Category: News

William Creighton scorched to victory on the Nicky Grist Stages (Saturday 12 July), when he won the event for the first time in his Castrol MEM Rally Team Toyota GR Yaris Rally2.

Builth Wells Mayor Cllr. Mark Hammond flagged the cars away from the start of the Quinton Motor Club organised event from outside Strand Hall, as 142 crews headed out for the morning loop of four stages in Monument, Route 60, Halfway and Bowlsey (Crychan).

Co-driven by Liam Regan, number one seed Creighton had the benefit of a dust-free road – offset by the challenge of trying to find grip on the loose gravel surface. He nevertheless set a clean sweep of fastest stage times to arrive at the mid-day service halt on the Builth Wells RFC pitch with an 11.1 second lead. Conditions were a lot more abrasive in the afternoon, and Creighton, balancing tyre management and speed to perfection, held on to win the 45-stage mile event – beating team-mate Meirion Evans by just 2.6 second.

“We were here to learn, but it’s great to win,” said Creighton.

“It was great to score a one-two for the team and it’s another tremendous result for Melvyn Evans Motorsport. A big thank you to the team, to Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy and to everyone who supports us. It’s a real privilege to drive the Castrol Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 and it was great to start the Nicky Grist Stages as car number one and finish as number one!”

Evans lost 12 seconds with a spin on the opening stage – with most of the time lost contributed to the car failing to engage reverse gear. That ultimately cost him and co-driver Dale Furniss victory, but the Welshman was delighted by what he considered to be his best performance on gravel.

Despite picking up a couple of punctures, Matthew Hirst/Declan Dear held second for much of the event. A charging Evans demoted them to third on the eighth and final stage – although the Škoda Fabia R5 crew scored top Protyre Autocare BTRDA Rally Series and Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship points.

Osian Pryce led the hotly contested Historic section from start to finish in his first rally in a Wales Motorsport supplied Ford Escort RS1800 Mk2. Co-driven by Phil Pugh, the 2022 British rally champion finished 12th overall, first 2WD and won the BTRDA Silver Star section.

The first Quinton Motor Club crew home was Martin and Tommi Meadows, who finished seventh in class and 43rd overall in their Peugeot 208 R2.

Over 300 volunteer marshals made sure that the event ran safely and smoothly. Each received a HSE compliant individual First Aid kit, Brace’s Bakery Welsh Cakes (supplied by Jonathan Brace who, co-driven by Paul Spooner, won Class H1 in his Ford Escort RS1600 Mk1) and plenty of bottles of water supplied by Nicky Grist.

The rally attracted thousands of visitors to Builth Wells and the surrounding Powys and Carmarthenshire region. The event is indebted to the wonderful support received from Powys County Council, Carmarthenshire County Council, Builth Wells Town Council, Builth Wells RFC, the businesses and residents of Builth Wells, Gwyn Davies of Penmaenau Farm, Dyfed Powys Police and the landowners – Natural Resources Wales and Defence Infrastructure Organisation Wales – on which the stages ran, in making the event such a huge success.

The event also ran in collaboration with Carbon Positive Motorsport, GoSafe (the Wales Road Casualty Reduction Partnership) and Motorsport UK’s National Motorsport Week.

David Spear Commercial Vehicles was the event’s official car supplier and supplied two magnificent Ford Ranger Wildtrak vehicles – perfect for use by the Motorsport UK Safety Delegate and as Double Zero safety car.

“In these exceptionally hot weather conditions, everyone’s a winner on this year’s Nicky Grist Stages – the marshals, officials and the crews,” said Nicky Grist.

“There was a tremendous battle for victory, and any one of the top three could have taken the win as they entered the final stage. In the end it was a fantastic one-two result for Melvyn Evans Motorsport and an impressive BTRDA and Welsh Championship win for Matthew Hirst.

“The event has once again been a great success and Builth Wells has done us proud. The service area on Groe Park really brings the event into the centre of town and the support we have from the local community is exceptional.”

“Huge congratulations to our event winners, William Creighton and Liam Regan,” said Neil Cross, Nicky Grist Stages Clerk of the Course.

“On behalf of Quinton Motor Club, I’d like to say a massive thank you to all our competitors for taking part in such a successful event and to the army of officials and marshals who performed superbly in the hot weather conditions. Without you, the event wouldn’t have run so thank you.

Action from the 2025 Nicky Grist Stages is available to view on the Special Stage TV Facebook and YouTube channels, plus specialstage.tv.

The 2026 Nicky Grist Stages will take place on Saturday 11 July.

2025 Nicky Grist Stages – top 10 finishers
1. William Creighton/Liam Regan (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)….44mins 11.9secs
2. Meirion Evans/Dale Furniss (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)….44mins 14.5secs
3. Matthew Hirst/Declan Dear (Škoda Fabia R5)….44mins 21.5secs
4. Jason Mitchell/Paddy McCrudden (Škoda Fabia R5)….44mins 56.8secs
5. Callum Black/Jack Morton (Ford Fiesta Rally2)….45mins 13.8secs
6. Elliot Payne/Patrick Walsh (Ford Fiesta Rally2)….45mins 27.5secs
7. Alexander Vassallo/Chris Lees (Ford Fiesta Rally2)….46mins 02.0secs
8. James Giddings/Aled Davies (Mitsubishi Evo 9)….47mins 04.6secs
9. Vivian Hamill/Lorcan Moore (Ford Fiesta Rally2)….47mins 28.9secs
10. Dan O’Brien/Niall Burns (Ford Fiesta Rally 2)….47mins 36.1secs

The full set of results can be found here:

https://results.btrdarallyresults.co.uk/results/index.php?EventID=734&e=734&ls=2&simple

William Creighton/Liam Regan have been seeded at number one for the 2025 Nicky Grist Stages (Saturday 12 July) – with the Quinton Motor Club organised event attracting another stellar entry.

The top seeds will be driving the same Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 that won the event last year (in the hands of Chris Ingram/Alex Kihurani) – with Castrol MEM Rally Team stable-mates Meirion Evans/Dale Furniss also contesting the event.

Double Protyre Asphalt rally champions Callum Black/Jack Morton will also appear in their Ford Fiesta Rally2, the celebrated pair contesting the event for the first time since winning the Interclub section in 2021.

Osian Pryce won the Nicky Grist Stages in 2022, in what was his 100th rally start. That victory in a Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 helped him become British Rally champion that year, and he returns this time in a Wales Motorsport-prepared Escort Mk2, co-driven by Phil Pugh.

Jonathan Brace wasn’t planning to rally this year, but the return of the Route 60 stage was too much of a temptation and he’s back out with co-driver Paul Spooner (2002 event winner) in his magnificent Dave Jenkins Motorsport-built Brace’s Bakery Ford Escort RS1600 Mk1.

Defending Protyre Autocare BTRDA Rally Series champion Elliot Payne, who won the Nicky Grist Stages in 2023 and scored maximum Gold Star points on the event last year, will be aiming to extend his championship lead when he and co-driver Patrick Walsh contest the event in their Alan Causey Autosport-prepared Ford Fiesta Rally2.

David Henderson leads both the BTRDA Silver Star and Jordan Road Surfacing BTRDA Historic Cup and, co-driven by Will Atkins, will be aiming for a hat-trick of victories in his 2-litre Escort. He’s only four points ahead of Lewis Hooper, who also leads the BTRDA Junior R2 Cup in his Fiesta Rally2 (co-driven by Silver Star leading navigator Rhys Edwards).

Meanwhile Dylan Fowler-Bishop/Dan Evans will be aiming to extend their lead in the BTRDA Bronze Star Series.

Over 50 crews from the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship will contest the event. These include the four-time and reigning champions Matthew Hirst/Declan Dear (Škoda Fabia R5), James Giddings/Aled Davies (Mitsubishi Evo 9), Rudi Lancaster/Guy Weaver (Escort Mk2), Bob Morgan/Ade Williams (Škoda Fabia R5), David Tomlin/Keith Ashley (Ford Fiesta R5) and Russ Thompson/Stephen Link, who claimed maximum Welsh points on the event last year in their Mitsubishi Evo 9.

Liam Clark arrives at the event leading both the Pirelli Welsh Championship overall and the Junior section. Should he still be leading the Under 25s at the end of the Nicky Grist Stages, then the young Fiesta Rally2 driver from Keighley in West Yorkshire will be invited to join the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team at Rally Japan later in the year and gain invaluable WRC experience working as weather crew. The same can be said for Hereford’s Jack Bowen, who comes into the event as top-placed Pirelli Welsh Junior co-driver.

In addition to historic-spec cars competing in the BTRDA and Welsh championships, there will be crews battling for points in the HRCR Stage Masters Challenge. These include last year’s champion Paul Holmes/Liz Beesley, who return in their Escort RS2000 Mk2.

Brecon duo Colin and Harri Evans (BMW 318ti) will be aiming to continue their challenge for the TCS Plant Rally Challenge title – a series which raises funds for the Wales Air Ambulance.

The leading competitors from the ANWCC Forest Stage Rally Championship will also be in attendance. It is one of the largest Motorsport UK regional associations, with over 130 member clubs.

Top seeded Quinton Motor Club crew are Paul Walker/Geraint Thomas, who will start at car 30 in their Subaru Impreza.

The event will continue its collaboration with Carbon Positive Motorsport, GoSafe (the Wales Road Casualty Reduction Partnership) and be part of Motorsport UK’s National Motorsport Week.

The 2025 Nicky Grist Stages will start from Strand Street in the centre of Builth Wells, with the first of the smaller capacity 1400cc and Historic class cars leaving at 08:31, followed by the top cars in seeded order – flagged away by the Mayor of Builth Wells, Cllr. Mark Hammond.

Crews will then tackle a loop of four stages – Monument, Route 60, Halfway and Bowlsey (the Crychan stage, named in honour of the late Pete Bowles, a long time Quinton MC committee member, previous Nicky Grist Stages event winner and Clerk of the Course) – before a 50 minute midday service halt on the Builth Wells RFC pitch, beginning at 11:35. The loop of four stages will be repeated in the afternoon, before the traditional champagne finish ceremony on the banks of the River Wye from 15:15 onwards.

Spectator information will be published on the event website soon and will feature two dedicated areas for fans to view the action – one in the much-anticipated Route 60 stage and the other near the end of the Halfway test.

2025 Nicky Grist Stages – top 10 seeded entries
1. William Creighton/Liam Regan (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)
2. Elliot Payne/Patrick Walsh (Ford Fiesta Rally2)
3. Matthew Hirst/Declan Dear (Škoda Fabia R5)
4. Meirion Evans/Dale Furniss (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)
5. Callum Black/Jack Morton (Ford Fiesta Rally2)
6. Jason Mitchell/Paddy McCrudden (Škoda Fabia R5)
7. Russ Thompson/Stephen Link (Mitsubishi Evo 9)
8. Liam Clark/TBC (Ford Fiesta Rally2)
9. Vivian Hamill/Lorcan Moore (Ford Fiesta Rally2)
10. Dan O’Brien/Niall Burns (Ford Fiesta Rally 2)

The 2025 Nicky Grist Stages has been given the official go-ahead to run on its scheduled date of Saturday 12 July – with the famous Route 60 stage returning for the first time since 2018 in a new-look and fresh challenging 45 stage mile route.

The Quinton Motor Club-organised event, which celebrates 16 consecutive years of title sponsorship from Nicky Grist Motorsports, will run on both NRW and MOD land in and around the Mynydd Epynt military range.

Thanks to the magnificent support of Powys County Council, Builth Wells Town Council, Builth Wells RFC and the businesses and residents of Builth Wells, the 2025 Nicky Grist Stages will once again be based in the very heart of the picturesque market town – with the start in Strand Street, the finish on the banks of the River Wye and the service area on the Groe.

The popular compact and low road mileage route will contain stages in Monument, Halfway and Crychan (named Bowlsey, in honour of the late Pete Bowles, a long time Quinton MC committee member, previous Nicky Grist Stages event winner and Clerk of the Course) and Route 60 – with one loop of four stages run in the morning and another loop run after mid-day service.

The 2025 Nicky Grist Stages will be a round of five major championships – the Protyre Autocare BTRDA Rally Series, Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship, HRCR Rally Master Challenge, TCS Plant Rally Challenge and ANWCC Rally Championship.

The event will also continue its collaboration with Carbon Positive Motorsport, which last year supported the planting of over 1,500 sequioa and 6,000 native broadleaf trees in Abergavenny, as well as GoSafe, the Wales Road Casualty Reduction Partnership, and be a key part of Motorsport UK’s National Motorsport Week.

“I am delighted that we have got what is probably the most-liked stage of the Nicky Grist Stages back in the 2025 edition – Route 60,” says Nicky Grist.

“Route 60 is such a fantastic stage with wonderful high speed and flowing corners that nearly everyone enjoys. I was also overjoyed when we found out that Storm Darragh did not affect us anywhere near as badly as other stages in Wales and I am looking forward to catching up with everyone at the event in Builth Wells in July.”

“At the beginning of the year there were some doubts as to whether we would be able to run the 2025 Nicky Grist Stages, thanks to the damage caused in the Welsh forests by Storm Darragh and military training operations combining to seriously curtail the stage mileage available to us on both NRW and MOD land,” admits Neil Cross, Nicky Grist Stages Clerk of the Course.

“However, with the invaluable co-operation and hard work of NRW, the MOD and Rally4Wales we have instead put together a fantastic route which brings back firm favourite stages and reconfiguring old classics.”

2025 Nicky Grist Stages – Important Dates and Times
Sunday 18 May, 18:00 – Regulations published
Monday 19 May, 18:00 – Entries open for registered championship contenders and Quinton Motor Club members
Monday 26 May – Entries open for all competitors
Friday 27 June – Seeded entries close
Monday 30 June – Final Instructions and route details announced
Wednesday 9 July – Final entries close
Friday 11 July, 15:00-20:30 – Scrutineering, Groe Park (Service Area)
Saturday 12 July, 08.31 – First car starts
Saturday 12 July, 15:30 – First car finishes

A star-studded entry, made up of competitors from six major UK championships and several of the top Probite British Rally Championship drivers who are using the classic mid-Wales stages as a gravel test, will gather in Builth Wells this weekend for the Nicky Grist Stages (Saturday 13 July).

The quality of the Quinton Motor Club-organised event’s entry has been enhanced by the Castrol MEM Rally Team, with the 2019 FIA European rally champion Chris Ingram (co-driven by Alex Kihurani) making his competition debut in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 alongside stablemates Meirion Evans/Jonathan Jackson. Four-time British rally champion Keith Cronin (co-driven by Shane Buckley) also contests the event in his Ford Fiesta Rally2, as do Kyle White/Anthony Nestor (Hyundai i20 R5) and Alan Carmichael/Dale Bowen (Hyundai i20 N Rally2).

Seeded at number one are last year’s Nicky Grist Stages winners Elliot Payne/Tom Woodburn. They arrive leading the Fuchs Lubricants BTRDA Gold Star Rally Championship and will be aiming to extend their points advantage in their Amigos Ford Fiesta Rally2.

They’ll face stiff opposition from the likes of Matthew Hirst. Co-driven by Decland Dear, the Doncaster ace also leads the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship (and is on course for a record-breaking fourth title) and is always a force to be reckoned with in his Delta Salvage/Witham Group Fiesta R5.

Also aiming for top BTRDA points are Liam Clark/Emily Easton Page (Ford Fiesta Rally2), Vivian Hamill/Lorcan Moore (Volkswagen Polo GTI R5), Scott Renshaw/Bonnie Papper (Citroën DS3 R5) and Patrick Naylor/Ian Lawrence (Mitsubishi Evo 9).

Dan O’Brien/Mark Glennerster will be targeting top Pirelli Welsh points in only their second event in a Fiesta Rally2 and will be up against the likes of Carmarthen’s James Giddings (co-driven by Aled Davies in a Mitsubishi Evo 9), Russ Thompson/Stephen Link (Mitsubishi Evo 9), Daniel Moss/Samuel Davies (Mitsubishi Evo 10), Steve Hollis/Tim Currie (Volkswagen Golf V R32), the 2023 Welsh Challenge champions Martyn Andrews/Steve Greenhill (Subaru Impreza) and Quinton MC members Paul Walker/Geraint Thomas (Subaru Impreza) and Geoff Cottrill/Nathan Crewe (Mitsubishi Evo9).

Steve ‘Korky’ Ward (co-driven by Phil Sandham in his Escort RS1800) lead the Protyre BTRDA Silver Star Championship and resumes his close title battle with Michael Jenkins (co-driven by Jordan Joines in his Fiesta R2) and Nick Dobson (co-driven by Steve Pugh in an Escort Mk2).

The event is also a round of the HRCR Rally Master Challenge (the largest historic rally car registration of its kind), the TCS Plant Rally Challenge (which raises funds for the Wales Air Ambulance), the ANWCC Rally Championship (which has over 120 member clubs) and the Defender Rally Series UK Championship – with series leader Mark Thomas and Boyzone singer Shane Lynch driving two of the nine Bowler Defender 90s.

Former Pirelli Welsh R2 champion Matthew Jackson will drive the course opening zero car. He’ll be co-driven in the Bowler Motorsport supplied Defender 90 by Paul Morris, whose long list of achievements includes a second overall finish on the 2008 Nicky Grist Stages (co-driving for Damian Cole in a Hyundai Accent WRC3) and more recently a BTRDA Silver Star section win on the 2023 Nicky Grist Stages with Robert Gough (Escort Mk2).

Thanks to the magnificent support of Powys County Council, Builth Wells Town Council, Builth Wells Rugby Football Club and the businesses and residents of Builth Wells, the 2024 Nicky Grist Stages will once again be based in the very heart of the picturesque market town.

The start of the event will be held in Strand Street, outside the wonderful Strand Hall which will play host to rally headquarters. The first car will leave the start at 09:00 and be flagged away by Cllr. Gwyn Davies, Builth Wells Mayor.

The smaller capacity 1400cc and H1/2 Historic class cars will run first on the road and in reverse order (as normal), followed by the BRC crews and then a three-minute gap before the top-seeded BTRDA and Welsh Rally Championship crews (running in seeded order).

A 50-minute mid-day service halt will be located in Groe Park, home to Builth Wells RFC (with the first car arriving at 11:45), and the finish ceremonies will be on the banks of the River Wye (with Builth Wells’ 18th Century bridge and surrounding rolling hills providing one of the most scenic podium finish backdrops in British rallying) from 15:20 onwards.

The rally action will take place on mostly gravel roads in and around the famous Epynt military range and feature two loops of four classic mid-Wales forest stages totalling 44.48 stage miles. Llyn Login will host the opening morning and afternoon stages, followed by Monument (run in the reverse direction to last year), Halfway (also run in the reverse direction and with a new section towards the end) and a new configuration through Bowlsey (formerly called Crychan and renamed in honour of the late Pete Bowles, a long time Quinton MC committee member, previous Nicky Grist Stages event winner and Clerk of the Course).

To limit the environmental impact and to safeguard Sites of Specific Scientific Interest (SSSI), spectator areas have been carefully agreed with the landowners, Natural Resources Wales and Defence Infrastructure Organisation Wales. These are easily accessible, have dedicated off-road parking and other facilities and give some of the best viewing locations at the event. Spectator information is available at nickygriststages.co.uk.

The Nicky Grist Stages has teamed up with Carbon Positive Motorsport for a third consecutive year and incorporate a Welsh carbon project for the first time as part of the event’s environmental roadmap. The event will feature the leading BTRDA and multiple Welsh Rally championship winning crew of Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear, who join Carbon Positive Motorsport’s group of ambassadors for the first time as event enviro ambassadors. The pair will be supporting the event to highlight the inclusion of a new carbon project in Abergavenny. This project will be used for the first time to help mitigate the event’s unavoidable carbon emissions and supports the planting of over 1,500 sequioa and 6,000 native broadleaf trees. It repurposes a former monocultural commercial tree planting site and will bring significant improvements to biodiversity on the site.

The event is also proud to continue its association with GoSafe – the Wales Road Casualty Reduction Partnership and its Operation SNAP programme and help raise awareness of the Fatal Five road safety initiative by the Mid & West Wales Fire and Rescue Service. Mobile units will be operating in the area on Saturday 13 July.

Action from the Nicky Grist Stages will be streamed live and free-to-view on the Protyre BTRDA Rally Series and Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship social media platforms and the Special Stage TV Facebook page during the event.

The 2024 Nicky Grist Stages is also part of Motorsport UK’s National Motorsport Week and more information can be found at motorsportweek.org.

“The quality of the entry is going to make this year’s Nicky Grist Stages one of the very best, with a host of top drivers using the event to test – including Chris Ingram making his Toyota Yaris debut – and all the leading competitors from six major championships,” says Nicky Grist.

“Add that to some of the best stages mid-Wales has to offer and Builth Wells geared up to welcome us into town, and it’s all set to be a fantastic day’s rallying.”

2024 Nicky Grist Stages – top 10 Seeded Entries
1. Elliot Payne/Patrick Walsh (Ford Fiesta Rally2)
2. Chris Ingram/Alex Kihurani (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)
3. Keith Cronin/Shane Buckley (Ford Fiesta Rally2)
4. Meirion Evans/Jonathan Jackson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)
5. Kyle White/Anthony Nestor (Hyundai i20 R5)
6. Alan Carmichael/Dale Bowen (Hyundai i20 N Rally2)
7. Matthew Hirst/Declan Dear (Ford Fiesta R5)
8. Niall McGonigle/Caolan McKenna (Ford Fiesta R5)
9. Liam Clark/Emily Easton Page (Ford Fiesta Rally2)
10. Vivian Hamill/Lorcan Moore (Volkswagen Polo GTI R5)

The full Seeded Entry List can be found here:

https://www.rallies.info/webentry/2024/nickygrist/entries.php?type=s

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.