*Max McRae and Cameron Fair carried on where they left off at the Cambrian.*

Words by James Downie, photography by Alex Stefan, videography by Nikolay Nedelchev for Rally Media UK.

Having been absent from the 2025 Calendar due to storm damage in its regular forests, Rally North Wales was back in style for 2026, and was part of several major championships, including the Protyre Autocare BTRDA, Fuchs Lubricants British Historic and Pirelli Welsh series. Welshpool was the host town and Get Jerky provided the sponsorship, but there were different stages to previous years. The classic Dyfi complex had gone and was replaced by Aberhirnant and Dyfnant forests which are closer to Welshpool but not dissimilar in character. There was to be 2 loops of 3 stages, totalling 45 miles.

Differences between the organisers and Forestry England had meant that the Malcolm Wilson Rally couldn’t take place this year, so Rally North Wales kicked off the 2026 BTRDA season as well as the Pirelli Welsh Championship, whilst it was round 2 of the British Historic Season. Reigning BTRDA and Welsh Champion Matthew Hirst and 3 time champion Elliott Payne were back for more, as were Alex Vassallo/Chris Lees, Liam Clark/Michael Gilbey and Daniel Sigurdarson/Asta Sigurdarsdottir, all of whom impressed at times last season. After years of punching above his weight in the elderly blue Evo, Russ Thompson now had his hands on a Fiesta with regular co-driver Steve Link on the notes. However, they would all be up against it for overall honours in North Wales as there were also entries from Max McRae/Cameron Fair and Meirion Evans/Dale Furniss, looking for a bit of practice ahead of the Severn Valley, which will be the BRC curtain raiser in 2 weeks time, on similar terrain.

The historic field was led away by Riponian winners George Lepley/Dafydd Evans’ Galant but Marty McCormack had brought his magnificent BMW M3 too, whilst last years champion Baz Jordan began his 2026 campaign in the 2nd galant. They lined up against the Fiat 131 Abarths of Nick Elliott and Jack Matthewson and a plethora of fast Escorts led by Paul Barrett, Tom Cave, Ben Friend, Richard Hill, Damien Tourish, Simon Webster, Paul Thompson and Stefan Stouff. Some were registered for Championship points and others just wanted to win the rally.

*Meirion Evans/Dale Furniss dominated the first half of the rally but a final stage spin cost them the win.*

Up first was Aberhirnant; a stage familiar to regular attendees of the Wales Rally GB and very typically Welsh in nature, with deceptive bends, climbs, drops, hairpins and magnificent views. The weather was dry but cold, and with reverse seeding not in play this year, the 4wd cars were likely to cut the surface up for those following.

The defending BTRDA champion was immediately in trouble. A spin cost Matthew Hirst and his stand-in co-driver Jack Bowen almost 20 seconds to fastest man Meirion Evans, and he was also well beaten by title rivals Payne, Sigurdarson and Vassallo, with Max McRae second fastest. As expected, Lepley took the historic lead, 3 seconds ahead of Tourish, with McCormack/Mitchell, Barrett/McCann, Elliott/Price and Cave close behind.

*Daniel Sigurdarson and sister Asta Sigurdarsdottir were 6th overall and 4th in the Gold Star.*

On to SS2 Dyfnant South, and Evans really had the hammer down in the MEM Yaris, taking another 7 seconds off Max to lead by almost 12. Hirst found his touch and was 3rd quickest, gaining 2 places to move up into 4th overall, behind Payne. The BHRC category was about to come to life on this stage though. Unfortunately for Lepley, a return of the mechanical gremlins which ruined his 2025 campaign saw the Galant snap a driveshaft and he was out. With brother James unable to start in the Evo 3, this capped a difficult weekend for the Lepley family. McCormack seized the chance and quickest historic time saw him move within a second of new leader Damien Tourish.

SS3 was Dyfnant North and it included some rougher sections which hadn’t seen rally cars for many years. Evans was again absolutely on it and extended his lead to 16 seconds at service. It was also becoming clear that the 2026 spec Fiesta was a bit quicker than the old car, and Payne was seemingly finding it easier to keep Hirst at bay, and would be 13 seconds ahead of the champion at the half way point. Vassallo and Sigurdarsson were 5th and 6th. Barrett went quickest here in the historics but McCornack moved into the lead as Tourish dropped over 40 seconds with a puncture, whilst Tom Cave, despite having had no seat time in the Escort or any other rally car for almost 18 months moved up to 3rd in the category.

*Elliott Payne and Patrick Walsh took an encouraging Gold Star win and were 3rd Overall.*

For the afternoon stages the conditions were a bit rougher after a full passage of cars and Max McRae, who had won the last major rally held in Welsh Forests back in October, turned the tables, and halved Meirion’s lead on the repeat run through Aberhirnant. Payne continued to revel in the new Fiesta. He had no answer to Hirst’s Fabia in 2025, but the extra power and reduced weight of the 2026 car was allowing him to keep the defending champion a safe distance behind. There was no change behind with Sigurdarson, Vassallo and Liam Clark holding position. McCormack took time off Barrett and Cave here and Tourish’s retirement allowed Nick Elliot’s 131 Abarth up to 4th historic. Also moving up into contention now were the Escorts of Ben Friend, Paul Thompson and the Porsche 911 of Ben Smith.

*A spin on the first stage prevented Matthew Hirst/Jack Bowen from being able to get on terms with Payne.*

The second pass of Dyfnant South saw Max again take time off Meirion. The gap was down to just 4.6 seconds with one stage remaining. From what seemed like a certain win for Evans at halfway, it was now game on. Hirst took 6 seconds back from Payne as well but with the gap still over 8 seconds, it would be a big ask for Matthew to take maximum btrda gold star points on the last stage. It was a big stage for McCormack in the historics. Barrett was 13 seconds slower and Marty was now in the clear barring disasters. There was drama behind too, A slow puncture dropped Cave down the order and Richard Hill’s Escort departed the fray with a broken gearbox. Ben Friend and Ben Smith were the main beneficiaries and moved up a couple of places.

And so to the final stage back at Dyfnant North. Unfortunately for Meirion Evans it wasn’t a kind one. The Yaris spun and although the time loss wasn’t huge, it was enough to allow McRae through and rob the overall win from him by just 2.3 seconds. A fast time for Hirst on the final stage allowed him to close the gap on Payne to 4.7 seconds. This was a satisfying win for Payne after last year's difficulties, and the increased pace of the rally2 Fiesta bodes well for the season. Without Hirst’s first stage spin, this would have been a tight struggle, and we look forward to an epic season of battles between the two Yorkshiremen. Further back, Vassallo managed to slip ahead of Sigurdsson on the final stage to claim 5th overall ahead of the Icelandic driver. Clark was 7th but came away as the big winner in the Welsh Championship. Although Evans took maximum points, he is registered for the BRC so will not be eligible for Welsh Championship points on the Severn Valley or Cambrian, where both championships meet.

Alex Vassallo and Chris Lees continued their form from last season and were 5th overall, 3rd in the Gold Star.

There wins in the BTRDA Silver Star series for “The flying Kiwi” Boyd Kershaw, and Dylan Fowler Bishop in the bronze star.

McCormack took the Historic win ahead of Barrett, Elliott, Ben Smith, Ben Friend and Paul Thompson. The overall championship situation is complicated with points awarded for category wins. By virtue of winning his category on both the Riponian and North Wales, Ben Smith comes out of Rally North Wales as the overall leader in the Historic Championship.

The 2026 Rally North Wales was a good one. There are few stages on these shores as good as the Dyfi complex, and it’s fair to say that these aren’t quite on that level. However, the compact route and the facilities of the home town made up for this and as the season gets into its stride, the rally easily delivered what was required of it.

Results - National:

McRae/Fair Skoda 43m29.3s

Evans/Furniss Toyota +2.3s

Payne/Walsh Ford +50.0

Hirst/Bowen Skoda +54.7

Vassallo/Lees Ford +1m46.2s

Sigurdarson/Sigurdarson Skoda +1.48.8

Clark/Gilbey Ford +2.18.2

Wilson/Mulholland Ford +3.01.4

Thompson/Link Ford +3.12.5

Ginley/Gray Skoda +4.01.0

BHRC:

McCormack/Mitchell BMW M3 47m40.5s

Barrett/McCann Ford Escort +23.9s

Elliott/Price Fiat 131 +1m28.2s

Smith/Smith Porsche 911 +1.32.5

Friend/Owen Ford Escort +1.36.9

BTRDA RallyProtyreFuchs LubricantsPirelliMax McRaeMeirion EvansElliot PayneMatthew HirstPirelli Welsh Rally ChampionshipMotorsport UKWelshpoolGet JerkyTom CaveBritish Historic Rally ChampionshipPayne's DairiesMEM Castrol Rally Team

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