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Meirion Evans & Jonathan Jackson on their way to 15th o/a on the recent Carlow Stages

Picture courtesy of Me2merallyphotos (C)

The ever-popular Carlow Stages was recently held across the Irish Sea. Thousands decent on the small town each year not just to see the Mk2 challenge part of the rally but to witness some of the best tarmac drivers in action down the Irish Lanes. With only being a short journey from the ferry port, the event attracted several Welsh competitors.Making his debut on Irish tar was Lampeter & District Motor Club member Meirion Evans. His father, Melvyn has been a regular competitor in Irish Rallying for a number of years and Meirion started following in his footsteps on this event.  Driving his Melvyn Evans Motorsport run Group N Subaru Impreza, Meirion looked at home on the Irishroads from the 1st loop of 3 stages and entered the 1st service of the day 3rdin Group N and 19tho/a. The same 3 stages were then repeated before the next service and Meirion’s confidence grew as he posted times around 10 seconds a stage faster than the first run through to still hold 3rd place in Group N & climb to 17th o/a.  With conditions drying out for the final loop of the same stages in the afternoon, Meirion had a push on, but not even climbing a hedge in front of some TV cameras could stop Meirion finishing the rally 3rdin Group N & 15th o/a

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Melvyn Evans & Mark Glennerster on their way to 2nd o/a on the recent Carlow Stages
 
Picture courtesy of Me2merallyphotos (C)
Hoping to put the disappointment of his retirement on the West Cork Rally due to gearbox issues, Meirion’s father Melvyn was also in Carlow.  The 2010 Dunlop Irish Tarmac Champion was seeded at car 4 and set some blistering times on the damp morning loop of stages to be 2nd o/a at the morning service. As conditions dried out, Melvyn’s times got faster on the 2nd loop, briefly taking the lead after stage 4 but dropped to 2nd by the midday service. A big attack on the last loop of stages meant Melvynbettered his stage times from the earlier 2 loops but had to be content with 2nd o/a at the end of the rally