

Matthew Robinson/Sam Collis, Ryan Barrett/Paul McCann, Joe Price/Chris Brooks, Paul Barrett/Dai Roberts and Rudi Lancaster/Guy Weaver make up the field to car eight and all in Ford Escort MK2’s. Ieuan Rowlands and Emyr Hall denote the first non-ford in the top ten with their Barry Jordan owned Hillman Avenger starting at car nine.

First of the Rally2 Championship contenders will be Phil Burton and Mal Capstick in their modified Ford Escort MK2 at car 16. Mat Smith and Giles Dikes make an appearance in their potent Proton Satria 1400 and start with number 22 on the door.

British Rally Championship contender and Aberdovey ace Tom Cave is a likely candidate to lead the charge for overall Rally4WD honours in his Subaru Impreza with Dale Bowen alongside. Cave has been longing to return to the stages since his Wales Rally GB outing in October last year.

He will be hunted down by a plethora of Welsh Rally Championship contenders however and Dylan Davies/Llion Williams from Lampeter will be looking to better their fourth place on the opening round in their Subaru Impreza.

Super-quick Group N pilots Andy Davies and Max Freeman bring their similar machine to Dolgellau and despite the horsepower deficit, will be looking for maximum points at the weekend. Bob Morgan/Adie Williams Skoda Fabia VRS and Paul Davey/Roger Allen’s Subaru will all be looking for a podium result in the Rally4WD event.

Spectators will be well catered for and have the opportunity to see the cars four times in stages during the day. Parking is £10 per car, including an event programme.

Rally2WD crews leave Gwyndaf Evans Motors in Dolgellau at 7.30am on Saturday 24th and spectators can choose from the Geoff Jones Motorsport Big Ray stage (08:30 and 11:25) or the Tim Hobbs Gartheiniog test (08:55 and 11:45). They will then return to Gwyndaf Evans Motors for the ceremonial finish at 12:30.

The Rally4WD event starts from the Farmers Mart in the town at around 13:20 before heading into the same stages used in the morning by the two-wheel-drive crews. They will arrive in Big Ray at 14:25 & 16:25, Gartheiniog at 14:45 & 16:40 before finishing at Gwyndaf Evans Motors at 17:30.

Stunning BHRC entry for Rally North Wales

Posted: March 22, 2018 4:42 PM

The FUCHS LUBRICANTS MSA British Historic Rally Championship will get off to a flying start on Rally North Wales (Saturday 24 March) with around 60 registered contenders in a two-wheel drive entry that has outstanding quality to match quantity.

As well as being the first of eight BHRC rounds, Rally North Wales is also the first round of the BHRC Forest Challenge, supported by Rally and Competition Equipment.

The BHRC field is packed with quality and is headed by the crew that came so close to taking the overall title in 2017. Nick Elliott and Dave Price (Ford Escort Mk2) will return to the event they won the historic section of in 2017 in a bid to get a fresh title challenge off to a flying start.

In what is the best BHRC field for at least three seasons, Elliott and Price have a raft of rivals including similar Mk2s for Joe Price/Chris Brooks, Matthew Robinson/Sam Collis, Paul Barrett/Dai Roberts and Ryan Barrett/Paul McCann. The battle at the head of the historic rally is also sure to feature two more Escorts in the expert hands of Osian Pryce and Marty McCormack, but they may not be registered for the BHRC due to other commitments this season.

Another pack of very quick Escorts could well be in the mix including the cars of Rudi Lancaster/Guy Weaver, Alan Walker/John Connor, Steve Bennett/Osian Owen and Simon Webster/Jez Rogers. Rivalling the Escorts will be two spectacular cars from Barry Jordan’s stable and the Hillman Avenger BRM of Ieuan Rowlands/Emyr Hall could really mix it with the top Escorts. Jordan and Paul Wakely will wow the crowds with their Fiat 131.

Class D3, for the Pinto-engined Escort Mk2s in Category 3, has one of its strongest entries for some time as class pacesetters Ben Friend and Cliffy Simmons plan to carry on where they left off last season. However, they’ve got some serious opposition in the form of similar cars for Stuart Egglestone/Brian Hodgson and Josh Browne/Jane Edgington.

An excellent Category 2 entry is topped by BDA-powered Escort Mk1s for Chris Browne/Ali Cornwell-Browne, Chris Skill/Tom Murphy, Andrew Stokes/Adrian McNally and Mark Holmes/Craig Simkiss, while the glorious Datsun 240Z of Graham Patten/Pauline Hale makes a first foray onto gravel.

Finally, a cracking entry in class C3 promises yet another fierce class contest as BMW 2002 pilot Terry Cree takes on the quick Escort Mk1s of Josh Carr/Ben Hall and Mike Simpson/Dale Gibbons.

BHRC2 supported by Sherwood Engines

Significantly, the event’s new format has caught the imagination of those contesting the new BHRC2, supported by Sherwood Engines, which has been created to turn the spotlight on the Category 1 (pre-1968) and up to 1600cc cars in the championship.

Well over 20 cars will line-up for the inaugural round of BHRC2 and it is the class C2 Escort Mk1 of Adam Milner and Roy Jarvis that will be expected to set the pace. Yorkshireman Milner is a prodigious talent and despite limited experience in Wales, he will be tough to beat.

Ranged against Milner in C2 are similar Escorts for John Williams/Gethin Sollis, racers David Gathercole and Martyn Donn and Stuart and Linda Cariss. Back on gravel in his Escort after a lengthy gap is Matt Fowle and he will be quick, as will BHRC returnee Robin Shuttleworth and Ronnie Roughead. Irishman Ken Graham is another swift Avenger pilot in one of the most hotly-contested classes of all.

A glorious Category 1 entry has clearly shown that these cars are ready to rally if given a fair deal on running order and road condition. Topping the field are the Porsche 911s of Rikki Proffitt/Graham Wild and Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride, but flying Lotus Cortinas will chase them hard. Notably Bob Bean, who is tackling his first rally since his 80th birthday, and Paul Mankin will head the Cortina charge while Ian Beveridge is back in his Volvo PV544. From class B3 are two very potent Fords: the Cortina Mk2 GT of Bob Gibbons/David Nicholson and the Ford Anglia of Malcolm Rich/Arwel Blainey.

Class B1/B2 for the up to 1300cc Category 1 cars features wonderful variety as Mark Ferreday/Jordan Joines (VW Beetle) take on the Sunbeam Stiletto of Mike Barratt/Fiona Scarrett.

The final element of BHRC2 is the 1600cc cars from Category 3 and they will be chasing a slice of BHRC2 glory, with the Talbot Sunbeam of David Hopkins and Tony Vart to the fore.

Rally North Wales, which is sponsored by North Wales Rally Services, is the first rally to run to the new Rally 2WD format, which means that all of the 2WD cars will complete all of the 45 stage miles before the 4WD entries.

Runaway BHRC response to Rally North Wales

Posted: January 22, 2018 9:39 AM

The FUCHS LUBRICANTS MSA British Historic Rally Championship is set for a spectacular start on Rally North Wales (Saturday 24 March) after a massive response from championship contenders eager to enter the rally.

As soon as the entry list opened at 11am on Friday 19 January, the organisers from Wolverhampton and South Staffs Car Club were swamped with entries and more than 50 BHRC contenders have entered the rally in the first three days. It is an unprecedented avalanche of entries for a rally that has now filled 97 of 120 available places.

As well as quantity, the BHRC field is packed with quality and is headed by the crew that came so close to taking the overall title in 2017. Nick Elliott and Dave Price will return to the event they won the historic section of in 2017 in a bid to get another title challenge off to a flying start.

Importantly, the event’s new format has caught the imagination of those planning to contest the newly-announced BHRC2, which has been created to turn the spotlight on the Category 1 (pre-1968) and up to 1600cc cars in the championship.

The entry to date for Rally North Wales includes an incredible tally of 16 Category 1 cars and nine 1600s. These are numbers not seen since the changes to event running orders took a heavy toll on competitors in these groups. The format of Rally North Wales has encouraged these cars back into action and it will be a tremendous start for BHRC2.

Rally North Wales, which is sponsored by North Wales Rally Services, is the first rally to run to the new Rally 2WD format, which means that all of the 2WD cars will complete all of the 45 stage miles before the 4WD entries.

The on-line entry system can be found via the event website, link below.

Entries Received

Posted: January 20, 2018 2:46 PM

Available at:

www.rallies.info/webentry/2018/northwalesa/

Rally North Wales opens it's entries with a new format

Posted: January 19, 2018 7:14 AM

Organisers of this year’s Rally North Wales have released their event regulations, marking a significant change in the format for the Dolgellau based forest stage rally which takes places on 24th March 2018.

Sponsored once again by North Wales Rally Services, the Wolverhampton and South Staffordshire Car Club organised event will see a major change in its 60th year with a split format for two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive machines. In what will effectively be two separate events, Rally North Wales will be the first event in the UK to adopt the new layout, based on the Rally 2WD initiative.

Both the 2WD and 4WD events will consist of 45 miles of prime, classic stages in the Dyfi and Gartheiniog complex as in previous years and will form the opening round of the Fuchs MSA British Historic Rally Championship.

The popular Pirelli MSA Welsh Rally Championship returns to the event once again and will undoubtedly provide a top-line list of crews in the all-wheel-drive and two-wheel-drive section. The ANWCC Forest Rally Championship and Suzuki Swift Shining Stars also make a comeback and will be joined by the newly launched Rally2 series.

Building on the success of the past two years, organisers have devised a compact route for both categories which will see the two-wheel drive crews leave Gwyndaf Evans Motors in Dolgellau at 8.30am on Saturday 24th March. 45 miles of world-class stages await competitors in the National A and National B 2WD sections with centralised servicing in the town before the finish ceremony takes place at around lunchtime.

The four-wheel drive event will then kick off, utilising the same high-quality stages with service based around the Craft Centre at Corris, keeping road mileage even lower. The event for the all-driver crews will then finish at around 17:30. Entries will be limited to just 120 and crews are advised to enter early.

“We are very proud to be the first event in the country to utilise the Rally 2WD event format and we are very excited to see how well the idea is received by competitors across the board this year,” says Clerk of the Course Richard Hinton.

“Rally North Wales has always been a popular event but we need to be able to move with times and evolve our format to ensure the event remains financially viable and the changes for 2018 will hopefully appeal to crews of all levels in all kinds of competition cars. Whilst it’s easy to think we have concentrated on the two-wheel drives, rest assured the four-wheel drive crews will have just as much fun on some great stages. Along with the low road miles linking the stages, we are confident that the event will be the best yet and we look forward to welcoming everyone to Dolgellau in March”.

The event regulations and online entry system are now available - link below

On Line Entry / Regulations

Posted: January 19, 2018 7:13 AM

Rally North Wales

First 50 crews commit to Rally 2WD on Rally North Wales

Posted: November 29, 2017 10:27 AM

Pledges of support from 50 crews have now been received for Rally North Wales, which will be the first rally to be organised to the new Rally 2WD format on Saturday 24 March.

The team behind Rally 2WD has been working behind the scenes to confirm support for the first event and now have 50 commitments from the historic fraternity, with more expected. Importantly, the numbers include at least 15 cars from Category 1 (pre-1968), which will be a massive improvement over this season when only two or three of the older cars were active on forest rallies.

The organising team from Wolverhampton and South Staffs Car Club has planned its annual event in the classic Welsh forests around R2WD, the new initiative designed to rekindle support for gravel rallying for all two-wheel drive cars, both modern and historic.

Guy Weaver, chairman of WSSCC, said:
?This is very encouraging news for our event and there should be a good contingent of modern 2WD cars in the entry as well. To have this level of commitment four months ahead of the rally is extremely positive.?

Simon Wallis from R2WD said:
?The response from historic crews has been overwhelmingly positive about the format of R2WD events. We now have pledges of support from the first 50 crews but we still have a lot more potential competitors to talk to over the next couple of weeks. The response from Category 1 drivers is particularly pleasing.?

Rally2WD has been developed to encourage back the groups most adversely affected by the move to a single field running in performance order. The historic and lower powered front-wheel drive entries have been decimated as a result and it is those competitors that are the target for Rally 2WD, along with all other two-wheel drive cars, historic or modern, that have disappeared from the sport.

Events choosing to adopt the Rally 2WD concept will effectively run two back-to-back rallies: the first one for all two-wheel drive cars, both modern and historic, and the second event for all four-wheel drive cars. The concept allows both events to run within one day, with all stage action running between 9am and 5pm while fully meeting all MSA requirements.

The concept for Rally 2WD events will put the entire two-wheel drive field through all stages first to complete their competitive mileage, followed as soon as possible by the four-wheel drive field. The on-going excellent work of Rally4Wales will ensure that the four-wheel drive cars will still enjoy very good road conditions.

Two Historic Reunions planned for 2018

Posted: October 22, 2017 5:31 AM

Two reunions for historic stage rally cars will be held next year, during Rally North Wales in March and the Red Kite Stages in June.

The pair of gravel rallies will run to the new Rally 2WD format and the team behind Rally 2WD is working to encourage as many historic crews as possible to support these Historic Reunion events in particular.

Rally North Wales (Saturday 24 March) and the Red Kite Stages (Saturday 23 June) will offer historic crews the best possible stage conditions by running all the two-wheel drive mileage ahead of the four-wheel drive cars and the plan is to build significant historic entries by making these two rallies a celebration of historic rallying on gravel.

As well as generating strong entries for the two rallies, the idea of the Historic Reunions is to bring back the atmosphere, camaraderie and fun that was always a key element of historic rallying. Unfortunately, the changes to event running order brought in on safety grounds have fragmented and decimated the historic entry.

“In 2014 there were 95 historic cars entered on the Mid Wales Stages and a total of 111 two-wheel drive cars,” said Simon Wallis from Rally 2WD. “Rally2WD is designed to encourage historic and all two-wheel drive cars back to the forests, but it needs everybody's support to make it work or one day we won't have any rallies left.

“We already have pledges from over 25 competitors to enter Rally North Wales in March, which will be the first event run to this new format. The idea behind the Historic Reunion is to ensure that this movement does not disappear with cars being left unused in garages and competitors finding other things to do with their time and money.”

Rally 2WD is a bold new initiative that has been launched in a bid to rekindle support for gravel rallying for modern and historic two-wheel drive cars. Rally 2WD events will put the entire two-wheel drive field through all stages first to complete their competitive mileage, followed as soon as possible by the four-wheel drive field. It has been created to try and reverse the alarming decline in the number of entries on many gravel rallies this season, a decline that is widely regarded as a key result of the change to running order on rallies.

Rally North Wales partners with Rally 2WD

Posted: September 13, 2017 6:15 AM

Rally North Wales will be the first rally to be organised to the new Rally 2WD format when the popular event runs in classic Welsh forests on Saturday 24 March.

The organising team from Wolverhampton and South Staffs Car Club has confirmed a partnership with R2WD, the new initiative designed to rekindle support for gravel rallying for all two-wheel drive cars, both modern and historic.

Rally2WD has been developed to encourage back the groups most adversely affected by the move to a single field running in performance order. The historic and lower powered front-wheel drive entries have been decimated as a result and it is those competitors that are the target for Rally 2WD, along with all other two-wheel drive cars, historic or modern, that have disappeared from the sport.

“As one of the longest established clubs we need to ensure that our major event of the year is on a sound financial platform,” said Guy Weaver, chairman of WSSCC. “We see R2WD as a way of building support for Rally North Wales by attracting back crews in two-wheel drive cars who have been put off by the changes to running order. When added to the excellent re-grading work being completed by Rally 4 Wales, we are confident that we can offer an event that will give everyone a tremendous gravel experience, no matter what type of car they are using.”

Simon Wallis from R2WD said:
“There is a great deal of concern about the viability of gravel events for 2018 and beyond. Rally North Wales is a superb event, typically running over world-class stages. This will be an ideal opportunity to get competitors in all types of two-wheel drive cars, both modern and historic, back out rallying again.”

The team behind R2WD has already received pledges of support for the event from 20 crews and this number is growing rapidly. The RNW organisers are considering capping the entry at a maximum of 120 cars and may introduce an entry deposit scheme later in the year.

Events choosing to adopt the Rally 2WD concept will effectively run two back-to-back rallies: the first one for all two-wheel drive cars, both modern and historic, and the second event for all four-wheel drive cars. The concept allows both events to run within one day, with all stage action running between 9am and 5pm while fully meeting all MSA requirements.

The concept for Rally 2WD events will put the entire two-wheel drive field through all stages first to complete their competitive mileage, followed as soon as possible by the four-wheel drive field. It is expected that the on-going work of Rally4Wales will ensure that the four-wheel drive cars will still enjoy very good road conditions.

Event Website

Posted: September 13, 2017 6:15 AM

Rally North Wales