Cadog Davies and Michael Jones on their way to victory on the Classic tracks targa
On Sunday the 26th of May Llandysul motor cub held their very popular targa rally, the Classic tracks, a rally made up of farm yards and cattle tracks that made up a series of tests for competitors to compete on. Being a local and popular event it’s of no surprise that many Lampeter members entered, with the first members being James Davies who were seeded at car 5 in his Proton Compact GTI. He would have Marc Mayes navigating for him, they have had excellent results on this rally in the past and would be out to again push for a strong result. Next among club members at 8 was Cadog Davies who for this event would be in the driver’s seat in his Proton Satria GTI, he would again have Michael Jones navigating for him this year. On last year’s event Caodg and Michael were both lying in second overall until the car broke so this year, they were hoping to get all the way to the finish in a strong position. At 15 was Daniel Williams in his BMW 318Ti, he would have Jamie Wilson on navigating duties and were another crew with the potential for a strong result. Tim Evans and Dafydd Evans were next at 19 in a Peugeot 206 GTI followed at 20 by Carwyn Davies at 20 in a Nissan Micra, he had Barry Jones navigating for him.
Down in semi expert class at 47 were Osian Jones and Rhodri Lewis in another Peugeot 206. In the novice class at 52 were Anwen Davies and SIoned Davies in a Proton Satira. Rounding off club members at 59 was Caflyn Jones in a Nissan Micra, he had Dion Davies on map duties.
Signing on was at West Wales Rally Spares located in Llandysul and with it and scrutineering taken care of at 11 o’clock in the morning the first competitors left the start car park ready for the first test, which was a cattle track just outside of Horeb. Rain had been falling for most of the morning which gave for tricky conditions and everyone found traction to be something in lacking as car struggled to get the power down. On this test it was Cadog Davies and Michael Jones that did best amongst club members with 1 minute and 19 seconds of penalties gained. An excellent start to their day. Next up were Tim and Dafydd in the Peugeot with 1 minute and 24 seconds gained. Carwyn and Barry were next on one minute and 30 seconds in their little Micra, then it was Osian Jones and Rhodri Lewis on 1 minute and 45 seconds, a good start for the semi expert pair. James and Marc and Daniel and Jamie both stopped the clocks at 1 minute and 48 seconds with James having a slight moment on this test with his car going into bit of a slide, costing him a handful of seconds. Anwen and Sioned reordered a very respectable time of 2 minutes and 20 seconds in their Proton and closely following them on 2 minutes and 24 were Calfyn and Dion.
Fronwen and Cwmdyllest were the next two tests and a spectator point was located at Cwmdyllest where people could go to catch the action. On this test it was Cadog and Michael that were best among club members again with 34 seconds of penalties gained. Tim and Dafydd were next on 40 seconds followed by James and Marc on 42 seconds. Daniel and Jamie were on 46 seconds and just behind them on 47 seconds were Osian and Rhodri who were doing very well. Calfyn and Dion were also doing well and were rewarded with a time of 53 seconds for their efforts. Carwyn and Barry had 58 seconds here and Anwen and Sioned stopped the clocks on 1 minute exactly. Pantmoch, Capel Dewi and Bryngranod were the next tests before competitors went to Moiddyn white for test 7. This is a well-used test that had been included in the route of the Bro caron so was familiar territory for many. Some competitors here actually managed to match the bogey time so they went through without picking up any penalties. Tim and Dafydd nearly made it penalty free just 3 seconds off. Daniel and Jamie were another one doing very well and received 9 seconds, as did Osian and Rhodri. Anwen and Sioned were next with 18 seconds in their Proton followed by Carwyn and Barry on 29. Then it was Calfyn and Dion on 35 seconds.
Bwlch-y-fadfa was test 8 where another spectator point was located although this ended up being scrubbed from the results so it was then over to Henbant for test 9. Once again, the pace setter among club members was Cadog, who with Michael recorded another excellent time of 19 seconds, putting him in the running for the outfight lead. James and Marc achieved a very respectable time of 27 seconds here which was closely followed by Tim and Dafydd on 28 seconds. Daniel and Jamie were next in their BMW with 35 seconds of penalties gained. Osian and Rhodri were still going strong on 37 seconds. Next up were Carwyn and Barry on 45 seconds. Anwen and Sioned had 56 seconds and Calfyn and Dion ran into problems on this test so they had a time of 10 minutes and 48 seconds.
Test 10 was to be the last test for James and Marc as they slid off the road and damaged the car, both crew members were completely fine although the future of the car isn’t so certain. Csdog and Michael also had a moment on this test with the tracks being very slippery they spun the car round and ended up travelling backwards, although Cadog didn’t panic and simply put the car in reverse before spinning it around to continue, showing excellent car control in the process.
The petrol halt was in Llanarth and as things stood Cadog Davies lay in second overall with a penalty count of 5 minutes and 26 seconds, an excellent first half performance saw that they were only 8 seconds ahead of the outright leaders meaning everything was to play for in the second half. Tim Evans and Dafydd Evans were holding eleventh overall on 7 minutes and 13 seconds after a fine first half performance in their Peugeot. Daniel and Jamie were holding seventeenth overall in their BMW with 7 minutes and 51 seconds. Osian and Rhodri were in thirty-third with 10 minutes and 12 seconds. Andwen and Sioned had been going well all first half so they were in thirty-sixth overall with a penalty count of 10 minutes and 25 seconds. Calfyn and Dion were in fifty-third with a penalty count of 20 minutes and 12 seconds. Carwyn and Barry were in fifty-seventh overall having picked up two fails, their penalty count was 8 minutes and 38 seconds.
With refuelling taken care of it was back to the test for another action-packed half. The twelfth test of the rally was another classic, Pantsod farm, this was another spectator location and once again proved to be very popular with large crowds gathering to see the action. Here it was Osian and Dion that set the standard in their Peugeot, with an amazing time of 45 seconds. Cadog and Michael achieved another excellent time of 50 seconds in their Proton, great going by them and Cadog proving he was talented no matter which side of the car he sat in. Tim and Dafydd were next in their Peugeot with 55 seconds gained. Carwyn and Barry were next on 1 minute and 4 seconds then Anwen and Sioned followed on 1 minute and 8 seconds then Daniel and Jamie were next on one minute and 13. Calfyn and Dion once again unfortunately ran into difficulty here so had a penalty count of 11 minutes and 7 seconds.
The next two tests were near the villages of Plwmp and Penrhiwpal, with the one at Penrhiwpal being a short but challenging affair. Tim and Dafydd had an excellent run through here and achieved a time of 7 seconds, matching them through here were Carwyn and Barry who also had 7 seconds. Close behind them were Cadog and Michael who achieved a penalty count here of 9 seconds. Anwen and Sioned were next up with 10 seconds gained, followed by Osian and Rhodri on 11, and then Calfyn and Dion on 12 seconds, rounding off the club members here were Daniel and Jamie who had 23 seconds.
Test 15 was Gwernant and this one also had to be scrubbed from the results so it was on to tests 16 and 17 which were at Cafan and Blaenant. Unfortunatley Tim and Dafydd’s rally came to a premature end here which was a great shame as they had been going very well in their Peugeot. At Blaenant Cadog and Michael really pushed and received the outright best time of 19 seconds for their efforts. Osian and Rhodri were next in on 26 seconds so they were still doing very well. Anwen and Sioned had 31 seconds here and not far behind were Daniel and Jamie had 33 seconds here in the BMW. Calfyn and Dion managed a very respectful time of 37 seconds and Carwyn and Barry managed 41 seconds here.
Trebedw and Bronwydd were the next two tests before competitors then went over to Glyn-yr-Odyn for test 20. This is another test that if often used and popular with competitors and always includes a technical section around the farmyard mid-way through the test. It was Osian and Rhodri that were best among club members here as they set an excellent time of 31 seconds, a time that would have been highly respectable even in the expert class. Cadog and Michael were next with 42 seconds, followed by Anwen and Sioned on 43. Carwyn and Barry were next on 1 minute and 6 seconds and then it was Daniel and Jamie with 1 minute and 22 seconds. Calfyn and Dion managed 1 minute 29.
The two final tests of the rally were located at Cwmhyar and Abercerdin. The test at Cwmhyar is another popular venue for spectators as there is easy access to this test with it being opposite a council deport enabling crowds to gather and have one last glimpse of the action before the day came to an end. Cadog and Michael really pushed here and a time of 35 seconds was the reward for their efforts. Osian and Rhodri were another crew really trying and managed another excellent time of 40 seconds. Both Daniel and Jamie and Anwen and Sioned tied on 48 seconds here, and Calfyn and Dion managed a minute. Carwyn and Barry manged 1 minute and 7 seconds.
The final test of the day was at Abercerdin and everyone put in a last push to try and help with their overall standings. Cadog and Michael received the joint quickest time over it with 17 seconds of penalties. Osian and Rhodri managed 21 seconds here, and just behind them were Anwen and Sioned and Carwyn and Barry who were both on 22. Danie and Jamie managed 29 seconds here and Calfyn and Dion managed 31.
After a long but very enjoyable day in very challenging conditions it was back to the Porth hotel in Llandysul for the results. After a day of setting incredibly good times it was declared that the winners of the 2019 event were Cadog Davies and Michael Jones who managed to take victory by 2 seconds in their Proton Satira GTI, their total penalty count at the end of the day stood at 10 minutes and 41 seconds, excellent going by them and Cadog’s first win as a driver. Cadog has now scored victories in both seats of a rally car. Both crew members thoroughly enjoyed their day and cannot wait for next years event. Daniel Williams and Jamie Wilson finished in seventeenth overall with a penalty count of 15 minutes and 41 seconds. Osian Jones and Rhodri Lewis ended their day in twenty-first overall with a penalty count of 16 minutes and 23 seconds. Anwen Davies and Sioned Davies managed twenty-sixth overall with 17 minutes and 37 seconds. Calfyn Jones and Dion Davies were in forty-seventh after picking up a fail, their penalty count stood at 38 minutes and 47 seconds. Carwyn Davies and Barry Jones received 5 fails so finished in fifty-first overall with a penalty count of 26 minutes and 27 seconds. Tim Evans and Dafydd Evans had jumped to the finish and were classified as finishers as they had managed to cover two thirds of the route so they ended up in fifty-fifth overall with 17 fails.
It had been an enjoyable day for everyone and there was nothing but praise for the organisers who had put on an excellent event in somewhat challenging conditions and there are many already looking forward to next years event.