MATT Edwards and co-driver Darren Garrod won a very closely fought Nicky Grist Stages in their Swift Group Ford Fiesta R5, after turning a two second deficit at halfway into a 58 second winning margin at the finish.

Victory on the Quinton MC organised event sees them take the lead of the Jordan Road Surfacing BTRDA Rally Series.

The Mayor of Builth Wells, Cllr Paul McNiffe, flagged the large field away from outside Strand Hall, in the centre of Builth Wells, with two loops of four loose gravel stages surrounding the Epynt Ranges with the service park at the Royal Welsh Showground.

British Rally Championship front-runner Edwards was immediately in a titanic battle with top seed Tom Cave/James Morgan (Spencer Sport Mitsubishi Mirage R5) as the lead swapped three times in six stages, with just a few seconds separating them as they traded fastest stage times. A big push on the final two stages gave the Llandudno driver what he thought was a 14 second victory, but that winning margin was substantially increased when a very rare co-driving mistake contravened event regulations and saw Cave disqualified from the results.

Tom Llewellin, the 17-year old son of double British Rally Championship Dai Llewellin, enjoyed an excellent first gravel rally. Together with Dale Bowen, he finished fourth in the B10/R2 class, only missing out on a podium after hitting a bump on SS6 and suffering a loss of power when it upset the ECU connection on his Suzuki Swift. He still finished a magnificent 46th overall just one place behind Sennybridge crew Dai Jones and Glyn Price driving their distinctive BMW.

Cllr Paul McNiffe said: “It’s the second time I’ve been involved with the Nicky Grist Stages – last year as deputy Mayor and this time as Mayor, and it’s great to see the event come into the town centre and for the people of Builth Wells to come out and see the rally cars and drivers.

“The start ceremony outside Strand Hall and the finish in Groe Park, on the banks of the River Wye, show what a beautiful place Builth Wells is, and it’s another major event for the town.

“Having flagged the cars away, I went up to the Epynt stages to watch the cars in action and saw many people from Builth Wells who were enjoying the rally, so hopefully the Nicky Grist Stages will come back to Builth Wells next year.”

2018 Nicky Grist Stages top finishers:

1 Matt Edwards/Darren Garrod (Ford Fiesta R5) 42mins 09sec

2 Luke Francis/John H Roberts (Ford Fiesta WRC) +58

3 Rory Young/Allan Cathers (Ford Fiesta R5) +1m 39s