A Good Day For Ian Godney On The Mewla Rally

By Simon Gronow

Ian Godney took maximum J D Tyres Welsh Tarmacadam Championship points on the Mewla Rally, after a great run over the Epynt military range in his Suzuki Swift Maxi 2000.

With series leader Chris Simmons not competing on the event, Godney (co-driven by Stewart Powell) seized the opportunity to close the gap at the head of the series.

Having settled down after a couple of spins early on, and despite late engine concerns, Godney won his class, finished an impressive eighth overall and as first Welsh Tarmacadam contender to finish moves up to second in the overall points standings.

Home after what was a very close and eventful Mewla Rally. The Wrc Mini still sounded savage, and did the business! pic.twitter.com/ITWso2swL6

— Alastair Cummins (@AlastairCummins) August 27, 2023

On Charly’s first event at Epynt after their accident on the Dixies Challenge, the pair were soon into their stride and challenging for the overall lead of the event.

Altering their Citroën’s suspension and changing to slick tyres worked wonders for the later stages, with the pair ending the event in second place overall, just two seconds behind the winners (Daniel Harper/Martin Cressey in a Mini WRC).

Despite finishing as leading King of Epynt crew, the pair ended in third place in the series, having failed to score on the Dixies Challenge.

Second of the co-drivers’ to finish was Jonathan Hawkins who used his local knowledge to help Anthony Morgan achieve a fine fourth place finish in their Darrian T90 GTR.

https://twitter.com/raceandrallyni/status/1697674484394623076?s=20

Another crew left to rue a non-score on the Dixies Challenge were Terry Brown/Angharad Williams who overcame worn tyres to finish as second Challenge finisher in their Ford Escort, taking a top 10 finish in the process.

Third driver to finish was a relieved Phil Lloyd who had started the day in the lead of the series and was looking set for a top 10 finish and a good class result in his Ford Escort Mk2 before the radiator cap blew off on the seventh of the 10 special stages.

Thankfully he was able to effect repairs, and despite finishing lower than expected, he and Dean Wiltshire scored enough points to enable them to win the King of Epynt Challenge for 2023.

Following their problem-free run, where they took another class win, Leighton Smith/Karen Phelps have ended the year second in the Challenge in their Peugeot 2025 GTi, with Cole finishing as third driver and Gareth Davies, who was out with Eurwyn Davies in a Ford Escort finishing third co-driver.

Other finishers were Jim and Paul Boxall in a Peugeot 205 GTi who finished just one place ahead of Richard Stepney/Alun Ginn in a Talbot Sunbeam.

#mewlarally #epyntranges #oldforgegaragemewlarally2023 pic.twitter.com/Oq9iGzqJ1b

— ifan thomas (@ifanthomas73) August 27, 2023