- Home
- Other Sports
- Matthew Hirst Crowned Pirelli Ravenol Welsh Rally Champion
By Paul Evans
Matthew Hirst has won the 2022 Motorsport UK Pirelli Ravenol Welsh Rally Championship title with a perfect 150 points score after winning the penultimate round of the series, the Wyedean Stages Rally.
It’s the second time that Hirst and co-driver Declan Dear have been Welsh champions, having won the title in 2019.
Driving his Pirelli-shod Delta Salvage Ford Fiesta R5+, Hirst scored maximum points on the opening four rounds of the series – the WKD Trained Dogs Rally North Wales in March, April’s Rallynuts Stages Rally, the Plains Rally in mid-May and the Nicky Grist Stages at the start of July – leaving him only needing one more good result to secure the title.
And he did that in style in the Forest of Dean – leading the 40-stage mile Wyedean Stages from start to finish and winning by a very impressive 47 seconds.
“This season couldn’t have gone better really, with five maximum scores from five events,” said Hirst.
“Coming into the Wyedean it felt that I had a lot to lose and not much to win, and to win the Welsh Rally Championship again is a great feeling.”
It was far from easy, as heavy showers of rain and fallen leaves made the forest roads extremely slippery – and even Hirst wasn’t immune to a few problems, overshooting a couple of junctions on the opening loop of three stages and getting tangled up with a barrel that had been positioned to prevent a corner being cut on SS6.
19-year-old Robert Wilson scored this first overall forest rally stage win and his first ever overall podium on his way to a stunning second place in his Ravenol Mitsubishi Evo 7.
Co-driven this time by Martin Haggett, the teenager survived a few overshoots and an off on SS5 which saw the car come to rest on a tree stump, but the great result jumps him to fifth in the overall drivers’ standings.
Wilson has also closed the gap in the race for the OnThePaceNote.co.uk supported Welsh Junior title, having scored four maximums from his four appearances.
Nik Elsmore/Rob Fagg (CDS Mitsubishi Evo 9) and John Caine/Andrew Sankey (Phil Price Rally School Subaru Impreza) were tied for third going into the seventh and final stage. But local knowledge paid dividends as Elsmore took one second per mile out of Caine to secure the final podium position.
It was a magnificent performance by both crews, which sees Caine move from fifth to third in the overall Pirelli Ravenol Welsh drivers’ points table and extend his lead in class W13, while Sankey secures the class co-driver’s title.
Bob Morgan’s excellent season continued with fifth in his Winner Garage Škoda Fabia R5+.
He and co-driver Ade Williams were third at mid-distance, but Morgan admitted to pushing a bit too hard in the afternoon and he lost time when he got tangled up at a chicane on SS6.
Morgan was eventually denied a podium finish when a tyre came off the rim on the final stages, although another good result keeps him second in the overall drivers’ standings and he continues to lead the Ravenol Welsh Challenge – although Caine is now just one point behind.
Paul Walker/Geraint Thomas survived a big overshoot on the opening stage to bring their Geoff Jones Motorsport-prepared Green Paw Subaru Impreza home an excellent seventh in the Pirelli Ravenol Welsh standings, finishing 20 seconds ahead of David Tomlin/Keith Ashley who scored their best result of the season in their Axon Ford Fiesta R5.
Bob Ceen/Shaun Layland retired when they put their Axes Design-backed Ford Fiesta R5+ off the road on SS2 (on a corner which caught out several others), while Benj Ceen/Caron Tomlinson were forced out with power steering issues on their MSL-prepared Ford Fiesta R5 after SS3.
James Giddings/Aled Davies survived the opening loop of three stages, but on their way to SS4 their Fordpad Mitsubishi Evo 9 lost power and they retired with suspected turbo failure.
Michael McDaid/Declan Casey were the first two-wheel drive crew home in sixth in their McDaid Pharmacy Escort RS1800 Mk2.
Andrew Stokes/Jonny Tad Evans had a fabulous run to second in class W8 in their Ford Escort Mk1, Charles Hopkinson/Alan Jones also had their best result of the season with third in class in their Ford Escort Mk2 RS1800 and Ron Morgan/Marc Clatworthy came home fourth in their Wales Motorsport-built Restruct Escort Mk2.
Not so lucky was Jonathan Brace, whose unblemished finishing record came to an end after he buzzed the engine of his Brace’s Bakery Escort Mk1 RS1600 coming into a 90 right on SS5.
He continued, only for the car to drop a valve on the next stage, right in front of where co-driver Paul Spooner’s family were watching!
Neal James/Kevin Jones continue to lead the class W7 standings after finishing second in their Cwm Engineering Ford Escort Mk2.
Wrong tyres for the conditions and a lack of grip were a major hindrance and they were just pleased to reach the finish unscathed.
David Lloyd Roberts/Gerallt Wyn Davies came home third in class, just four seconds behind, in their Ford Escort Mk2 and still have a chance of winning the class title.
Liam Griffiths still leads the Pirelli Ravenol Welsh Junior category, although he could only manage third in class this time after he and co-driver Daniel James put their Discover Parks Ford Fiesta ST off the road on SS2, losing over a minute.
His brother Callum Griffiths (co-driven by William Lewis) retired in first service with clutch failed in his Presteigne Tyre Services Ford Fiesta ST.
Brynli Thomas is the Pirelli Ravenol Welsh Road Rally class champion after scoring his fourth maximum points score in his Peugeot 306 Rallye. Co-driven by Sion Rowlands, it was the perfect present for Thomas, who had celebrated his 50th birthday the day before!
The seventh and final round of the 2022 Motorsport UK Pirelli Ravenol Welsh Rally Championship is the Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally on Saturday 29 October.
