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Hatsford Targa Rally

Ross & District Motorsports Club

10th August 2025


Hatsford Targa 2025
Inter Club Winners: Lewis Ayris/Jamie Woolley (MG ZR)
Photograph: © M&H Photography

Hatsford Targa 2025
Club Rally Winners: Will Rogers/James Welch (Toyota Yaris)
Photograph: © M&H Photography

Organiser: Ross & District Motorsports Club

Date: 10th August 2025

Clerk of the Course: James Griffiths

Tests: 6 Tests (24 Test Miles)

Starters: 59


The eighth edition of the Hatsford Targa was run in dry and dusty conditions, Herefordshire having received very little rain in the preceding two months.

One no show meant that, from a full entry, 59 cars took the start. As ever competitors faced a complex series of six tests around the dozen fields of the host farm. The final two tests were planned as lengthy two lap challenges, the first four using just one lap, however the dust made double usage too risky and so all six tests were around four miles in length.

The complexity of the tests, plus, at times, visibility problems led to 137 test faults, mainly for taking the wrong route through cones, being awarded on Test 1. Taking the wrong route held a 30 second penalty, while missing out a manoeuvre cost offenders two minutes.

There were some unfamiliar names at the head of the leader board after the first test. Despite a ten second cone penalty, Car 38 James Cochrane/Adam Watkins (Austin Mini City) were fastest, 39 seconds ahead of Car 40 Harry Harries/Worth Birkill (MG ZR). Top seeds, Trevor Disney/Aaron Toms (Ford Fiesta ST150), were in fourth place after receiving a Wrong Side penalty.

Kemble Targa winners Neil Jones/Aled Jones had been expected to go well, but picked up a puncture on the test and reached the Finish Line on the rim. They were in 24th place.

Chris Oakes/Andy Oakes became the first retirement of the event, when their BMW 320i broke a drive shaft at the end of the test.

There were far fewer penalties imposed on Test 2, it being a repeat of test 1, with crews now more familiar with the layout and, also, with tyre tracks indicating the correct route.

Disney/Toms were fastest, with Lewis Ayris/Jamie Woolley (MG ZR) 16 seconds behind them. Cochrane/Watkins were eighth quickest and held on to their lead, but were now only four seconds ahead of Lewis/Woolley, with Disney/Toms five seconds further back in third.

A revised layout was used for Tests 3 and 4, which were slightly longer than the opening two. Ninety test faults were applied on Test 3.

Lewis/Woolley received their only fault penalty of the event on the test - a ten second one for hitting a cone. Despite this they were fastest and took the lead, they were now 41 seconds ahead of Disney/Toms.

The retirement list was added to on Test 3 when Paul Davies/Sean Davies suffered a broken ball joint on their Corsa, which stranded them on the route.

Poor visibility had slowed John Davies/Ethan Davies (Ford Puma) on Test 1, but they were recovering and, having been second quickest on Test 3, were in third place overall, the last crew within a minute of the lead. However, their event came to an end on Test 4 when a gearbox mounting broke and they were out.

Cochrane/Watkins fell down the order after a raft of penalties on Test 3. Their event took a further down turn on Test 4 when an engine mounting broke. They had to stop and secure the unit with a rachet strap. During the lunch break they used their workshop, which was at the farm, to weld a more secure fix. However, they came to grief on Test 5, when, after a visit to the scenery, the chassis split.

John Taylor/Nick Taylor, who had been challenging for a class award in Class I1, retired on the test when a marker post, knocked over by an earlier competitor, punctured the radiator of their MG ZR.

Hatsford Targa Rally 2025

Ayris/Woolley were fastest again on Test 4. Their lead after the test was almost one and a half minutes. This advantage was aided by not only the retirement of Davies/Davies, but also the fact that Disney/Toms stopped on the test with a broken drive shaft.

Second quickest on Test 4 pushed Will Jefferis/Kayleigh Dingle (Nissan Micra) up to third place on the leader board and second in the Inter Club Rally. Will Rogers/James Welch (Toyota Yaris) had taken the lead of the Club Rally after Test 3 and were now 25 seconds ahead of Harris/Birkill.

There was a major change around of the test layout during the lunch break, ready for the final two now truncated tests. The altered design led to an increase in test faults on Test 5, there were 119 assigned.

There were no changes in the top seven positions on the leader board after Test 5, although Ayris/Woolley, having been fastest, extended their lead to over two minutes. The biggest losers in the top placings were Adrian Beer/Nathan Coles (MG ZR), who up to that point hadn't received any test faults; on Test 5 they went the wrong side of a cone and the resultant 30 second penalty dropped them from eighth to tenth.

In the previous two years Lewis Ayris had retired from the Hatsford Targa while leading, so in 2025 he reduced his pace on the final test but still came home with a victory margin of almost two and a half minutes. Jefferis/Dingle were fastest on Test 6 and this moved them up to second place on the leader board.

With over a minute lead in the Club Rally after Test 5, Rogers/Welch took the final test with care and ended the rally with a cushion of 1m30s over Harris/Birkill. Brian Andrews/James Leighton (Ford Puma) picked up just one test fault on their way to third Club competitor and fifth on the leader board.

Neil Jones/Aled Jones spent the day moving up the table recovering from their Test 1 puncture, and ended the event third in the Inter Club Rally and sixth overall.

While the leading runners managed to avoid test faults, the lower numbers struggled to follow the correct route, especially after the layout changes; there were a total of 498 test faults applied throughout the day.


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