Dafydd Evans celebrates with George Lepley after a convincing win in the Trackrod Historic cup (Dafydd Evans)

It's been another couple of great weeks for club members with success on the stages and in the lanes, with events running all over the country which would see our club members active. The Trackrod rally took place on the 26th and 27th of September, the Autumn road rally being on the 27th and 28th of September and the Tour of Epynt being held on the 28th of September. 

There would be two club members present on the Trackrod Historic rally, which would be the final round of the British historic rally championship. Dafydd Evans would once again be navigating for George Lepley, in George’s Mitsubishi Galant VR4. They would be seeded at 102, second off in the historic event, and hoping for a good run, having had mixed forties on previous rounds. Arwel Evans would also be competing. He would be in his Mk2 Ford escort, and would have Eurig Davies sitting with him, and they would be seeded at 117. The rally would consist of six stages in the Yorkshire forests, with the first stage, being Dalby 1, taking place in the dark of the Friday evening. Then another 5 stages would follow on the following Saturday. 

Despite having overheating issues in their Mitsubishi George and Dafydd got off to an excellent start with the quickest overall time over the 11 and a bit miles of Dalby, they would set a time of 12 minutes and 3.5 seconds, which would see them over 11 seconds clear of their nearest rival. Arwel and Eurig would break into the top twenty with the nineteenth quickest overall time of 13 minutes 27.4 seconds in their escort.

Cropton would be the opening stage of the second day. This stage being a little shorter at 9 miles in length, George and Dafydd would extend thor lead after the service crew had worked hard to help with the issues that they had incurred on the opening stage. They would add another 6 seconds to their lead. Arwel and Eurig would set the twenty-first quickest overall time here which would see them climb a place overall to eighteenth. 

Gale Rigg would be stage 3. This would be the shortest stage of the event at 5 and a half miles in length. It would be another great stage for George and Daffydd who would again set the quickest overall time, adding another 5 seconds to their lead which now stood at 24.5 seconds. Arwel and Eurig would have another good stage here with the eighteenth quickest overall time, which would see them climb two more places into sixteenth overall.

Staindale 1 would be the final stage before the service halt. The battle at the top was closer in this stage with 5 seconds separating the top five cars. George and Dayff would come out on top though as they would put another 1.7 seconds between themselves and second place overall. Arwel and Eurig would continue to climb up the leaderboard, gaining yet another two places here after setting another eighteenth quickest overall time, it was shaping up to be a great event for them. 

The service halt would follow, giving competitors to refuel and sort any issues the cars may have picked up on the stages. Following from here another run of Dalby would make up the fifth stage. George and Dafydd would describe their run through here as near enough perfect, and the clocks showed as they would add another 9.3 seconds to their event lead. Arwel and Eurig would manage the fourteenth quickest time through here which would see them drop down to fifteenth overall, but the gap between them and fourteenth overall was less than 1 second.

Staindale 2 would be the final of the event, and it would actually be the only one that George and Dafydd didn’t win, although they would be second quickest overall, and only 0.6 seconds off the winning time. They would end their rally in a well deserved first overall, taking the maximum score in the British Historic rally championship too. It was great to see them finally get the result that everyone knew they were capable of and rounded off what had been a challenging year on a high note. Arwel and Eurig would finish their event in seventeenth overall after setting the eighteenth quickest time on the final stage. It had been a very good event for them with some very consistent times achieved over the course of the event. 

Daniel Jones and Marc Hughes on route to victory on the Autumn memorial (Joseph John Gilbertson)

The next bit of action would take place closer to home, down in Carmarthen, with the Carmarthen motor club organised Autumn road rally, this year being run in memory of Aaron Jones and Dai Roberts who had been long standing members of the club and wider rallying community. The rally would make up the ninth round of the Welsh road rally championship as well as a round of the club’s own road rally championship. 

The organisers put on an event of just over 100 miles, using OS maps 145, 146 and 159, with the cattle mart at Llanllwch being the rally’s HQ. Naturally there would be a handful of club members present with the aim of scoring points in the various championships, and first off would be Cadog Davies with regular driver George Williams, in their familiar Mk2 Ford escort. They were looking for a hat-trick of wins on this event, and would take the number 1 spot on the entry list. Behind them at 3 would be Stefan “DR” Davies and Kieran Price on Stefan’s Mk2 Ford escort. They would be a crew to look out for as capable of big things when luck is on their side, as their win on the PK memorial earlier in the year showed. Daniel “lwni” Jones and Marc Hughes would start at 4 in their Mk2 Ford escort. This would be another crew to keep a close eye on with both crew members being more than capable of taking the crown. Right behind them at 5 were Andy Davies and Owen Rowcliffe in Andy’s familiar Subaru impreza IDZ, the would be another crew capable of big things. At 9 was Owain Evans in his Mk2 Ford escort, he would have Jamie Mills on map duties tonight. Justin Davies would be at 14, he was navigating for Mathew Davies, in another Mk2 Ford escort. Arwyn Jones and Mathew Pryce would take the number 15 slot, and they would be debuting Arwyn’s recently built Mk2 Ford escort. 

In the expert class Steffan Thomas would once again be on the maps. For this event he paired up with Rhodri Evans in Rhodri’s Mk2 Ford escort. They would start at 22. Chris Palmer and George Eadon were back out together, in Chris’ Mk1 Ford escort, they would be seeded at 35. Lewis Jenkins would be navigating in car 36, the Ford Sierra belonging to Emyr Morgan, and behind them at 42 would be Griffin Tweedale, who would also be navigating, he would be sitting with Aled Jenkins, in another Mk2 Ford escort. 

Llyr Davies and Osian Jones would be the first club members off in the semi expert class, they had swapped sides for this event, using Llyr’s Renault Clio sport, they would be seeded at 49. Arfon Jones at number 51, in his Subaru impreza, he would have Chris Hill sit with him. At 55 was Debbie Evans in her Mk2 Ford escort, she would have Gethin Sollis sitting with her. Llion WIlliams would once again be navigating, he would be sat in the Vauxhall Chevette of Lucas Adam, and they would start at number 69. 

There would be a couple of club members present in novice class, with Gregory Harrand at number 73, he would be sitting with Benjamin Jones in his Peugeot 206, and they would be hoping to make it third time lucky after their two no finishes together. Rhodri Evans would be navigating in a Vauxhall nova belonging to James McFarline, they would start at 85. Sion Evans would also be navigating, he would be with Ben Birch, and they would take the number 86 slot. Rounding off club members right behind them at 87 would be Rhydian Thomas and Osian Jones in Rhydian’s Subaru Impreza.

Rain had fallen for the duration of signing on, but would thankfully stop once competitors began plotting. This would make the lanes and tracks very slippery going, and fog would also be present throughout the night, especially on higher ground. 

With singing on formalities taken care of, there would be a short run down the A40 for the first competitive section of the night, which would take place just outside of Bancfelin. This section would begin just off of the A road and head North, finishing just before joining the B4298. The front running competitors would clean this section, but those running down the order would drop a handful of seconds here and there, Lucas and Llion dropping 10 seconds, Ben and Greg dropping 20, Chris and George dropping 30, and James and Rhodri dropping 40. Sadly it would be an early night for a few, with Emyr and Lewis, Aled and Griffin, and Ben and Sion all retiring throughout the first half, Ben and Sion bending the rear axle on their Proton.

The following section began at Merthyr Fach, before using the white at Tynewydd, then looping around Trawsmawr before heading up to map 145. Time control 4 was located just before the white and everybody cleaned it. Unfortunately Stefan and Kieran’s escort cut out in the white, which although they got it going again, would see this section of the route scrubbed and competitors would rerouted up to Time control 6, where competition would restart. The section finished at Cynwyl Elfed and again here everyone was clean.

The next section took place on the lanes to the North of Cynwyl Elfed, and would use the lanes between Llanpumpsiant and Cwmduad. Time control 10 would be timed to the minute and would see almost everyone drop at least a minute through it, although Daniel and Marc managed to arrive at the clock on time, cleaning the section. Passage control 12 which was located in this section claimed a few, being located in a farm yard, sadly Arwyn and Mathew would be among these. Owain and Jamie would unfortunately get stuck at the white leading into Time control 10 and had to be towed out, costing them 4 minutes. 

From here the route went East towards Alltwalis, where Time control 12 was, the majority of the field cleaned this clock, although some of the later runners picked up the off penalty, Ben and Greg booking in 5 seconds early, giving them a 10 second penalty, Lucas and Llion dropped a minute, and James and Rhodri would drop 1 minute 20 seconds. Stefan and Kieran would have problems with the car as the dry sump belt coming off, so would drop 4 minutes 54 seconds. Sadly we would lose another member as Rhydian and Osian would retire just before petrol with electrical issues. The final section before petrol would head South, skirting the edge of Llanpumpsaint before finishing at the A485, and would include another section of farm track. George and Cadog, and Stefan and Kieran, and Mathew and Justin would clean this section, everyone else would drop. Daniel and Marc would have 1 minute, as would Andy and Owen, as well as Owain and Jamie. Rhodri and Steffan would also have 1 minute, as did Chris and George. Llyr and Osian also managed a minute, as did Debbie and Gethin. Arwyn and Mathew would have 2 minutes here, as did Lucas and Llion, Ben and Greg also managed 2 minutes. James and Rhodri would have 6 minutes.

The Petrol halt would be at Windy Corner garage, where time recovery would also take place. As things stood George and Cadog were current event leaders, with 1 minute dropped. Many of the front runners would actually be tied on this time, having generally only dropped time at one clock. Daniel and Marc were in third, also with 1 minute dropped. Mathew and Justin would be fifth, and another crew with just 1 minute dropped. Andy and Owen currently held seventh, with 2 minutes dropped. Rhodri and Steffan were doing well in ninth, also with 2 minutes dropped. Llyr and Osian were holding the semi expert class lead in eleventh overall with 2 minutes. Chris and Geroge were in fifteenth with 2 minutes 30 seconds. Debbie and Gethin were in twenty second with 3 minutes dropped. Ben and Greg were thirty seventh with 4 minutes 30 seconds, Owain and Jamie were thirty ninth with 5 minutes dropped, and Lucas and Llion were forty first with 5 minutes 10 seconds dropped. Stefan and Kieran were in forty fourth with 5 minutes 54 seconds dropped, and James and Rhodri were fifty eighth with 12 minutes dropped. Arwyn and Mathew were in sixty third after collecting a fail, they had 5 minutes dropped.

The second half of the event would be longer, and would begin by heading North towards Llandysul. The opening section of the half took place between Pencader and Cwmtywyll, but this section would be scrubbed from the results after a competitor broke down and blocked the road, so it would be on to the next section which would take place between Pentre Cwrt and Horeb, where Time control 17 was located. The front runners would clean this control, but those running further down the field would drop time. Lucas and Llion would drop 55 seconds, Ben and Greg dropping 1 minute 18 seconds. Sadly more would join the retirements list during the second half. With Stefan and Kieran retiring after a challenging night, also out were Owain and Jamie who got caught out in the fog which was now present in many parts of the route, they would hit a bank, forcing their retirement. Llyr and Osian would also retire with a holed radiator. James and Rhodri would also retire, their Vauxhall nova having issues with gear selection all night.

The lanes East of Llandysul would make up the next section, with a couple of tight sections between Llandysul and Capel Cewi. Time control 19 and 20 were located in this part of the route, and again the front runners managed to pass through without adding to their penalty count. Many were caught out on the lane on the approach to Time control 20, as a narrow fork left was the correct route, many would keep right and go around the hairpin right hand bend that followed. Andy and Owen would miss the left hand bend and would go straight on into the track by the harpin, they would retire here. Ben and Greg would also miss the slot, costing them around three minutes. At Time control 20 Debbie and Gethin would drop 28 seconds, Lucas and Llion would drop 50 seconds, Chris and George would drop a minute, and Ben and Greg would drop 3 minutes 36 seconds. The route would then pass through Capel Dewi and Maesycrugiau with Time controls 21 and 22 located here, where again the front runners would pass through without dropping any time, and those running down the order would drop time. 

There would now be a long section over Llanllwni mountain back down to Brechfa which posed no problems to any of the competitors, before another tight section that took place just outside of Brechfa, where Time control 25 would be located. Everyone would drop at this control, with Geroge and Cadog doing best, with 1 minute 4 seconds dropped. They would have Daniel and Marc hot on their heels with 1 minute 5 seconds dropped. Rhodri and Steffan would do well at this control with 1 minute 9 seconds dropped, they were on course for a very good result. Mathew and Justin were also going well with 1 minute 11 seconds dropped. Arwyn and Mathew had 1 minute 23 seconds, they were doing well given the limited experience with the new car, they had also had some issues with the brakes on some sections. Chris and Geoege managed 1 minute 32 seconds, and behind them were Lucas and Llion in the chevette with 1 minute 34 seconds. Ben and Greg managed 1 minute 56 seconds, and Debbie and Gethin managed 2 minutes 8 seconds. 

The next section would use maps 146 and 159 and would loop around the bottom of Felingwmisaf before heading up to Llanllawddog. There would be a couple of controls in this section, with Time control 27 being timed to the minute. The front runners managed to clean this section, but those running down the order typically dropped a couple of minutes. Lucas and Llion had the Chevette on stop here, but managed to get going again, unfortunately dropping 18 minutes here. Time control 29 was at the end of the section, and everyone would drop here. Daniel and Marc took the rally lead on this section with 29 seconds dropped. Rhodri and Steffan were still going very well with 33 seconds dropped here. Debbie and Gethin managed 36 seconds here, great going by them. Chris and George did well and dropped 46 seconds. George and Cadog dropped 53 seconds as they lost a little time finding the correct way around a double triangle passage control. Arwyn and Mathew managed 1 minute 47 seconds, Lucas and Llion managed 1 minute 52 seconds. Ben and Greg managed 1 minute 57 seconds.

There would be one more final section at Peniel. Rhodri and Steffan had an excellent run through this section and managed 26 seconds here. George and Cadog also did very well, dropping 28 seconds. Daniel and Marc managed 35 seconds, doing enough to keep themselves out in front. Lucas and Llion managed 42 seconds, and Mathew and Justin had done very well all night, dropping 46 seconds here. Arwyn and Mathew did well and managed 48 seconds. Debbie and Gethin managed 59 seconds, and George and Chris managed 1 minute 3 seconds. Ben and Greg managed 1 minute 10 seconds.

Back at rally HQ for a well earnt breakfast and what had been a challenging but enjoyable event the winners were Daniel Jones and Marc Hughes who managed to take a well earned victory, their total time at the end of the night would be 3 minutes 9 seconds. They would have a victory margin of 5 seconds. Finishing in third overall would be George Williams and Cadog Davies who would also be second in masters class. Their time at the end would be 3 minutes 25 seconds. Mathew Davies and Justin Davies finished in an excellent fifth overall and second in masters class with 5 minutes 2 seconds dropped. Rhodri Evans and Steffan Thomas also had an excellent result with sixth overall and second in the expert class, their time at the end would be 5 minutes 13 seconds. Chris Palmer and George Eadon finished in eighteenth overall and eleventh in expert class with 10 minutes 24 seconds. Debbie Evans and Gethin Sollis were nineteenth overall and second in the semi expert class with 11 minutes 2 seconds. Benjamin Jones and Gregory Harrand got their third time lucky and finished in thirty sixth overall and second in the novice class with 19 minutes 44 seconds. Lucas Adam and Llion Williams managed forty first overall and fourteenth in the semi expert class with 35 minutes 45 seconds. Arwyn Jones and Mathew Pryce had collected 2 fails so finished in forty fourth overall and sixth in masters class, they had dropped 9 minutes 19 seconds. It had been another excellent event from Carmarthen motor club with some very challenging weather conditions. 

The final event of the weekend was the Tour of Epynt, which also took place on the weekend of the 27th and 28th of September. This two day event over the famous ranges would consist of eight stages, four on each day, and would give competitors over 120 kilometres of competition. There would be a small handful of club members present, the first club members being Tomas Davies who had Mark Crisp navigating in his historic specification BMW M3. Next up in car 29 was Jonathan Davies in his Peugeot 207, he would have Sion Rowlands on the notes. Tim Evans was once again out in his BMW M3, he would have Dylan James with him for this event, and they would be seeded at number 45. Navigating at 56 was Dorian Evans, who was again sitting with Hywel Davies, out again in Hywel’s historic specification Mk2 Ford escort. Taking the number 89 slot would be Wayne Jones and Rhys Jones in the Darrian T90 GTR.

The first stage of the event was a short one at just over three and a half kilometres, and straight away Wayne and Rhys were on pace with the joint quickest overall time, stopping the clocks on two minutes exactly. Tomas and Mark were next with a top twenty time at 2 minutes 8 seconds in the BMW. Tim and Dylan tied twenty-seventh quickest with 2 minutes 15 seconds, and tying for thirty-ninth quickest were Hywel and Dorian with 2 minutes 20 seconds. Jonathan and Sion began their day with the sixty-fifth quickest time of 2 minutes 31 seconds. 

Over the next couple of stages Wayne and Rhys would be involved in a battle for the lead, swapping times with their nearest challenger all day. They would end the day holding first overall, but only by 1 second, their total time being 19 minutes and 17 seconds. Tomas and Mark would be as high as eleventh overall at one point, but would slip down to fourteenth at the end of the day, Hywel and Dorian would spend the day steadily climbing, ending the first day in a very respectable thirtieth overall. It would be an eventful event for Tim and Dylan, as they would have a misfiring engine, they would miss a couple of stages and be given notional times, which would drop them down to seventieth overall at the end of the day. Also having an eventful rally were Jonathan and Sion who also had issues, they would be another crew receiving notional times and ended their day in seventy second overall. 

It would be a great start to the second day for Wayne and Rhys, but sadly it would not end well, as they would retire on the seventh stage of the event, whilst holding second overall, and well in the battle for the win. Tomas and Marc would fall to fiftieth on the fifth stage after having problems, but would climb back up over the four following stages, ending their event in a very respectable twenty sixth overall, and second in class. Hywel and Dorian would have a very good event, setting consistently good times, ending their event in a very respectable thirty second overall, and fourth in class. Jonathan and Sion would set some good times on the Sunday’s stages, and they would end their event in sixty first overall and fourth in class. Sadly Tim and Dylan would retire on the sixth stage, the misfiring issue putting a premature end to their event. 

Many thanks must go to Dafydd Evans and Joseph John Gilbertson for the use of their images in this report.