wales motorsport | Paul Commons Motorsport

Battling snow, ice, fog and heavy rain over the gruelling 5 day event, Osian Pryce and Dale Furniss would put in a controlled drive aboard their Wales Motorsport Ford Escort MK2 to secure 2025 Roger Albert Clark Rally victory; Pryce finally claiming victory having come close on the two previous editions.

^{Osian Pryce / Dale Furniss – Pundershaw}

The biennial marathon event, which visits Wales, England and Scotland had once again proved extremely popular and whilst no current WRC stars would be found at the Carmarthen start ramp in 2025 the entry list was still stacked with quality. Indeed, the return of multiple Roger Albert Clark (RAC) rally winner Martin McCormack, this time aboard a gravel spec BMW M3, had created much interest and he would be joined by the likes of ex British Rally champions, Osian Pryce (Ford Escort MK2), Matt Edwards (Ford Escort MK2), Mark Higgins (TR7) and Jonny Milner (Peugeot 205) to add further spice.

The opening leg of the rally may well have been the shortest but it was far from a walk in the park after freezing temperatures left the crews facing some incredibly tricky stage mileage with grip levels changing by the corner. Osian Pryce and Dale Furniss, aboard their Wales Motorsport Ford Escort MK2, made the best of the conditions however particularly excelling in the darkness of stages 5 and 6 to hold a respective 17 and 19 second lead over the similar machine of Matt Edwards and the BMW M3 of 2023 winner Martin McCormack.

But if Thursday’s stages appeared tricky then Friday’s tests, particularly in Myherin and Sweetlamb/Hafren, were in another league entirely! Myherin would in fact prove treacherous in places and would unfortunately catch out the usually infallible Lancia Stratos of Seb Perez, much to the absolute devastation of many a spectator! Perez and co-driver Dale Bowen were not the only ones to suffer either as a massive off for Robert Gough and Jack Bowen caused lengthy delays which ultimately put pay to the second running of Dyfnant at the end of the day.

Pryce meanwhile, in territory not far from his own back yard, would again be the man to beat, skillfully navigating the snow and ice to hold a very healthy lead of over 1 minute over the similar machine of Paul Barrett and Gordon Noble heading into the day’s final test. But, after a very strong day in Mid Wales it would be the latter Northern Irish duo who would head North to Carlisle with confidence in their stride after a stonking time in the second running of Sweet Lamb/Hafren which, coinciding with a spin for Pryce, would see them emerge as closest challengers, ending the day just 29 seconds in arrears.

Saturday would unfortunately turn out to be a bit of a disaster as half of the stage mileage would be lost as a result of traffic issues around the stages. The four stages that did run however still provided plenty of drama. Whilst the opening Tommy’s Fell stage was snow and ice free, Riccarton was most definitely not and Pryce’s decision to take a steady approach to the stage would see the Welshman lose the lead to the now flying Northern Irishman. This did seem to be all the motivation Pryce and Furniss needed however as they were back in the lead after Hyndlee and courtesy of a fantastic stage time through the fog of Kershope would extend their lead to 58 seconds by the end of the day.

Day 4 would see the temperatures rise and rain set in as the crews travelled over the border into Scotland for stages in Ae, Twiglees, Castle O’er, Craik and Newcastleton where, despite a puncture, Pryce and Furniss would extend their lead to almost 2 minutes by the time they were back in Carlisle. The day would however belong to Martin McCormack and Barney Mitchell who were obviously getting to grips with the E30 M3 as they reduced their deficit to the leaders by 40 seconds and would find themselves within sight of second heading into ‘Killer Kielder’ for the final day of the rally.

It was not to be for McCormack and Mitchell though as their efforts would tragically end in Pundershaw on the final morning, gearbox failure leaving them stranded mid-stage and their rally most definitely over. This would however pave the way for Matt Edwards and co-driver Sion Williams, in their CarrPrep Ford Escort MK2, to make a late push for the podium.

Despite having a day 2 to forget (losing over 6 minutes with a puncture and later knocking off the fuel pump feed) Edwards and Williams would be on top form for the remaining 3 days culminating in a final day to remember which saw them climb from 6^th in the historic category to the final step of the historic podium; setting fastest time on the 37 mile “Bigger one” finale to end on a real high. Sitting just 3 minutes and 57 seconds off the lead by the end of the event it was certainly a case of what might have been had lady luck been on their side.

There was understandably an element of pace management taking place ahead though as after the retirement of McCormack, both Pryce and Barrett could concentrate on getting their Ford’s home to the finish in one piece (Barrett having decided the lead gap was just too large to close down). And both crews would do exactly that.

But for a spin on day 2 Pryce had hardly put a foot wrong and had managed his pace accordingly throughout the very tricky conditions to add the coveted RAC Rally victory to his already impressive CV at the third time of asking. Barrett and Noble meanwhile may not have featured in many onlooker’s top 3 predictions given the quality of the entry list and therefore 2^nd overall from a start position of 7^th is a mighty impressive result for the Omagh Motor Club duo.

Two further Ford Escort Rs1800 MK2’s would round out the top 5 historic crews with Dyfrig James and Emyr Jones succumbing to the final day charge of Edwards to drop out of the podium positions whilst conversely Dan Mennell and John H Roberts would climb two positions during the day to end the event in 5^th.

Just one place further back, Mark Higgins and Carl Williamson would finish sixth after a fantastic drive in the awesome David Appleby Engineering TR7 V8; the pairing proving the potential of the British Leyland machine with some very impressive stage times throughout. But for an off on the final day costing 4 minutes and a fan belt issue on day 1 the fan favourites may well have featured on the podium, however class H7 top spot represented a very welcome consolation prize.

^{Mark Higgins / Carl Williamson – Sweetlamb/Hafren}

Talking of fan favourites, one of the star drives of the rally came from Swedish crew Arne Radstrom and Kent-Ola Bjorklund who wrestled their Volvo 262c through Wales, Scotland and Kielder to claim a quite brilliant 8^th and second in class H7. Affectionately referred to as the “Orange Brick” this drive will be remembered for a long time to come and may well encourage more of the Swedish Marque onto the stages.

Endaf Owens and Phil Pugh had lead category 2 aboard their Ford Escort MK1 for large parts of the event but couldn’t hold off a final day charge from Ben and Steven Smith in the Dansport prepared Porsche 911. Usually found in a MK1 himself, Smith was visibly getting quicker and quicker in the 911 as the event progressed and put in a stunning charge on day 5 to climb 14 positions and end the event in 20^th position overall (18^th historic). Meanwhile Andy Wolfe and James Crook would beat their seeding by a whopping 55 positions to round out the category 2 podium in their Ford Escort MK1.

^{Ben Smith / Steven Smith – The “Bigger one”}

Enrico Brazzoli and Martina Musiari, in their Porsche 911 SCRS, could possibly claim the award for best engine note (What a sound!) to go with Category 4 top spot and 28th position overall in the historic event. Meanwhile class H9 winners Mark and Andrew Constantine, aboard their 1300cc Vauxhall Nova Sport, would round out a brilliant performance with 2nd in category and 36th historic car home whilst an equally impressive drive from Andy Madge and Matt Cooper would see them finish just one place further back to claim class H10 honours and 3rd in category 4.

^{Enrico Brazzoli / Martina Musiari – Pundershaw}

In Category 1 it was looking like a Mini 1-2 was on the cards after day 4 but unfortunately the second Mini in the hands of Colin McDowell and Geraldine McBride would lose a significant amount of time on the final day. This left the way clear for the Cortina’s of David Wood / Reece Brookes (Mk2) and Paul Mankin (MK1) and to complete the podium positions as Joe Whyte and Des Sherlock claimed a fantastic category victory in their Austin Mini Cooper S.

^{Joe Whyte / Des Sherlock – Sweetlamb/Hafren}

The Open rally for none historic cars would run concurrently with the historic event and see Scottish pairing Greg McKnight and Harry Marchbank put together a stellar performance over the 5 days to end the rally in third position overall. The Ford Escort MK2 pairing’s dominance of the open rally class evident by their winning margin of almost 25 minutes! Robert Barrett and Simon Taylor would come home second in class (Ford Escort MK2) whilst the Vauxhall Astra GSI of Mark McCulloch and Michael Hendry would complete the open rally podium with 22nd overall.

Elsewhere notable historic class wins would go the way of Adam Milner and Roy Jarvis (H6) aboard the recently built Opel Kadett GTE with 19th, Mark Tugwell and Phillip Sandham (H2) in their Ford Escort MK1 Twin Cam with 35th position and Bradley and Simon Howlett in their Talbot Avenger (H5) with 49th. Theo Ruijgh and Thies Stegeman meanwhile would be first home in class H11 (Volvo 244) whilst Ondrej Coufal and Marek Simik would come out on top of the Datsun 240Z battle in class H17.

The 2025 RAC rally had been one hell of an adventure for me personally, so god only knows what it must feel like to make it to end in one piece as a competitor! Spending 5 solid days following the rally was a brilliant experience that way exceeded my expectations; day 2 spent in a snow covered Sweet Lamb and a long walk into deepest darkest Pundershaw on the final day being particular highlights.

The rally was far from perfect however as, possibly a result of it’s own success, lost 6 stages, 4 of which were entirely traffic related; not completely surprising given the number of competitive vehicles along with their associated management crews traversing the sometimes very narrow forest perimeter roads.

But by far the biggest issue was the lack of a reliable online results service throughout the event meaning no-one was entirely sure of class positions at any point. The latter is hopefully something that is relatively easy to fix for 2027 and maybe a restriction on entries, (historic category cars only?) would reduce the congestion experienced. Anyway I am confident the legendary small team of volunteers behind the rally will come up with the solution. Long live the RAC!

My RAC 25 in numbers
Miles Driven – 1065
Kilometres walked – 55
Stages viewed – 10
Cameras used – 2
Lenses used – 3
Countries visited – 3
Hotels frequented – 3

GALLERY

Osian Pryce and Dale Furniss were in a league of their own on the recent Phil Price Memorial Woodpecker Rally as the Welsh pairing dominated proceedings to claim a 53 second National Rally victory aboard the Wales Motorsport Ford Escort MK2.

Traditionally based in Shropshire the Sixty & Worcestershire Motor Club organised Woodpecker Rally has re-located to Newtown in recent years and would be mostly confined to the Hafren Forest complex in 2025; most probably the result of extensive forestry damage caused by Storm Darragh at the back end of last year.

However, likely driven by the shortage of gravel rallying in Wales so far in 2025, we were blessed with an entry list that was top drawer in terms of both quantity and quality with none other than 2022 British Rally Champion, Osian Pryce, leading the 2 wheel drive seedings aboard a Wales Motorsport prepared Ford Escort MK2.

Using the event as a test for the upcoming biennial Roger Albert Clark Rally, Pryce and co-driver Dale Furniss were on the pace from the off, setting ridiculously quick times through the opening 2 tests to storm into an incredible 26 second lead after just 12 competitive miles. Another 2 fastest stage times would follow leaving the Welsh pairing sitting on a monumental 41 second National Rally lead at the mid event service!

More often seen behind the wheel of modern four wheel drive machinery, Pryce had already proven his raw talent and adaptability in 2025 having dominated the two wheel drive section of the Nicky Grist Stages. And, despite easing the pace a little over the afternoon loop, through what proved to be monsoon conditions, the local pilot would record a similar commanding result on the Woodpecker as he and Furniss went on to record a phenomenal 53 second victory after just 43 miles of driving!

Paul Barrett would make a rare appearance on the Woodpecker, and with Arthur Kierans alongside would be right in the mix for the podium positions aboard his Ford Escort MK2. In fact the Northern Irishman would prove to be the class of the British Historic Rally Championship contenders as, after being involved in an almighty scrap with the similar machine of Dan Mennell throughout the morning stages, he and Kierans were able to show an impressive turn of pace over the afternoon loop. Indeed Barrett would go on to set fastest historic time on SS7 before equaling that of Pryce on the final test to secure a strong second.

Dan Mennell and John H Roberts have become a force to be reckoned with in recent times and despite losing touch with Barrett over the afternoon loop would end the day a solid third in their Ford Escort MK2; the Anglo Welsh pairing completing the event with almost a minute in hand over another BD powered Ford Escort MK2 in the hands of Robert Gough and Jack Bowen who themselves would round out the BHRC podium.

Nick Elliot and Dave Price would make a first BHRC start of the season on the Woodpecker but were instantly on the back foot after a stage 1 puncture left the Fiat 131 crew way down in 23rd. A strong afternoon however would see the pairing climb to 7th by the end of the day and hold the unofficial honour of first none Ford home.

Irish duo, David Crossen and Ben Teggart meanwhile had a day to forget in Wales as a broken throttle cable in stage 1 ended their day prematurely. Such a shame after an excellent opening three rounds of the season saw them flying high in the championship. It’s not all lost though as Category 3 honours may well still be up for grabs on the season ending Trackrod.

Category 2 numbers have disappointingly reduced in recent times but it was great to see the Ford Escort MK1 of Tim Pearcey and Andy Boswell out in Wales and, after a day mixing it with the category 3 MK2’s, would be rewarded with category victory and 17th position overall. Further back, class H2 winners Drew Struthers and Iain Thorburn would claim the category 2 runner up spot with 26th aboard their Hillman Avenger.

With 19th overall Baz Jordan and Arwel Jenkins would claim category 4 honours and with it the British Historic Rally Championship title aboard their Mitsubishi Galant. Given the lack of category opposition I’m not entirely sure this is the outcome the championship organisers had in mind when opening it up to all categories; however, you have to be in it to win it and, having supported historic rallying for many a year, more deserving champions you will not find.

It is difficult to work out who won what when it comes to the classes on this event as there seem to be a fair few anomalies! For instance last time I checked BD powered MK2’s don’t qualify for category 1 and I have no idea why some are in H6 while others H8! I can’t be the only one struggling with the new historic categorisations …

… But with some degree of certainty David Wood and Reece Brookes would claim category 1 victory after a strong drive to 28th overall aboard their Ford Cortina GT. Simon Goodwin, with multiple BRC Drivers champion Matt Edwards alongside, would claim class H7 in the awesome Triumph Tr7, whilst Kurt Hodgson / Sam Campbell (Peugeot 205) and Phil Hall / Nathalie Rutten (Skoda Favorit) would take the respective H10 and H14 (Cat 5) victories.

Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear dominated the interclub event in their Skoda Fabia R5 only to be awarded a 2 minute penalty for an early check in to SS6. Instead Elliot Payne and Patrick Walsh would go on to claim a 6 second rally victory aboard their Ford Fiesta Rally2, themselves just holding off a late charge from the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 of Tom Williams and Michael Gilbey. Such was Hirst’s pace however that despite the 2 minute penalty he and Dear would still end the day just 10 seconds from the podium positions and only 57 seconds from the lead!

Mad Mick Jones and Chris Evans (Ford Escort MK2) would be first Historic competitors home in the Interclub event with 23rd position overall after Sacha Kakad and James Aldridge (Ford Escort MK2) suffered a 1 minute time penalty for the same infringement as Hirst and Dear above. Gary Smith and Clive Jones meanwhile, in yet another Ford Escort MK2, would round out the podium positions just edging out the similar machines of Mike Simpson / Dale Gibbons and Hywel Davies / Sion Rowlands.

Following the cancellation of Rally North Wales and the Severn Valley it had been 6 long months since the opportunity to take in a gravel rally had presented itself and oh how I’d missed it. Despite the horrific afternoon downpour it was great to be back in the classic Rally GB territory of Hafren forest and catch up with many a likeminded individual. Osian Pryce in full flow was also a sight to behold and whets the appetite nicely for the Roger Albert Clark Rally in late November, where the Welshman must be one of the favourites for victory.

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