Double BTRDA Gold Star champion Ricky Evans will return to this year’s Nicky Grist Stages (Saturday 11 July) in the very same Peugeot 205 GTI that carried him to successive championship titles in 1994 and 1995.
The 66-year old driver from Tamworth last drove the car on the event (which was then called the Quinton Stages Rally) back in 1995. Seeded at car number one, Ricky won both the BTRDA Gold Star category and Class A7 that day and finished 11th overall.
Having converted the 1.9-litre Peugeot to full Group A spec in the early 1990s, Ricky restored the Peugeot to its former glory for the 2021 Roger Albert Clark Rally and has competed on selected events ever since.
The Nicky Grist Stages has always been one of Ricky’s favourite rallies, thanks to its classic mid-Wales forest stages such as Monument, Crychan, Halfway and Route 60. And he’ll be aiming for an enjoyable, trouble-free run in the famous Heated Windscreen-backed Peugeot.
“After I restored the Peugeot 205 GTI about five years ago it’s like new now, except it’s not new,” says Ricky.
“The gearbox is old, the engine is old, and I’m old – but the Nicky Grist Stages was always a favourite event of mine, and I’m returning to have a bit of fun!
“I’m not as quick as I used to be, unfortunately, but that comes with age, I’m afraid. You think you’re quick, until you see the stage times! I used to be able to finish in the top ten overall on a BTRDA round in the 205, and I’d be lucky to finish in the top sixty now.
“This car came about when Peugeot sponsored the BTRDA Series and Mick Linford [Peugeot Sport UK Motorsport Manager] supplied me with all the parts to build a Group A Peugeot 205 GTI, on the proviso that I went out and tried to win the championship – which I did. It wouldn’t have happened without Peugeot UK’s help. They were very good to me. Mick said that he couldn’t give me any money, but I could look through the used part shelves and help myself to whatever I wanted. So that’s what I did, and I’ve kept the car ever since.
“I did one event last year and damaged the engine. I was a bit despondent because I’d had the car for so long and it had never let me down before. It took me a while to find the motivation to fix it. I then did the Severn Valley Stages and that didn’t go so well either because the new engine wasn’t as good as I’d hoped it would be.
“So, we’ve made more changes and I thought it would be great fun to do the Nicky Grist Stages.
“Ian Butcher, my co-driver at the time, and I always used to thoroughly enjoy the event back in the day. It’s never wet or cold, the stages are fantastic, and it’s always been part of the BTRDA Series – which to me has always been the best championship for the clubman.
“I’m looking forward to seeing old friends on the event, having a lot of fun and hopefully getting to the finish without any problems.”
Based in Builth Wells, this year’s event will feature 44 competitive stage miles, a ceremonial start on Strand Street, a service area on the Builth Wells RFC pitch and a champagne finish beside the River Wye.
The Quinton Motor Club-organised event celebrates 17 consecutive years of title sponsorship from Nicky Grist Motorsports and in 2026 will be a round of six major championships – the Protyre Autocare BTRDA Rally Series, Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship, HRCR Rally Master Challenge, Kingfisher Insurance Motorsport English Rally Championship, TCS Plant Rally Challenge and ANWCC Rally Championship.
Entries for the 2026 Nicky Grist Stages are now open via rallies.info.
Seeded Entries Close on Friday 26 June and Final Entries Close on Wednesday 8 July.
Picture by Mark Griffin.
