Edwards wins Nicky Grist Stages
New British Rally Championship leader Matt Edwards said his nail-biting victory at the second round of the season on the Nicky Grist Stages in mid-wales was “the perfect reward” for his team’s endeavours.
On spent tyres, the defending champion and co-driver Darren Garrod endured a “wild ride” through the last test – which included at least one off-road jaunt – to finish with five seconds in hand over Tom Cave.
“We were in and out of ditches,” said Edwards, who became the first person since Tapio Laukkanen at the Scottish Rally back in 2000 to win a round of the series in a Volkswagen. “Everything was calm in the car until about five corners before the end – but it is so good to be back in these forests again.
“It just means the world at the moment. There is so much going on behind the scenes and it is such a relief as much as anything to have the pace in a different car – and a different team.”
Sixteen months since he last set foot inside a rally car, Cave showed few signs of rustiness on his way to a solid second place after remedying set-up and balance issues with his Ford Fiesta Rally2 car.
Cave briefly led after stage three – before that it was fellow Welshman Osian Pryce who set the early pace, but turbo boost problems on his VW Polo proved decisive in his charge for victory. He took third.
Runner-up at the opening round at Oulton Park, fourth place was good enough to ensure Rhys Yates held on to second position in the standings, three points adrift. He survived a warning light scare on the dash of his Rally2 car to lead home M-sport team-mate Matthew Wilson.
The event also produced a different winner in the Junior British Rally Championship. It had added significance because it was Ruairi Bell’s maiden victory – a result that was cemented when, in his attempts to reel the Londoner in, William Creighton left the road on the penultimate gravel stage.