Rally Archive
Merfyn Hughes Memorial Rali Llyn
Sponsored by Motorsport Tools UK
Harlech & District Motor Club
15th/16th March 2025
Winners: George Williams/Cadog Davies (Ford Escort)
Photograph: © Cyril Williams Photography
Organiser: Harlech & District Motor Club
Date: 15th/16th March 2025
Clerk of the Course: Emyr Jones, Wil Evans & Dafydd Evans
Route: 125 Miles (Maps 123)
Base: Pwllheli
Starters: 89
The 2025 Rali Llyn used a roughly figure of eight route covering most of the peninsula, from Penygroes in the north-east to the very tip of the headland. It was a demanding 125 mile course using many of the most challenging lanes and tracks. The Start, Petrol and Finish were all in Pwllheli.
Despite a night of dry roads and the total lack of code boards, the organisers had devised a route that saw even the winners drop time at fourteen timing points.
A number of last minute withdrawals allowed those crews that had been on the reserve list to get a run, however there weren't quite enough back up teams to fill all the gaps and it was a total of 89 cars, one short of the maximum, that took the start.
A loop around Garn Bentyrch, using the white through Pentyrchuchaf, provided the opening test and all crews were late at the first timing point. Arwel Hughes Jones/Dylan John Williams (Ford Escort) were quickest, seven seconds ahead of top seeds Kevin Kerr/Huw Manion (Ford Escort).
The section continued, ending near Llanystumdwy, with everyone, once again, being late at the finish control. Kerr/Manion took five seconds back from Hughes/Williams, to be two seconds off the lead, however it was George Williams/Cadog Davies (Ford Escort) who were quickest and they were now just a second off second place.
The opening section hadn't been kind to everyone; seventh seeds, Gareth Rhys Jones/Deio Rhys Jones had the engine fail on their Vauxhall Corsa, while Guto Ifan/Jamie Mills lost 20 minutes when they had to stop mid-section to change all their Escort's spark plugs in a successful attempt to cure a severe misfire.
Action then moved northwards for a loop than ran around Mynydd Cennin, all were late at the mid-point control that was timed to the second. Kerr/Manion were fastest and closed to within a single second of Jones/Williams, but with Williams/Davies just two seconds behind. Ieuan Evans/Michael Gilbey (Ford Escort), winners of the last two Welsh Championship rounds, were tied with Iwan Jones/Dafydd Sion Lloyd (Ford Escort) for fourth place, sixteen seconds off the lead.
The rally then took in its most northerly point with a run from Nebo, through Nasareth to Pontllyfni. There were two TCs timed to the second on the section and everyone dropped time at both. Jones/Williams upped their game here and were ten seconds faster than any of their rivals at both controls, emerging with a lead of 23 seconds, as Williams/Davies overtook Kerr/Manion.
At the Start, Robyn Jones/Aron Jones won the Best Presented Car Award for their Ford Escort, but were out of the event by this point as their car suffered clutch failure.
There was a long Neutral that took crews to the final section of the first half. This started near Glasfryn and finished at Chwilog. Jones/Williams were fastest again, but Kerr/Manion were only four seconds behind and moved back past Williams/Davies.
This meant that at Petrol Jones/Williams led Kerr/Manion by 34 seconds, while Williams/Davies were three seconds further back. Evans/Gilbey were in fourth, but were a full minute off the lead. Jones/Lloyd were in fifth, while there was a tight battle for sixth between the two Toyota Corollas of Iwan Roberts Jnr/Daniel Jones and Dewi Williams/Moi Williams, the two were just a second apart.
Andrew Baines/Adam Jones were in tenth place overall and held a 30 second lead in the Expert Class. Their Escort was the focus of much activity at the halt as work was carried out to repair a damaged exhaust.
In the Semi-Expert category, Iwan Bowness/Gwion Bwtch (Peugeot 206 GTi) were over a minute ahead of their nearest challengers, while there was a tie for dominance in the Novice Class as Robin Jones/Huw Jones (Ford Escort) and Sion Jones/John Jos (Citroen Saxo) shared the lead. Eighty cars survived to make Petrol.
The second half used the lanes in the southern parts of the Llyn. There was to be a major change in the lead battle when the Jones/Williams Escort slid off the road in a farmyard at Mathan Isaf and took some time to regain the tarmac. They lost the lead and several minutes and retired.
The section on which the erstwhile leaders got stuck ran from Llanbedrog, via Cors Geirch, to finish at Ceidio. There were three TCs, two timed to the second and one, the middle clock, timed to the minute. A number of crews realised that it may be difficult to make their minute at that middle clock (MTC19), so at STC18, when they were well into their minute, waited for the next minute, dropping a few seconds extra there, but giving them a full minute to get to MTC19. Kerr/Manion weren't amongst these; they dropped a minute at MTC19 and briefly lost the lead to Williams/Davies, who had played the waiting card, they had arrived at STC18 55 seconds late; they waited five seconds for the next minute and then made their time at MTC19. This proved to be critical in the final standings.
The next section ran parallel to the north coast from Rhos-y-llan to the edge of Aberdaron. Kerr/Manion, who had retaken the lead at the end of the Cors Geirch section, were fastest to the first TC and extended their advantage over Williams/Davies to seventeen seconds.
Three TCs remained on the section, all bar the final one, were cleanable, although this last control had to be cancelled from the results after it was found that the check was 200 metres off plot. However, the section did have a significant effect on the overall result as Kerr/Manion booked into one of the intermediate TCs a minute early; on the Llyn any early fault was penalised by a fail. The crew decided to withdraw.
This left Williams/Davies with a lead of 22 seconds over Evans/Gilbey, although the big movers over the second half had been Dewi Williams/Moi Williams, they advanced from seventh at Petrol to third place at Aberdaron; they were 29 seconds off second place at this point but on a hard charge.
Three sections remained and these were all in the area to the north of Hell's Mouth; there were four TCs at which most crews were late. The only car to clean SS27S to STC28, which was around Llanfaelrhys, was the Escort of Evans/Pennant, they were now in sixth place, a position that they would hold to the Finish.
The leaders maintained their advantage over Evans/Gilbey over the last sections, but Williams/Williams slowly closed the gap to second place and took the position as they were fastest of all on the final section around Botwnnog and ended the event only 12 seconds off first place.
The reigning Welsh Champions, Williams/Davies held on to take their first win of 2025 and became the first non-local crew in thirteen years to win the Llyn. Evans/Gilbey finished third, 22 seconds off first place, to secure another batch of Welsh Championship points; the Llyn was the fourth round of the series. Jones/Lloyd finished in fourth, six seconds behind Evans/Gilbey.
Baines/Jones maintained their lead in the Expert Class, finishing over two and a half minutes ahead of Welsh Championship contenders Gethin Dafis/Dion Lewis. Bowness/Bwtch were equally clear winners of the Semi-Expert Class. Robin Jones/Huw Jones pulled away from their Novice Class rivals to take the class win.
Sixty-three crews made it back to the Finish at the Pwllheli Marina.
RESULTS
- Overall Positions
- Award Winners
- Class Positions
- Time Penalty Details
- Fail Penalties
- Overall Positions at Petrol
- Non-Finishers
- List of Starters
- Unofficial WAMC Points