Month: June 2024

Matthew Jackson, the 2022 Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship R2 champion, will drive a Bowler Defender as course opening zero car on this year’s Nicky Grist Stages (Saturday 13 July).

The 32-year old driver from Stratford-upon-Avon works for Jaguar Land Rover as a product engineer in its interior trim department, and his rallying experience has been called upon in recent years to give Bowler Defender Challenge driver tuition and special off-road driving experience days.

Matthew has contested the Nicky Grist Stages six times and as he’s still in the process of building a new rally car for himself, he will undertake this important safety role for the Quinton Motor Club organising team.

This year’s Nicky Grist Stages will be something of a family affair for Matthew, as his father Tony will be driving the Motorsport UK Safety Delegate Kevin Dawson around the route in another Bowler Defender (Bowler Motorsport supplying the vehicles as part of its commitment to supporting the safety of events) and his brother Jonathan will be co-driving for Meirion Evans in a Castrol MEM Rally Team Toyota GR Yaris Rally2.

Matthew will be accompanied in the zero car by Paul Morris. Paul won the BTRDA Silver Star section on the 2023 Nicky Grist Stages with Robert Gough (Escort Mk2), won the BTRDA Bronze Star award with Steve Black (Suzuki Swift) in 2021 and finished second overall on the event in 2008 co-driving for Damian Cole (Hyundai Accent WRC3). He is also the co-ordinator of the Protyre Asphalt Rally Championship, a title he won as a co-driver in 2016 with Damian Cole (Fiesta RS WRC).

This year’s Builth Wells-based Nicky Grist Stages is a round of six major championships, including the Defender Rally Series UK Championship. Nine Bowler 90s will contest the event, including series leader Mark Thomas and Boyzone singer Shane Lynch.

The event is also proud to be part of Motorsport UK’s National Motorsport Week (motorsportweek.org) and is in partnership with Carbon Positive Motorsport – which provides carbon offsetting for all competitors and organisers event vehicles, as part of a long-term roadmap and commitment to mitigate the events carbon footprint – and GoSafe, the Wales Road Casualty Reduction Partnership.

“I haven’t contested a rally since winning the Welsh R2 title in 2022 as the new Micra Kit Car I’m currently building is taking a bit longer than I’d planned, so I’m looking forward to getting out on the classic mid-Wales forests on the Nicky Grist Stages driving the zero car,” says Matthew.

“It’s quite a responsibility driving the zero car. There is a lot going on, as I’ll have the organisers’ radio plugged into the intercom as well as listening to the route instructions, but it’s nice to do something for the event and to give something back to rallying.

“Since I sold my Fiesta R2T I’ve done more rally miles in a Bowler Defender than any other rally car. I’ve done a fair bit of driver tuition and given media and guests rides and it’s a fun vehicle to drive. I’m also looking forward to teaming up with Paul Morris. I’ve known him a very long time and this will be the first time that we’ve sat in a rally car together.

“With my father Tony driving the Safety Delegate around and my brother Jonathan competing it’s going to be a fun Jackson family day out, and we’re all very much looking forward to this year’s Nicky Grist Stages.”

Shortly after last year’s Nicky Grist Stages, long time Quinton Motor Club committee member, previous event winner and Clerk of the Course Pete Bowles passed away.

Pete’s love of rallying and the event was infectious, and those that knew him would be entertained by his many stories of rallies won and lost.

In tribute to our much-missed friend ‘Bowlsey’, the Nicky Grist Stages will honour his memory in these ways:

Firstly, the award for the best-placed co-driver who is a Quinton Motor Club member on the Nicky Grist Stages is hereby renamed the Pete Bowles Shield.

Secondly, all event rally plates will carry this logo (see picture).

Thirdly, the Crychan stage, which has been a constant ever since the event moved to the Builth Wells region, will be renamed Crychan Stage Bowlsey as a lasting tribute.

In fact, in 2024 Crychan will be called the Wilderness Signs Bowlesy Stage, thanks also to our stage sponsor Wilderness Signs.

Chris Ingram to make Toyota debut on the Nicky Grist Stages as Castrol MEM Rally Team runs two GR Yaris Rally2s for the first time

Chris Ingram will make his Toyota rally debut on the Nicky Grist Stages (Saturday 13 July) when he contests the event in a GR Yaris Rally2 – joining his Castrol MEM Rally Team stablemate Meirion Evans, who will also contest the mid-Wales event as a gravel test ahead of the next round of the Probite British Rally Championship (BRC).

Chris and co-driver Alex Kihurani started the BRC in a Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 and were always scheduled to switch to a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 as soon as a second car arrived in the UK. Having led the series after the first two rounds, the Suisscourtage/Michelin-backed driver goes into the second half of the BRC lying a close second in the points standings. The Nicky Grist Stages will therefore be an important first outing in the Yaris, as Chris prepares for the Voyonic Grampian Forest Rally (9 August).

Meirion now has four rallies under his belt in the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – three BRC events and the Carlow Stages Rally which he contested as an asphalt shakedown. Co-driven by Jonathan Jackson, he will return to Ireland to contest the Wilton Recycling Donegal International Rally (21-23 June) before turning his attention to preparing for the next round of the BRC and tackling the Nicky Grist Stages as a gravel test. The last time Meirion contested his local Builth Wells-based gravel BTRDA/Welsh Championship event was in 2017, when he finished fifth in the BRC Junior section in a Peugeot 205 R2.

Chris Ingram said: “I am thrilled to finally have the chance to take the wheel of the new Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 on the Nicky Grist Stages. The Toyota has been showing strong performances at the hands of my team-mate Meirion Evans and in WRC2 taking victory in Portugal and Sardinia. I can’t wait to see what we can achieve with the car and to be able to work more closely with Meirion and Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC engineer Lewis Allen. The Nicky Grist Stages is a rally I have always wanted to do. I have never driven those stages before, but I know how iconic they are having spectated on many of them in the past watching Wales Rally GB as a child. I’ve also really benefitted from Nicky’s support and expertise, so to be able to do his event is truly fantastic.”

Meirion Evans said: “I’m looking forward to having a good test run on the Nicky Grist Stages because I haven’t got that much experience of rallying on gravel and the more I do the more competitive I’ll become. The event is only half an hour drive away from home, so it’s nice to support both a local event and Nicky [Grist]. It contains some iconic mid-Wales stages that will provide a good challenging test, and it takes place four weeks before the next gravel round of the British Rally Championship, so it’s the perfect event in so many ways. It will also be great to run two Castrol MEM Rally Team Toyota GR Yaris Rally2s for the first time, so it will be something very special for us and the spectators too.”

Nicky Grist said: “It is fantastic to have the Castrol MEM Rally Team in its entirety competing on the Nicky Grist Stages this year. While Meirion is looking to expand his experience on gravel, I know that Chris wants to get to grips with his new Yaris Rally2 car on gravel before the next BRC round in August. With the second Yaris arriving at Melvyn Evans Motorsport later this month, our rally is perfectly positioned to allow the guys the opportunity to test in competition. I am sure this will be a great spectacle and I am looking forward to seeing them in Builth Wells on July 13th.”