1. ERC title battle set for pivotal chapter
Ceredigion could be crucial in deciding the outcome of this year’s European Rally Championship. The top three in the standings head to Wales for the penultimate round split by 24 points, with Hyundai driver and reigning champion Hayden Paddon holding a 14-point lead over Skoda driver Mathieu Franceschi. Poland’s Miko Marczyk is only 10 points further back, waiting to pounce.
One-time WRC rally winner Paddon will have the advantage of being a previous Rali Ceredigion conqueror, although the New Zealander has struggled to extract performance from his i20 N. With only one podium from six events to date, his lead is very much based on consistency.
“It has definitely got character, it is unique and that’s why it’s great that it’s part of the European Rally Championship,” says Paddon. “With Wales I was used to it being in the forest on gravel, so when we went there for the first time on Tarmac, with the narrow lanes and with the changeable weather, I really enjoyed it.”
Franceschi is heading into the relative unknown but is under no illusions regarding the challenge ahead: “I think they are really special roads. I’ve spoken with [BRC frontrunner] Chris Ingram and he told me they are strange as you have crests and then like a gravel surface on a Tarmac road.”
2. Stages like no other
Wales is most famous for its iconic forestry gravel roads that featured in the World Rally Championship for decades, but Rali Ceredigion’s asphalt tests are equally challenging. The event features a mix of high-speed narrow lanes, flowing roads and countless crests that stretch through spectacular scenery in the Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Powys regions. This year 90% of the route is new, which will add to the challenge for both local and international drivers.
Two-time Ceredigion winner Osian Pryce knows what’s required to tame the roads: “It’s a unique challenge because it doesn’t really compare to anything. There is a mixture of different types of roads, but the intensity is very, very high.
“There’s no relaxing. You have to know when to put the hammer down. It’s flat-out from the word go, but you have to keep that little bit in your pocket in case you have to really use it.”
Changeable weather is also set to cause a surprise, according to Paddon: “It is challenging but more so due to the weather and the amount of mud that can potentially come out onto the road – that’s probably one of the biggest things.”
Irish ERC regular Jon Armstrong believes it will present a new test for the ERC contingent. “We’re used to this style of roads, but I think it’ll be a big challenge for the Europeans, which is part of the draw for the event,” he says.
3. Best of Britain versus cream from Europe
While the European Rally Championship is the headline act, the rally will also host a double points scoring penultimate round of the British Rally Championship. This has helped create the thrilling prospect of the best drivers from the BRC going up against the best from the ERC, with many predicting up to 15 drivers could be in the mix to win this weekend’s event.
Ireland’s William Creighton (Ford) leads the BRC standings by a point from Castrol MEM Rally Team’s Chris Ingram, who tasted victory last time out at the Grampian Forest Rally driving a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2.
“It’s a massive opportunity for [team-mate] Meirion [Evans] and me with the two Castrol Yaris Rally2s in the ERC for the first time and a double-header BRC round,” says Ingram.
Osian Pryce, sitting fourth in the standings, is also relishing the chance to take on the best from the ERC, but will be picking his battles with the BRC title in mind.
“These [ERC] guys are very, very good,” says the 2022 British Rally champion. “They will raise the bar, there’s no doubt about that. I’d like to become the first person to win three [times at Ceredigion]. We’d love to win and that is what they say fuels the fire. But I’ve got one eye on that championship again, it’s double points so it is very crucial.”
4. Legendary British champions returning to the stages
Gwyndaf Evans and Mark Higgins are set to return to the stages almost 30 years on from their British Rally Championship battles that lifted them to rally stardom. Evans, the 1996 BRC champion and four-time runner-up, will pilot a Ford Escort Mk2 in the M5 National class, while three-time champion Higgins (1997, below, and 2005-06) will drive a 2008-specification modified Subaru Impreza in the M6 class.
Higgins, also known for his stunt driving exploits in James Bond movies, has made a return to rallying this year competing in the British Historic Championship, before this opportunity to drive a Chevron Motorsport-prepared Subaru on home soil.
“That’s the thing about rallying, it’s very hard to let it go, it’s almost a bit of a drug,” says Higgins. “Obviously, it’s [the Subaru] not an R5 [Rally2] car, but, it would be nice to give a few of them a run for their money.”
While the pair will be competing in different machines, Higgins is looking forward to rekindling memories with Evans on the stages: “Gwyndaf will never be uncompetitive; he is a proper driver and it’s good to see him competing.
“It’s hard to believe it was 1997 when we were all battling in the F2 cars. I don’t feel any older, it’s just when I walk past the mirror!”
