No pain, no gain – as Elliot Payne spins but wins the Nicky Grist Stages for the first time

Elliot Payne spun backwards into a ditch on stage four of the Nicky Grist Stages (Saturday 8 July) but still went on to win the Quinton Motor Club-organised event for the first time in his Mango Go Ford Fiesta Rally2.

Co-driven by Tom Woodburn, the young Harrogate driver took a jump in the Monument stage flat-out and couldn’t slow down enough for the following corner – but despite the time loss, Payne won the event by 7.9 seconds to extend his lead in the MRF Tyres BTRDA Gold Star Series.

Matthew Hirst heads a star-studded Nicky Grist Stages entry as six major rally championships arrive in Builth Wells

Matthew Hirst will lead a star-studded field away at the start of the Nicky Grist Stages on Saturday 8 July, as the Doncaster rally ace is seeded at number one in his Delta Salvage/Witham Group Ford Fiesta R5.

Co-driven by Declan Dear, Hirst won the Nicky Grist Stages Interclub event last year and will be looking to close in on the MRF Tyres BTRDA Gold Star Series lead (he currently lies third, just four points behind the leader) and also extend his advantage at the top of the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship points table.

Nicky Grist says that this year’s eco-friendly Nicky Grist Stages route will be ‘more challenging’ than ever

Nicky Grist says that this year’s Nicky Grist Stages (Saturday 8 July) route will be ‘more challenging’ than ever before – while the stages through Llyn Login, Crychan, Halfway and Monument have passed a significant number of environmental requirements that will make this year’s event more eco-friendly than ever before.

The stages running through the Crychan and Halfway forests and the Military Training Area over Eypnt are classics. An important consideration when planning the route is the environmental impact the rally has on Sites of Specific Scientific Interest (SSSI) as these areas are the most important sites for Wales’ natural heritage.

Wraps come off 2023 Trackrod Rally Yorkshire

The Trackrod Rally Yorkshire (22/23 September) will be one of the most significant gravel rallies in the UK this season as the only rally to include rounds of the British Rally Championship, the British Historic Rally Championship and the BTRDA Rally Series.

The highly respected rally is always among the best organised events on the UK rally calendar and will retain a compact route starting and finishing in Filey and taking in all single-use stages on gravel. The Trackrod will mark the only visit of the season to the classic Yorkshire forest stages in the Dalby complex for three major rally championships.

Nicky Grist Stages set to bring a magnificent motorsport festival to Builth Wells on Saturday 8 July

The Nicky Grist Stages returns to Builth Wells on Saturday 8 July, when crews from six major UK rally championships gather for the Quinton Motor Club-organised rally – which will be played out over 44 stage miles in the nearby classic mid-Wales forestry stages of Llyn Login, Monument, Halfway and Crychan.

This year’s event celebrates the 14th consecutive year of title sponsorship from Nicky Grist Motorsports.

Newby nails Rallynuts Stages Rally victory

Arron Newby claimed his second victory of 2023 on Saturday (15 April) as he took his Skoda Fabia R5 to a convincing Rallynuts Stages Rally win.

The 28-year-old driver from Carnforth in Cumbria took control of a hotly contested event on the fifth test when early leader Matt Hirst picked up a puncture, and from then on Newby and co-driver Jamie Edwards threaded their way through the tricky world-class stages with precision, to take the win by an impressive 30 seconds.

Rallynuts Stages Rally set to roar back into life

The Rallynuts Stages Rally makes a welcome return to the British motorsport calendar this weekend as the popular Builth Wells based forest event gets underway on Saturday [15 April].

Sponsored by established racewear and accessory firm Rallynuts Motorsport who enter their seventh year as title sponsors, the event takes place for the 49th time and the Midland Manor Motor Club organised event has attracted an impressive entry of over 120 crews who will tackle seven world-class stages in mid-Wales during the day.

British rally champion crowned in Yorkshire

The North York Moors proved a happy hunting ground for Welsh star Osian Pryce as he clinched the Motorsport UK British Championship with victory on the Trackrod Rally Yorkshire.

The 29-year old from Machynlleth piloted his Volkswagon Polo GTR5 to fastest stage times on the opening four of six timed forest stages to emerge over 20 seconds clear of his main championship rival Keith Cronin, from Bantry in Ireland.

Trackrod Rally

Osian Pryce & Noel O’Sullivan (Polo R5) added their names to the roll of honour of British Rally Champions, with victory on the Trackrod Rally. Theye were fastest on the opening 4 stages and despite a charge back from Keith Cronin & Mikie Galvin (Polo R5) they had enough of an advantage to secure the victory they needed. Cronin had to fight his way back up the order and ended up just 6.2s ahead of Ruairi Bell & Max Freeman (Fabia R5). In the 2WD class Eamonn Kelly & Conor Mohan (Fiesta Rally4) took the top honours in 6th overall.

UK rally stars descend on Yorkshire

Barely a week before most of the UK’s leading rally drivers visit Yorkshire final preparations are being made in Filey and on the North York Moors for their arrival.

The Trackrod Rally Yorkshire on September 23/24 is again expecting a capacity 180-car entry, featuring purpose built cars spanning several decades, as the annual event hosts potentially decisive penultimate rounds of three of Britain’s major championships.