For our final gallery by our GT photographer from the 2016 Mid Wales Stages Rally we move away from the MSA British Rally Championship and take a look at the other competitions on the event.
Most rallies have more than one championship racing in them and the 39th running of the Mid Wales Stages was no different. The Bowler Motorsport Defender Challenge was joined by the FMP Rally Challenge, the Pirelli MSA Welsh Stage Rally Championship, the Jelf Motorsport Welsh Clubman’s Forest Championship and four championships from the Association of North Western Car Clubs.
These are the events which bring out the different cars like the Mk.1 and Mk.2 Ford Escorts, the Peugeot 205s and the older Subaru models. Sometimes you can be surprised though, like on the Mid Wales Stages where R5 Fiestas and Mitsubishi Mirages turned up in the running order.
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- David Ashburn of British GT fame has turned his hand to rallying with Trackspeed and an Evo X.
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- One of the more rare rally cars, the 3 series compact is more often found in club circuit racing.
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- Caution, Gate says the co-driver of this immaculate Mk.2 Escort.
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- The Mitsubishi Mirage R5 has yet to earn the love its Evo predecessor holds.
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- Controversial styling does little to slow this Impreza.
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- Its a British rally, of course there will be Escorts, just like this Mk.1.
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- The Bowler Motorsport Defender Challenge brought a field of Landies to Wales.
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- The Flying Kiwi says the livery of this Antipodean driven Escort.
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- If in doubt, drive an R5, its a sure fire way to win a rally.
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- Most BMW drivers shy away from snow and gravel.
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- Iconic is the only word that applies really.
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- Rally fans watch on as a Subaru Impreza races over Pikes Peak.
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- Four Wheel Drive is definately an advantage in national competition, as is the wheel at each corner handling of the Mirage.
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- Team mate to the BRC contesting Hyundai Power Generation Evo, the Westbase backed car took Sacha Kakad to the overall podium.
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- Mission Motorsport work with injured servicemen to aid their rehabilitation and learn new skills.
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- It wouldn’t be a rally without at least one ‘OldSkool’ Impreza.
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- It’s always worth a wander round the service park, where you may find an ex-Dakar Rally Raid truck hiding in the corner.
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- The defenders were forced to three point turn the tight hairpins on Sweet Lamb.
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- Another well presented Mk.2 Escort.
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- The Mirage proved surprisingly stable into the corners for such a tall car.
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- Lee Hastings was headed towards retirement with engine failure before he crashed out on SS5.
The previous galleries from the Mid Wales Stages Rally can be found in our archive. The top class of the BRC have their own gallery with other BRC entrants in a second. You can also view other galleries from our series of challenges to Nick Smith, where he goes to an event as a spectator to see what he can get. If you have an idea for a challenge for Nick, contact us using the contact form.
All images in this gallery are credit Nick Smith/TheImageTeam.com.
