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Rali Mynydd Ddu 1998
Sponsored by Park Garage (Brynamman) Ltd
Amman & District Motor Club
3rd/4th October 1998
Clerk of the Course: Malcolm Walters & Alan Ginn
Route: 120 Miles
Maps: 146 159 & 160
Starters: 58
Winners: Neil Griffiths/Carl Williamson (Ford Escort)
Neil Griffiths/Carl Williamson took their second victory of the year when they won Amman & District MC's Rali Mynydd Du. The event was the eighth round of the Welsh Road Rally Championship and attracted an entry of 58 starters.
For the first time the rally had moved its base from Ammanford to Llandovery, the result was a compact 120 mile route with very low non-competitive mileage. There were just six sections, split evenly by the petrol halt.
The tight nature of the rally meant that a number of fancied crews ended up with fails. The 1997 winners, Gareth Jones/Iestyn ap Daffyd, booked in early at the end of the very first section, the resultant two fails putting them out of contention.
Toby Adams/Pat Gadsby picked up a fail for a wrong approach at PC33, they would have been fifth without that penalety. Meanwhile Pete Cotton/Dave Pitchford did the same at PC34. Huw James/Patrick Walsh missed PC25 but is was of little importance to them as they were already struggling with an engine that kept cutting out on them.
Suzanne Crowley Memorial Rally winners, Martyn O'Connor/Peter Collins, rolled their Vauxhall Astra comprehensively in the second half.
Griffiths/Williamson had led for most of the event, however their winning margin at the end was just two seconds, with Dennis Quinn/Andrew Thomson taking the runner up spot. This result gave Quinn/Thomson a very strong position in the Welsh Championship, with three rounds to go they needed just two good finishes to secure the title.
Peter Zjalic/Richard Preece and Geraint Davies/Sarah Gluyas kept the pressure on the series leaders by taking their Toyota Corollas to third and fourth positions respectively, having been tied on time at Petrol. These results meant that both crews still had chances of the Welsh title win. They were also the main contenders for the Production Category in the Championship.
Fifth went to Elgan Jones/Owen Dodd and sixth to Meirion Evans/Aled Jones, both crews being first time partnerships. Emyr Morgan/Aneurin James were seventh in thier Sierra, they had been fourth at Petrol after having driven aggressively over the whites in the first half. Alan Gaunt/Mark Jones had looked likely winners at the halfway halt but navigator illness resulted in a number of wrong slots in the second half and they dropped to eighth at the end.
The Semi-Expert Class was won by Nicholas Yates/Simon Yates who were 13th, while Chris Williams/David Williams brought there Mini to the Novice Class win and 27th overall. There were 37 finishers, only ten of whom finished fail free.
TOP TEN RESULTS
| Pos | Driver | Navigator | Car | Penalty | |
| 1 | Neil Griffiths | Carl Williamson | Ford Escort | 2m 37s | |
| 2 | Dennis Quinn | Andrew Thomson | Ford Escort | 2m 39s | |
| 3 | Peter Zjalic | Richard Preece | Toyota Corolla | 2m 55s | |
| 4 | Geraint Davies | Sarah Gluyas | Toyota Corolla | 3m 17s | |
| 5 | Elgan Jones | Owen Dodd | Vauxhall Astra GTE | 3m 21s | |
| 6 | Meirion Evans | Aled Jones | Ford Escort | 3m 45s | |
| 7 | Emyr Morgan | Aneurin James | Ford Sierra | 4m 10s | |
| 8 | Alan Gaunt | Mark Jones | Peugeot 205 GTi | 5m 08s | |
| 9 | Ian Elias | Phil Roach | Ford Escort | 5m 17s | |
| 10 | Wayne Morris | Paul Middleton | Ford Escort | 5m 27s |