Rally Archive
Powys Lanes Road Rally
Sponsored by DG Jones Agri Ltd
Epynt Motor Club
9th/10th November 2024
Winners: Mark 'GT' Roberts/Cadog Davies (VW Golf GTi)
Photograph: © Jordan Gullick Photography
Organiser: Epynt Motor Club
Date: 9th/10th November 2024
Clerk of the Course: Jamie Pickup
Route: 120 Miles (Map 147 & 160)
Base: Llandovery
Starters: 86
The Powys Lanes was the final round of the Welsh Championship with both the Drivers' and Navigators' titles still in the balance. In both cases there were two competitors in contention for each of the series wins.
Competitors faced a 120 mile route based on Llandovery, with the mid-point petrol halt at Builth Wells. Eighty-six cars took the start.
The battle for the Welsh Drivers' Championship was between George Williams and Kevin Kerr. Williams headed the table prior to the Powys Lanes, but was not at the event to defend the position as he was on his honeymoon. This meant that Kerr had to be amongst the top two Championship scorers to snatch the crown. It was not to be, Kerr's Escort developed fuel problems soon after the start and he was out - the title went to Williams.
The Welsh Navigators' title was a battle between Cadog Davies and Alan James; Davies held the upper hand but the matter was too close to call. Davies had contested the series up to that point with the non-starting Williams, therefore, in need of a substitute for the Powys Lanes, he had teamed up with Mark 'GT' Roberts.
The opening section was a short 4 minuter to the south west of Llandovery; it didn't trouble the leading half dozen crews; however it did see the end of the event for Steffan 'DR' Davies/Owen Rowcliffe, who rolled their Escort into retirement.
After a short Neutral that took the route through Myrtle Hill, the first TC on the second section saw all drop time. Richard Jerman/Alan James (Ford Escort) were quickest, three seconds ahead of Arwel Hughes Jones/Dylan John Williams (Ford Escort). Mark 'GT' Roberts/Cadog Davies (VW Golf GTi) were third, with Andy Davies/Max Freeman (Subaru Impreza) in fourth. The latter pairing weren't to make it much further as fuel feed issues stopped their car. Lewis Morgan/Kieran Price also left the fray at an early stage when their Escort's gearbox broke.
More time was dropped at the third timing point on the section, which was located on the western edge of Halfway Forest. Jones/Williams were 29 seconds quicker here than anyone else and took the lead; they were now 26 seconds in front.
Jerman/James were the only ones to clean the third section, which finished with a run up and down the Epynt Dual Carriageway. This allowed them to claw five seconds back on the leaders.
The fourth section started just south of Trecastle, it looped down as far as Glasfynydd Forest, before heading back north to finish at Danygraig. Jones/Williams stormed through it and were 55 seconds ahead of the field by the end of it.
There then followed three brief sections, split by short neutrals. TC5A to TC5C started north of Sennybridge and reached Llanfihangel Nant Bran. TC6A to TC6B ran down the Nant Bran valley to Aberbran, then TC7A to TC7C went up the Ysgir valley and over to Cwmfforch.
The leaders dropped time at TC5C and TC6B, with fortunes swinging back to Jerman/James; they closed to within five seconds of Jones/Williams at TC5C and then took a substantial lead of 43 seconds at TC6B. Also on the move here were the leading Expert crew of Owain Evans/Marc Hughes (Ford Escort), who overtook Roberts/Davies for third place, although they were a minute off the lead at this point.
With only a cleanable eighth section remaining in the first half, these were the positions at Petrol, which was taken at Builth. There was very little time for competitors to relax as there was only fifteen minutes between the in and out controls; with most having dropped several minutes, there was hardly time to take a rest.
The closest battle at the halfway halt was for third place. Evans/Hughes, the leading Expert crew, held the position, but were only five seconds ahead of Roberts/Davies, while Gethin Dafis/Dion Lewis (Ford Escort) were just a second further back.
The fight for top honours in the Semi-Expert category was even closer, with Roger Lovatt/Joe Jones (Mazda MX5) and Craig Harries/Jamie Clifford-Jones (Mazda MX5) tied with the same total penalties. In contrast, Michael Wyn Thomas/Cai Walters (Citroen C2 VTS) were clear leaders in the Novice Class, however they were to pick up two fails in the second half and finished well down the order.
The first section after the restart, ran from Berllan-ber to Garth; it was cleaned by the entire field, however this didn't reflect the remainder of the rally. There were just two sections remaining, the first went through Tirabad, finishing beyond Cynghordy, at Little Hall. The final test was in the lanes north of Llandovery, either side of the Tywi Valley.
It was TC 10C, an easily cleanable control timed to the minute, that was to have the most dramatic affect on the lead battle. Jerman/James arrived early and booked in. In an attempt to cover up the error, the time on the time card was altered. When the change was spotted at the Finish, the crew were disqualified. If the early penalty had been accepted then they would have been classified in fourth; if the change hadn't been spotted, they would have won.
The disqualification meant that the lead battle was now a close one. At TC 10B, Jones/Williams were 15 seconds ahead of Evans/Hughes, while Roberts/Davies were 21 seconds off the lead. Jones/Williams then cleaned the remainder of that section, while all of their pursuers dropped time. By TC 10F, Dafis/Lewis had moved up to second place, six seconds ahead of Roberts/Davies and 16 in front of Evans/Hughes.
The drama was not over however. Roberts/Davies moved into second place at TC 11C, just to the west of Cynghordy, and cut the deficit to the leaders to 22 seconds. Then at a series of triangle PCs in Square 7740, Jones/Williams, firstly lost time finding a slot into a PC and then had problems finding their way into a farmyard. They dropped 2m 30s, while Roberts/Davies only lost 38 seconds and, for the first time on the event, the Golf was at the front of the field.
The pair maintained their advantage over the last few miles and came home to give Mark 'GT' Roberts his third win of the year. For Cadog Davies the win secured the Welsh Championship for him; he would have won the title even if James hadn't been disqualified, second place would have been sufficient.
Owain Evans/Marc Hughes snatched second place from Gethin Dafis/Dion Lewis at the final timing point, the two crews finished two seconds apart. They were also the top two Expert crews. A disappointed Jones/Williams finished in fourth.
There was a major turn around in the Semi-Expert Class during the second half, with Arfon Jones/Mathew Pryce (Subaru Impreza) coming through to take the class win, while Polly/Catrin Price (MG ZR) were the winners in the Novice Class.
The win was the first time that the Powys Lanes had been won by a non-Escort and, as a result, Roberts was awarded a free entry for the 2025 event.
RESULTS
- Overall Positions
- Award Winners
- Class Positions
- Time Penalty Details
- Fail Penalties
- Overall Positions at Petrol
- Non-Finishers
- List of Starters
- Unofficial WAMC Points