Rally Archive
E Roberts (Ffestiniog) Memorial Rali Meirion
Sponsored by John Roberts (Ffestiniog) Ltd + R E Jones Ltd
Harlech & District Motor Club
26th/27th September 2026
Winners: Arwel Hughes Jones/Dylan John Williams (Ford Escort)
Photograph: © Cyril Williams Photography
Organiser: Harlech & District Motor Club
Date: 26th/27th September 2026
Clerk of the Course: Dafydd Evans
Route: 101 Miles (Map 124)
Base: Porthmadog
Starters: 69
For the second year in succession the Rali Meirion was based at Porthmadog Football Club, an ideal location just off the town's by-pass. Sixty-nine cars assembled there for eighth round of the Welsh Road Rally Championship, with newly crowned champions, Arwel Hughes Jones/Dylan John Williams (Ford Escort) leading the field away for the 101 mile contest.
The organisers had laid out what was to prove a testing route, with even the lead runners, who set a blistering pace, picking up penalties at eleven time controls. The event was generally split into short, but tight, sections.
The number of competitors was reduced by one when the Vauxhall Astra of Ned Pugh/Catrin Price encountered fuelling problems at the start car park and they were unable to take the flag.
The first section was a five miler starting at Penmorfa and finishing at Prenteg; there was a time control, timed to the minute, halfway through, while the finish clock was set to the second. Everyone reached MTC2 on time, but all were late at SS3FS. Gareth Wyn Jones/Dale Furniss (Ford Escort) were quickest to that control, heading George Williams/Cadog Davies (Ford Escort) by two seconds, with Hughes Jones/Williams a further second behind. These were the only three crews to beat the minute mark to SS3FS.
This excitement was immaterial to Kevin Kerr/Dylan Jenkins who withdrew early in the section after their Escort developed a severe misfire.
The route then moved across the Glaslyn Valley for a five minuter from Croesor to Rhyd. There was a major shake up of the leader board as seconds were traded between the leading runners. Hughes Jones/Williams were quickest to the end of the section and took the lead; they were now five seconds ahead of Williams/Davies and Jones/Furniss, who were tied for second place.
After a Neutral through Maentwrog, the third section, was a four minuter, finishing at Gellylydan. Iwan Roberts Jnr/Daniel Jones (Ford Puma) were fastest here and this moved them up to second place, two seconds behind Hughes Jones/Williams.
The rally now moved southward with a five minuter in Coed-y-Brenin Forest, to the east of the A470 main road. It was a straight run, but included five triangle controls. Hughes Jones/Williams were joint quickest and gained a second on Roberts Jnr/Jones. Former multiple Welsh Champion Meirion Evans, with his daughter Gwawr Evans navigating, matched the leaders' times on the section and the pair were now in sixth place.
A longer section to the north-east of Dolgellau now followed, it started at Llanelltyd and looped up and down towards Llanfachreth, before cutting through the middle of The Maze. There were two TCs timed to the minute and two to the second, the latter caught all for time.
At the end of the section it appeared that Roberts Jnr/Jones had blitzed the opposition, taking 16 seconds off the remainder of the field, however this was due to the fact that, thanks to a mis-plot, they had missed out a loop that contained a PC. Once they became aware of the error, and the resultant fail, they withdrew.
It was at this point that Peugeot 205 GTi of Edward Pugh/Phillip Pugh left the fray as the car suffered a broken distributor.
These dramas meant that Hughes Jones/Williams now led Williams/Davies by eleven seconds, with Jones/Furniss the only crew still within a minute of the lead in third place. The two leading cars pulled further clear as they alone cleaned the following section, which was on the opposite side of the main Dolgellau-Bala road.
The long first half finished with the tightest section of the night, running from Dolserau Hall Hotel to Cross Foxes. On this section in 2024 Williams/Davies had taken the lead and they did the same in 2026, they arrived at Petrol, which was taken at the White Hut, with a lead of three seconds over Hughes Jones/Williams. Jones/Furniss had been fastest on that final four minuter and were now 16 seconds off first place. These three crews were over a minute ahead of the rest of the field.
PC 34, a three metre control in a farmyard at the start of the section caught out a number of cars, eight failed to find it, these included Phillip Jenkins/Lewis Jenkins (Ford Escort), who would have been in eighth place without the fail.
In tenth place at Petrol were Zak Hughes/Jamie Mills (Peugeot 206), however they had hit a post just before the halt and cracked the sump, this forced their retirement.
The second half started with an eight mile section to the south-west of Dolgellau, which contained three timing points, two timed to the second. Almost immediately Williams/Davies' Escort started to suffer with fading brakes. They dropped over a minute to Hughes Jones/Williams, who went back into the lead. The erstwhile leaders cut to the Finish, where they were classified in last place.
This put Jones/Furniss into second place, 34 seconds behind the leaders. However, on the following section, the final one, which was in the hills above Harlech, their Escort had its oil filter work loose, the loss of oil causing their retirement. Also on that section Arwyn Jones/Mathew Pryce (Ford Escort), who had been in seventh at Petrol, retired with mechanical problems.
This all meant that Hughes Jones/Williams came home with a two and a half minute victory margin, giving the driver his tenth win on the Harlech & DMC event, and the pair's fifth Welsh Championship win of the year.
There was a tight battle for the runner up spot, with Evans/Evans taking the spot having passed Gareth Rhys Jones/Deio Rhys Jones (Toyota Corolla) on the first section after Petrol and, despite a fight back through the final controls, the father and daughter pairing held on to take second place and the Expert Class win as well.
Geraint Bowness/Huw Evans (Toyota Corolla T-Sport) won the Semi-Expert category, finishing 40 seconds ahead of Tomos Sion Lloyd Jones/Nia Jones (Ford Escort). Meanwhile Tyrone Joule/Iestyn Jones (Ford Puma) were the class of the Novice field throughout the night and finished four minutes clear of their nearest opposition.
RESULTS
- Overall Positions
- Award Winners
- Class Positions
- Time Penalty Details
- Fail Penalties
- Overall Positions at Petrol
- Non-Finishers
- List of Starters