A near faultless drive allowed Builth Wells driver Jason Pritchard and co-driver Phil Clarke, in their Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, to take an emphatic victory on last weekend’s Ynyscynon MOT Centre Tour of Epynt Rally, writes Mark Griffin.
Round five of the Protyre Motorsport UK National Rally Championship brought competing crews from all corners of the UK and Ireland to the sinuous asphalt roads of Mynydd Epynt.
Port Talbot Motor Club (PTMC) organised and promoted the event, as they have done since the mid-1960s when closed-road rallying was first introduced to the venue. As in previous years, PTMC opted for a two-day format, with four stages on Saturday afternoon and another four longer stages on Sunday, totalling almost 80 competitive stage miles.
Scrutineering and the ceremonial start took place at Llandovery Mart, where the Mayor of Llandovery, Cllr Handel Davies, flagged away more than 100 competing crews under the shadow of the 12th-century castle.
Pritchard and Clarke were quickly out of the blocks and set the fastest time on all four of Saturday’s tests. Following recent set-up changes, provided in part by the Toyota factory team to the suspension and dampers on the Pirelli-shod North Road Garage/Guttercrest Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, the Builth Wells driver was tentative on the opening stage as there had been no time to evaluate the changes.
However, the car’s handling had been transformed, allowing the crew much greater confidence to attack the unforgiving roads.
Top seed Callum Black and Jack Morton ended the first day 15 seconds behind in their Ford Fiesta Rally2, while championship contenders Lee Edwards and co-driver Sam Spencer drove the wheels off the awesome-sounding 3-litre Ford Escort G3 to complete the day in third position.
Day two saw the remaining crews greeted by less-than-welcome light rain conditions, with the first rainfall the area had experienced following weeks of baking hot weather. Combined with newly laid asphalt on some sections where the oily top surface had not been washed away, it was not an altogether inviting prospect when run at speed.
Pritchard and Clarke continued business as usual, reeling off another set of fastest times to extend their advantage to 28 seconds by the finish. The remaining top runners held station, and it had been a virtuoso performance by the Builth Wells driver who, despite a minor overshoot at one of the chicanes on cold tyres, headed the timesheet on both days.
Despite a low seeding, which resulted in catching slower cars, Mark Gamble and Brecon-based co-driver Sam Weller held 16th position overnight after some spirited driving in the fearsome 2.5-litre Ford Escort. At the end of day two they dropped one place but still recorded a great performance.
Epynt rally supremo Damian Cole, partnered by Ian Allsop in the Citroen C3 Rally2, struggled to match the times of the leading crews. The Abergavenny ‘Get Connected’ businessman finished the event in eighth position.
Changing from loose gravel roads, experienced on the recent Nicky Grist Stages, to asphalt, Brecon Motor Club members Colin and John Evans wheeled out their trusty BMW 318Ti and again secured a finish, claiming a top-50 position.
It was an unfortunate ending for Lewis Rees and local co-driver Jonathan Hawkins, who were running close to their seeded position. However, an off-road excursion on the final stage saw the 2.5-litre rear-wheel-drive Mk3 Escort crew retire.
As with most local events, both Epynt and Brecon Motor Clubs provided officials and safety marshals for the safe running of the motorsport event. After the finish celebrations at the “quarry area” of the range, the event was concluded to have been an overriding success.
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