2026 Kielder Forest Rally Report: Payne steals it at the death.
Elliot Payne and Patrick Walsh took a huge win when it really counted.
Words and Photography by James Downie for Rally Media UK.
Round two of the BTRDA Rally Championship was the SG Petch Kielder Forest Rally. The start, finish and service were in Hexham, and 2 loops of 3 stages in the central section of the forest made up the competitive element this year. The weather was forecast to be mixed all day with regular showers likely to make the stages slippery.
Reigning Gold Star Champion Matthew Hirst with Jack Bowen alongside led away the relatively small field of 76 crews in the Skoda Fabia. Elliott Payne had taken maximum points on the previous round in North Wales thanks to the improved performance of the 2026 Fiesta and a spin from Hirst, and he and co-driver Patrick Walsh were seeded at 2. Third in the Gold Star Championship, Alex Vassallo and Chris Lees started number 3 in another Fiesta with Icelandic siblings Daniel Sigurdarson and Asta Sigurdardottir at 4 in a Fabia. Flying Kiwi Boyd Kershaw was favourite to take another Silver Star win, whilst the inimitable Dave Brick and the howling turquoise Nova would be tough to beat in the Bronze Star.
Daniel Sigurdarson and sister Asta were so close to a maiden win on UK soil.
The first stage was Smales Leap which started over near Bower and followed most of the usual Roughside/Chirdonhead route for 6 miles. Hirst made a sensationally fast start and gave notice of his intent to turn the tables on Payne by stopping the clocks a full 6 seconds faster than his fellow Yorkshireman, who was tied for 2nd with Sigurdarson. Scotsman Rory Young was 4th fastest in the Polo.
Next up was the Whitehill stage, which started right in the heart of the forest and swept down southwards towards the Churnsike Lodge area before turning east towards Stonehaugh, and it turned the rally on it’s head and had big ramifications for the Gold Star Championship. A couple of miles in Hirst misjudged a bend slightly and the car was sucked into one of Kielder’s many huge ditches. Rally cars don’t often get out of those apart from on the end of a tow rope or winch, and it was game over. Gearbox problems stopped Alex Vassallo’s Fiesta and the man who came into the rally lying 3rd in the Gold Star was also out.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t Payne who was first to profit. Scotsman Rory Young, with Allan Cathers alongside, swept through the 8 miles to take fastest time in the Polo and catapult himself into the overall lead by a single second from Sigurdarson. With Hirst and Vassallo gone, Payne was only 3rd, and had work to do if he was to take the win that was now expected of him. Yet more Yorkshiremen were 4th and 5th with Alistair Ginley and Liam Clark joining in the battle. By coincidence, both had Welsh co-drivers in Carl Williamson and Michael Gilbey respectively.
Boyd Kershaw and Keegan Rees were again in dominant form and took another maximum haul in the Silver Star category.
The final stage of the opening loop was named Camstone Rigg, but a quick glance at the map showed it was a pseudonym for an 8 mile layout of the regularly used tracks in the Pundershaw area. Young’s lead was short lived and both Sigurdarson and Payne got past him on SS3. Payne was fastest but was only able to claw back a second on Sigurdarson. The Icelandic driver, with his sister on the notes was putting in the finest performance of his career to date and arrived at the halfway point, back in Hexham for service as rally leader from Payne. Young was down to 3rd and local man Ian Bainbridge had moved up to 4th in a Fabia hired from Dom Buckley, ahead of Ginley’s similar car.
As expected, Boyd Kershaw led the Silver Star from Ben Jemison’s beautiful white Chevette, although both were well down on the non-championship registered Paul Thompson’s Mark 2 Escort. Dave Brick was not having it all his own way in the Bronze Star category and checked into service tied on time with Luke Watts and Matt Rogers’ MGZR.
Luke Watts and Matt Rogers won the Bronze Star category.
SS4 was a repeat of Smales Leap, and another narrow fastest time pulled Payne up to within a second of the leader. Ian Bainbridge was 3rd fastest from Ginley and Russ Thompson and Steve Link in the Fiesta Proto, but they were well behind the top 2 on this stage. Young still held onto 3rd overall, but was now 20 seconds behind Payne. It was the end of the road though for Liam Clark, who spun the Fiesta on a right hander and managed to get the car wedged across the wooden bridge at the official spectator point, blocking the stage for several minutes. They retired at that point but several of the following crews were delayed and had to be given the same time.
Rory Young and Allan Cathers set a fastest time and were 4th after a fine performance.
Another terrific effort on Whitehill 2 from Sigurdarson pushed Payne back by another 5 seconds, leaving the Icelander on the brink of his first ever rally win in the UK with just the repeat run of Camstone Rigg to come. Further back, Bainbridge set 3rd fastest time and overtook Young to lie 3rd overall. Ginley remained 5th but was now only a single second up on Russ Thompson as the latter began to get more and more used to the Proto Fiesta. Paul Thompson was up to 11th overall and the leading 2wd competitor by some distance, although it was Boyd Kershaw still leading the Silver Star and 14th overall. In the Bronze Star, Luke Watts had now carved out a 5 second lead over Dave Brick.
Ian Bainbridge and Andrew Roughead were a fine 3rd overall in Kielder.
And so to the final stage. A heavy downpour of rain and hail around half an hour before the stage was due to start made the surface very slippery. Payne was going to need to take some big risks if he was to make up 6 seconds on the flying Sigurdarson. With Hirst out of the running, Elliott was not only expected to win, but needed it too. Hirst’s pace on the opening stage demonstrated that he will still be a massive threat on the remaining rounds, so maximum Gold Star points were vital here.
Payne rose to the challenge brilliantly. Pulling out every stop and taking some brave lines and big risks, he blazed through the treacherous stage on the absolulte edge. Sigurdarson was powerless against this kind of onslaught and his time was 9 seconds slower than Payne, even though he was still equal 2nd fastest with the ever improving Bainbridge. The win and maximum points went to Payne by just 3 seconds. Bainbridge nailed down an excellent 3rd with that time ahead of Rory Young. Another whose performance got better and better as the rally went on was Russ Thompson, 4th fastest time on the final stage helped him mug 5th place from Ginley at the finish.
Kershaw duly wrapped up the Silver Star win, although Baz Jordan moved up to 2nd and leads the Championship after Jemison slid off on the final stage, and after the Dave Brick also stopped on the final stage, Luke Watts got home for an unchallenged Bronze Star win and leads that series.
Russ Thompson and Steve Link appear to be getting used to the Proto Fiesta and worked their way up to 5th at the finish.
This win was crucial for Elliot Payne. He has Brad a great start to 2026 with wins at the Riponian and the Yorkshire Dales, and also took maximum BTRDA Gold Star points in North Wales but this performance was something different. There were times last season when he seemed to have no answer to Hirst, so with his fellow Yorkshireman making a mistake early on here, he really had to ram home the advantage. Having then found himself giving second best to a tremendous drive from Sigurdarson, he had to dig very deep indeed to find something extra on the final stage, but he really delivered the goods when it mattered. He has put himself firmly in the driving seat as far as this year’s championship is concerned, and Hirst will need a strong response at the Plains in June.
See you there for round 3!
Results:
Payne/Walsh Ford 36 minutes 01 seconds
Sigurdarson/Sigurdardottir Skoda + 03 seconds
Bainbridge/Roughead Skoda +31
Young/Cathers VW +45
Thompson/Link Ford Proto +53
Ginley/Williamson Skoda +1 minute 05 seconds
Buckley/Wastling Ford +1.22
O’Brien/Wilkinson Ford +1.40
Hiorns/Fagg Ford +2.16
Naylor/Bishop Mitsubishi +2.55
Silver Star winner:
Kershaw/Rees Ford
Bronze Star winner:
Watts/Rogers MG
BTRDA Gold Star Standings:
Payne 60
Sigurdarson 54
Thompson 53
Ginley 47
Silver Star:
Jordan 58
Bronze Star:
Watts 48
