WITH its forest tracks and mountain roads, mid Wales is the perfect area for spawning stars of motorsport and rallying.
So it’s not surprising two of the leading contenders for the Sportsman of the Year award in the inaugural Brecon & Radnor Express Sports Person of the Year Awards are from this field.
Granted World Superbikes star Chaz Davies now competes on some of the smoothest racing tracks available, but he and rally driver Jason Pritchard have both grown up in a region where motorsport is very much in the blood.
Presteigne rider Chaz, who started out competing in the British Mini Moto championships circuit, last year won seven races in the World Superbike series, finishing second to Jonathan Rae, the Northern Irishman who set a trail of records on his way to his third WSB title.
Two second places on the final weekend of the season at the Losail track in Qatar leapfrogged the Welshman over Englishman Tom Sykes in the final title standings.
Meanwhile Jason, from Builth Wells, made British rallying history earlier this year becoming the first ever driver to win three successive MSA British Historic Rally Championship.
His brilliant performance in clinching victory in the only double header of the season on the Isle of Man, meant Jason headed into the final round of the historic rally championship in Yorkshire with a narrow three-point lead. A spin from his closest rival gave Jason the title on the road but he made sure of his third championship in emphatic style by reaching the finishing flag in first place.
The most likely sportsman from outside the world of motorsports to lay claim to our Sports Man of the Year award is probably para sports table tennis player Rob Davies. Rob, from Brecon, of course had his greatest achievement in 2016 when he won gold at the Paralympics in Rio.
But this year he won his third consecutive title at the European Para Table Tennis Championships with a brilliant victory in Slovenia in October.
Should Rob not topple hot favourite Chaz in the battle to become Sportsman of the Year, he stands an outstanding chance of claiming the Disabled Sports Star of the Year award. We’ll be carrying more about the race to win the Disabled Sports Star of the Year (male or female) award, Sports Volunteer of the Year award and Sports Veteran of the Year next week.
Top contender for the individual men’s title from the world of cricket is Builth Wells’ prolific batsman Dylan McPhee.
The multi-talented sportsman, who was previously player/manager of the Rhayader Town football team, achieved feats that those present never expected to see on a cricket field in a local league match.
His two double centures, 212 and 279 not out, scored in the space of one month were both characterised by some excellent power hitting. The first off 140 balls had Crickhowell’s scorers scrambling to see if it was the highest score ever at their ground. It wasn’t but it still takes some doing in a 45-over innings. The second was for Builth’s 2nd team after the 1st’s game was cancelled. McPhee’s 279no was easily the highest contribution in a massive 387-4 racked up against BTW.
Meanwhile another motorsports star who could be a contender is Alex Walton who last month was crowned ACU British 125 expert enduro champion.
The 18-year-old from Rhayader had also taken the ACU British Expert Sprint title earlier in the season to cap a remarkable year. Alex is a member of Rhayader Motocross Club and started out in motocross as a six-year-old before switching to enduro.
Of course his young age makes him a leading contender for the B&R Express Young Sports Star of the Year (male or female) award.
Likely to be vying with Alex for the Young Sports Star award from a male perspective are two young rugby players: 16-year-old Brecon rugby star Dan Hiscocks and 18-year-old Tomi Lewis from Llanodovery. Dan, who made a try-scoring debut at scrum half for Wales under-16s against England, also plays for Ospreys’ regional academy, while Tomi, who plays for Wales under-18s has also been getting some run outs with Scarlets.
Talking of youthful talent a strong contender for the Sports Team of the Year (male or female) award is the Brecon rugby youth squad which had a remarkable triple success in 2016/17, winning the WRU Blues (BBI) league, the Heart of Wales Cup and the Breconshire Youth Cup.
Another strong category in the team category is Crickhowell rugby 1st XV who put together statistically one of the best performances of any clubside in Wales in becoming the RFU Division 3 East champions. They may not play in the highest league in the land, but as the saying goes you can only beat the opposition that’s in front of you.