By Greg Harrand

Arwel Hughes Jones and Dylan John Williams claimed first place at The Cilwendeg Rally as one of Wales’ most famous road rallies made a welcomed return to the calendar.

The pair, in a Ford Escort, held off the challenge of John Davies and Eurig Davies in a Vauxhall Astra as the event – organised by the Teifi Valley Motor Club – celebrated its 60^th anniversary on the lanes of South West Wales after a two-year absence due to Covid.

Clerks of the course for this year were Chris Hill, Dafydd Sion Lloyd and Aled Richards. Together with their team they held a 100-mile event on OS maps 145 and 146.

Naturally, with it being such a well-loved rally, the entry list for last weekend’s event filled very quickly attracting names from all over the UK.

Many of the 90 crews were in contention for victory, and that would include the Ford Sierra of previous winner Chris Hand and Dai Roberts, who took the number 1 slot.

Right behind them would be another favourite, the Subaru Impreza of Andy Davies and Michael Gilbey.

In car three was the only five-time winner of the event, John “tyres” Davies, who was once again accompanied by four-time time winning navigator, Eurig Davies.

They were in a Vauxhall Astra GTE. As part of the 60th anniversary celebrations, a three-mile test held at Penrhiwllan took place before the main event.

 

NORTH Wales invaders Arwel Rhys Hughes Jones and his navigator Dylan John Williams – from Pwllheli and Abersoch respectively – became the first from their area to win the Cilwendeg Rally in the 60th edition of the west Wales classic on Saturday. https://t.co/3xnOI84bWH

— Sir Benfro (@Sir_Benfro) October 24, 2022

In very tricky conditions it was the Impreza of Andy and Michael that set the pace, opening up an 11-second lead from the Escort of Stefan Davies and Kieran Price.

Even in this early stage of the event there were sadly names joining the retirements sheet, with the escort of Arwel Evans and Gerwyn Barry landing heavily over a crest and damaging the steering, which forced their retirement.

Another competitor considered one of the favourites was the 2017 winner Dyfrig James. Unfortunately, he and his navigator picked up a couple of fails in the test which dropped them out of the running.

With the test taken care of it was back over to the traditional starting venue, the car park in Newcastle Emlyn.

The atmosphere here was something else as hundreds and hundreds of fans gathered at the car park whilst the competitors plotted the routes onto their maps.

Just before midnight, the first cars went over the start ramp and off into the lanes just outside the town, where a number of spectator points had been arranged for enthusiasts to watch the action.

Following this, competitors travelled north of Newcastle Emlyn for the real competition.

There was drama even in these early sections as the Sierra of Chris and Dai sadly suffered cambelt damage, forcing their retirement.

Also retiring early on was car 19, the Peugeot 206 of Ethan Davies and Dafydd Evans, which clipped a rock.

 

Hyfryd bod nôl i weld rali Cilwendeg. Amser hyfryd gyda ffrindiau! Hir oes u’r rali @RalioS4C #ralio #cilwendeg #forgegarage pic.twitter.com/tbaZeOpHiK

— Dyl Davies (@dylandavies34) October 23, 2022

Another competitor coming into difficulty was car six, the Escort of George Williams and Cadog Davies whci picked up a puncture in one of the worst places possible.

They were able to continue nut the time loss dropped them out of the running a little.

For Arwel Hughes Jones and Dylan John Williams their rally was going very well as they went on an attack and began a battle for the number one spot with the Astra of John Davies and Eurig Davies as well as the Subaru of Andy and Michael.

Following the first couple of sections the route of the event then crossed over to the adjacent map for a quick section over Henbant Quarry, before returning back to map 145.

The fourth section of the rally began just before the tight harpin bend in the village of Nanternis before going down the famous Cwmtydu harpins.

George and Cadog were on a mission to claw back time and they were rewarded with the best time at the time control in this section.

There was a petrol halt at Brynhoffnant before the second half commenced.

It was the Escort of Arwel Rhys Jones and Dylan John WIlliams that held the lead. With a penalty count of 11 minutes and 11 seconds, they were ahead of the Astra of John Davies and Eurig Davies.

 

#cilwendeg co ne off de! pic.twitter.com/f0F7cdu5pB

— Cerith Williams (@cezwills19) October 22, 2022

Rounding off the top three were Ieuan Evans and Richard Williams in their Escort.

Much of the second half took place south of Newcastle Emlyn, and saw competitors travel over many lanes that were classics of the Cilwendeg and included such locations as the Cwmorgan harpin.

The battle between the Escort of Arwel Hughes Jones and the Astra of John Davies continued, but sadly Andy and Michael retired during the course of the second half.

Following the final few time controls, crews made their way back to Newcatle Emlyn to the rugby club for a well-earned breakfast and results.

It was declared that Arwel and Dylan had managed to keep hold their halfway lead as they won the event in their Escort after setting a string of excellent times.

They had a penalty count of 14 minutes and 26 seconds.

The astra of John Davies and Eurig Davies achieved an excellent second overall with 14 minutes and 50 seconds, and another Escort, belonging to Ieuan Evans and Richard Williams, rounded off the podium placings on 16 minutes and 38 seconds.

It had been an excellent event and the organisers had done a superb job of the rally’s 60^th running.