By Paul Evans

Builth Wells rally champion Jason Pritchard got the defence of his Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt Rally Championship title off to superb winning start yesterday, with victory on the Port Talbot Motor Club-organised Rallynuts National Tour of Epynt.

Co-driven by Phil Clarke, the 30-year old mastered the wildly changing conditions – which ranged from dry roads and sunshine to strong winds and a complete whiteout after heavy sleet showers – in his North Road Garage Ford Focus WRC05. While a high retirement rate decimated the quality entry, a brilliantly controlled performance by Pritchard made the extremely difficult look easy.

Having not driven his Focus since last October, Pritchard admitted to being a little rusty on the opening stage, but he never looked back once he took the lead on SS2. On each stage thereafter he stretched his advantage, even when he had to stop for a flock of sheep on the road on the penultimate stage.

“We just kept our heads down and drove to the conditions,” said winner Pritchard. “The car’s ran faultlessly, Phil’s been faultless on the notes and it’s nice when you have a day like this because all the boy’s have done in service is changed the tyres once, slicks on for one loop and then back onto wets, so it’s been a very good and enjoyable day.

“It wasn’t easy, but the only stage we struggled on was the first one because I was a bit rusty and I messed up on the paddle shift going around the hut because I was in the wrong gear and I don’t know how the car didn’t stall. I got my act together after that and it’s been good. A big thank you to the marshals who stood outside all day in torrential weather, and it’s been a good slick event with no major hold ups.”

 

Their 2 minute 13 second victory margin doesn’t accurately reflect the big battle they had with Damian Cole in his similar Focus WRC05. The Get Connected/Energizer-backed driver led after SS1, and it was only two disastrous tyre choices on two of the longest stages that prevented Cole pressurising Pritchard more for the win.

Co-driven by Shelley Rogerson, the Abergavenny ace lost 14 seconds on SS4 when the wintry conditions in the service area at the Quarry could not have been more different to the dry and sunny conditions on the other side of the ranges near the Drover’s Arms.

The gap had increased to 57 seconds before the final stage, when Cole’s ice tyres left him with no grip whatsoever – so much so that the car behind, the Citroen DS3 R5 driven by Sebastian Ling/Aled Rees, overtook him. Not even the sheep could believe what they had just witnessed – as Cole clung onto second position, just three seconds ahead of Ling, to set up what’s sure to be a season-long Asphalt Rally Championship battle with Pritchard.

“We had a good run through the first stage, but I chose completely the wrong tyres for two of the longer stages – my fault, but that’s what did a lot of the damage today,” said Cole.

“I think we were lucky in the end to come second, because we went on an ice tyre for the last stage that gave us no grip at all, I might as well have had Plasticine on the rims! It was really nice to be back in the Focus and we’ll use it for the rest of the year.”

 

Brecon’s Craig Jones finished a magnificent sixth in his JayJays-backed Mitsubishi Evo 9, with Shaun Layland on the pace notes, while Gareth E Richards/Deian Rees where the top Darrian crew home, taking their T90 to a very impressive seventh overall. Welsh co-driver Max Freeman guided Asphalt Championship frontrunner Wayne Sisson to ninth in their AMS Arnside Motorsport Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 10, despite the car breaking a rear driveshaft three miles from the end of SS6.

Triple Welsh Tarmacadam Rally Champion Richard Merriman finished 12 in his two-litre The Roof Hub/Touchline-backed Darrian T90 – the Pontypridd driver co-driven once again by Kath Curzon.

Bridgend driver Huw Reed didn’t have much luck, with a misfire in his Darrian T90 GTR putting him and Co-driven by Anthony Hackett out early in the second half of the event. David Morgan/Richard Suter had to reverse their Darrian T90 GTR at a chicane on SS1 and then spun at Llandeilo’r Fân Triangle on SS5. They ended the event stuck off the road, after locking the brakes on a muddy fast approach to a right hand corner over a crest.

Graham Hollis/Ashley Trimble feared they would be forced to retire after early alternator problems, but the experienced St Clears driver charged on brilliantly to finish 13th overall and first Escort Mk2 past the post.

West Wales crew Rhidian Daniels/Tomos Whittle showed their mechanical creativity when the gearstick on their Citroën C1 Max snapped on SS3 and they continued with the jack handle as a replacement! It was another great drive, finishing a class winning 17th overall.

Mike Pugsley made an inspired intermediate tyre choice for the second loop of stages, but had to slow when the fibreglass bonnet on his 1974 Escort Mk1 RS2000 blew up, restricting the Bedlinog driver’s view and acting like a parachute. He and co-driver Marc Clatworthy were first to stop at the scene of a nasty accident in the afternoon and were given a nominal stage time, but that didn’t stop them winning their Asphalt Rally Championship class and scoring an excellent top 30 result.

Llandysul’s Will Mains was adamant that he and Ammanford co-driver Claire Williams were having a nice quiet run in their Vauxhall Nova – although finishing 21st overall, nine seconds behind a Subaru Impreza WRC and winning Class 1 by seven and a half minutes suggests that maybe it wasn’t the Sunday drive they modestly claimed it to be! It was another truly outstanding performance in the little 1400cc front-wheel drive car.

Hugh Hunter was making his rally debut in his newly acquired ex-François Duval factory Focus WRC05. Keen to get miles under his belt, the Ruthin driver started steadily, but a problem with the fly-by-wire system brought the P+R Benn-prepared car to a halt for 15 minutes on SS3, meaning that he and co-driver Rob Fagg were OTL.

Phil Turner/Simon Anthony were fourth overall in their TCS-backed Mitsubishi Evo 9 until they lost turbo boost halfway through SS5 and were forced to retire when they discovered the turbo had broken away from the exhaust.

Nigel Jones was doing his first rally for three years in his ex-Petter Solberg Subaru Impreza WRC S9. Co-driven by Tracy Davies, the Carmarthenshire driver was going well until SS5, when a problem with the gear selection saw the car remain in service.

Welsh brothers Paul and Julian Doroszczuk made a fantastic start, despite their normally-aspirated Cosworth-engined Drockspeed Motorsport Escort Mk2 feeling unstable at high speed on the opening loop of stages. Sadly, the reigning B11 class champions retired on the second loop when the sumpguard broke after a very heavy landing and they lost the engine oil. Phil Turner/Ryan Griffiths retired when their Toovey Race Engines/ST Motorsport-backed Escort Mk2 got stuck in sixth gear on SS2 – an annoying early end to a flying start, especially as the gearbox had only just been rebuilt.

Bob Fowden/Aled Davies (Comline Auto Parts Subaru Impreza WRC S11) and Jamie Jukes/James Morgan (Spencer Sport Mitsubishi Mirage) were non-starters.

2019 Rallynuts National Tour of Epynt – top 10 finishers
1. Jason Pritchard/Phil Clarke (Ford Focus WRC05)….58mins 59secs
2. Damian Cole/Shelley Rogerson (Ford Focus WRC05)….1hr 01mins 12secs
3. Sebastian Ling/Aled Rees (Citroen DS3 R5)….1hr 01min 15secs
4. John Stone/Jack Morton (Ford Fiesta WRC)….1hr 03mins 05secs
5. Alan Kirkaldy/Cameron Fair (Ford Fiesta R5)….1hr 03mins 19secs
6. Craig Jones/Shaun Layland (Mitsubishi Evo9)….1hr 03mins 22secs
7. Gareth E Richards/Deian Rees (Darrian T90)….1hr 03mins 55secs
8. David Hardie/John McCulloch (Ford Fiesta R5)….1hr 04mins12secs
9. Wayne Sisson/Max Freeman (Mitsubishi Evo 10)….1hr 04mins17secs
10. Oli Hopkins/Ian Taylor (Mitsubishi Mirage)….1hr 04mins 32secs