Statement – Corbeau Seats Rally Tendring & Clacton

After consultation with our stakeholders including Tendring District Council and Motorsport UK, the Corbeau Seats Rally Tendring & Clacton have decided the rally cannot run in 2020.

Full Statement from the event

The news headlines continue to be dominated by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the likely scale and timing of its peak. The situation is set to become worse as the UK heads towards the peak period, and further government public health interventions and restrictions are likely.

As an event on closed public roads, our rally takes motor sport to the heart of the Tendring and Clacton community that embraced the previous events. We value that relationship and must play our part in supporting the welfare and safety of the residents as well our competitors and volunteers.

Proton secure confidence-boosting British Rally Championship start

Making its return to the British Rally Championship for the first time since 2016, Ollie Mellors and Ian Windress gave the Proton Iriz R5 a successful series debut, narrowly missing out on a podium to take fourth overall at the season-opening Cambrian Rally (8th February).

Mellors secured a solid points haul for the Thornbridge Brewery, Reliable Vehicle Logistics and Michelin backed Iriz R5 to kick start their maiden championship assault in the newly homologated example.

Creighton claims opening-round Junior BRC glory

Motorsport Ireland Billy Coleman Award nominee William Creighton stormed to an inspiring Junior British Rally Championship victory at the opening round of the series, the Llandudno based Cambrian Rally (8th February).

Osian Pryce makes stunning British Rally Championship return with second on the Cambrian Rally “as good as a win”

On his first British Rally Championship (BRC) appearance in over two and a half years, Osian Pryce finished second overall on the Llandudno-based Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally (Saturday 8 February) – despite it being his first gravel rally in a Hyundai i20 R5 and his first event with new co-driver Noel O’Sullivan.

And the talented 26-year old Machynlleth-born driver said that finishing runner-up to local driver and last year’s event winner Matt Edwards, particularly after such a long lay-off since his last gravel rally in an R5 car, was “as good as a win”.

Cambrian Rally

The BRC and BTRDA kicked off their 2020 seasons at the Cambrian and it was local ace Matt Edwards, co-driven by Darren Garrod, who took his Fiesta R5 MkII to another win. It didn’t start out plain sailing though as Edwards was 4th, just over 3 seconds off early leaders Tom Cave & Dale Furniss (i20 R5). Edwards then went fastest on the 2nd stage to climb to 2nd place and this was followed up with another fastest time in Penmachno which would change the face of the rally. Cave dropped three and a half minutes, one of a number of crews to hit issues in the challenging stage. Edwards then continued setting fastest times on all but the final stage to take victory by just under 40s.

EDSL Sport to field three-car Cambrian Rally squad

Leading build and preparations experts EDSL Sport will head to this weekend’s Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally with a three-car squad, running a brace of new-generation M-Sport Ford Fiesta R2’s at the British Rally Championship and BTRDA Rally series opener in Llandudno (8th February).

Osian Pryce makes his British Rally Championship return in a Hyundai i20 R5

Osian Pryce will return to the British Rally Championship (BRC) for the first time in over two and a half years when he contests this weekend’s Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally (Saturday 8 February).

On his last appearance in the BRC in 2017, the talented 26-year old Machynlleth-born driver led the series at the midway point, before unfortunate mechanical problems during the second half of the season ended his title challenge. His last BRC event was the Ulster Rally in August 2017.

Now Osian will return to the BRC in the same Melvyn Evans Motorsport-run Hyundai i20 R5 in which he won last year’s Get Connected Rali Bae Ceredigion – Wales’ first closed public road stage rally.

Mellors and Proton have their sights set on British Rally Championship podium

The Proton Iriz R5 will aim for its first ever British Rally Championship podium this weekend as Ollie Mellors embarks on a season-long campaign which starts with the Cambrian Rally (8th February).

After a successful 2019 season which saw four gravel rally wins for the Iriz, Mellors is aiming to secure his first ever BRC podium for both himself and the newly FIA Homologated Proton which will be run by the Mellors Elliot Motorsport outfit and is backed by Thornbridge Brewery, Reliable Vehicle Logistics and Michelin this season.

Retson eyes 2020 Junior British Rally Championship title

Nineteen-year-old Scottish rally driver Finlay Retson will aim to become Junior British Rally Champion in 2020 has he embarks on his second season in the series, starting with this weekend’s Cambrian Rally in North Wales (8th February).

The Blairgowrie youngster will return to the ultra-competitive series after enduring a season of “ups and downs” in 2019 with strong performances and podiums mixed with championship-deciding incidents. He narrowly missed out on securing a €60,000 prize fund towards a Junior World Rally Championship campaign with M-Sport and Pirelli.

Proton return to the British Rally Championship with Iriz R5

Proton will return to the British Rally Championship this season for the first time since 2016 as Mellors Elliot Motorsport and Ollie Mellors mount a full assault on the series behind the wheel of the newly homologated Iriz R5.

Backed by Thornbridge Brewery, Reliable Vehicle Logistics and Michelin, Mellors and co-driver Ian Windress will tackle the six-round series in the machine which has seen recent development work from a string of high-profile drivers both in the UK and Ireland, including two-time World Rally Champion Marcus Gronholm.