Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear have extended their lead in the 2023 Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship after scoring maximum points on the second round of the series, the Rallynuts Stages Rally on Saturday.

It was a perfect day for rallying, with glorious sunshine and some of the best stages Wales has to offer in excellent condition – although the event ran in a somewhat sombre and reflective mood, following the tragic death of WRC star Craig Breen in pre-Rally Croatia testing. As a mark of respect, the event began with an impeccably observed minute silence and there were no Pirelli Welsh champagne celebrations at the finish.

Hirst set the fastest time on all four of the morning’s loop of stages through Myherin West, Myherin East, Hafren Sweet Lamb and Cwmysgawen in his Pirelli-shod Delta Salvage Ford Fiesta R5 to reach midday service at the Royal Welsh Showground in Llanelwedd with a 20 second lead overall.

But four corners into the first stage in the afternoon, the Doncaster driver hit a rock that was directly on the racing line. The tyre deflated midday through the stages, ripping part of the bodywork off and costing him around 40 seconds and dropping him to second overall. He reduced the gap to the new leader from 16 to four seconds on the next stage, but when a tyre rolled off the rim at a hairpin on the seventh and final stage, it cost him another 35 seconds, dropping him to third overall. However,

Hirst and Dear were still the top placed Pirelli Welsh registered crew, giving them maximum points for the second time in two rounds.

“It was a challenging day,” admitted Hirst. “The morning loop couldn’t have gone better, but the afternoon tested us.

“A puncture in Myherin was doing a lot of damage to the car and we had to decide whether to stop and change it. We had a bit of a push in Sweet Lamb to try and get the time back, but then we had another puncture on the last stage.

“But hey-ho, that’s rallying, isn’t it? But we’re very happy to score maximum points again in the Welsh Championship, which puts us in a strong position for the rest of the season.”

2023 Rallynuts Stages Rally - top 10 Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship finishers: 1. Matthew Hirst/Declan Dear (Ford Fiesta R5).......44mins 25secs 2. Russ Thompson/Stephen Link (Mitsubishi Evo 9).......44mins 53secs 3. Rob Wilson/Richard Crozier (Mitsubishi Evo 7).......45mins 51secs 4. Steve Black/Jack Morton (Ford Fiesta Rally2)....... 46mins 31secs 5. Robert Gough/Paul Morris (Ford Escort Mk2).......46mins 57secs 6. Eddie Lewis/Sion Cunniff (Ford Fiesta R5)....... 47mins 03secs

7. Boyd Kershaw/Keegan Rees (Ford Escort Mk2).......47mins 59secs 8. Simon Rogers/Ade Williams (Mitsubishi Evo 6).......47mins 59secs 9. Martyn Andrews/Steve Greenhill (Subaru Impreza).......48mins 03secs 10. Daniel Moss/Samuel Davies (Mitsubishi Evo 10).......48mins 09secs

Overall drivers’ points after Round 2: 1. Matthew Hirst, 60pts; 2. Robert Gough, 51pts; 3. Simon Rogers, 44pts; 4. Martyn Andrews, 41pts; 5. Boyd Kershaw, 40pts; 6. Wug Utting, 38pts.

Round 3 of the Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship is the Plains Rally on Saturday 20 May.

Organised by Knutsford & District Motor Club, the event is based in Bala and contains a compact route of approximately 100 road and 44 stage miles.