Jones Scores Autumn Gold On Carmarthen MC Road Rally

By Paul Evans

Dan Jones won the Carmarthen Motor Club organised Autumn Rally last weekend, mastering the atrociously wet conditions in his Escort Mk2.

Co-driven by Max Freeman, Jones finished the famous west Wales road rally 16 seconds ahead of Martin Curzon/Dylan Jenkins in a similar Ford. Gari Evans/Marc Hughes came home third and first Expert in their Escort Mk2.

Rob Stephens/Robbie Pugh just missed out on a podium finish in fourth, Stefan ‘DR’ Davies/ Justin Davies
 came home fifth and Mark Lennox/Ian Beamond
 finished the night in sixth.

Nigel Nelson/Aled Richards were the first non-Escort Mk2 crew home in seventh in their Subaru Impreza, followed by Daniel Williams/Shaun Richards in a BMW 318 Ti Compact. Paul Morgan/Jamie Mills (Honda Civic) and Dylan Parry/Eurig Davies (Proton Satria) completed the top 10.

Number three seeds Kev Davies/Owain Davies were unfortunate to break down in the first selective, while John ‘Tyres’ Davies/Dai Roberts were going well until they stopped with a broken halfshaft in their Vauxall Astra.

The event contained a challenging route along some wonderful lanes, which had a few minor last minute changes due to the weather, while the 58 cars that finished was a credit to the crews considering the very wet and slippery conditions. The event was extremely well run, with marshals braving the conditions to man over 90 controls in heavy overnight rain.

Carmarthen MC, which is one of the oldest motor clubs in Wales, now turns its attention to its next event, the Fairfield Merlin Stages Rally. The JD Tyres Welsh Tarmacadam Rally Championship round takes place at the Welsh Motorsports Centre at Pembrey on Sunday 20 October.