Never used before gravel stage joins Crychan, Halfway and Route 60 in exciting new Nicky Grist Stages route

This summer’s Nicky Grist Stages (Saturday 14 July) will be the only event in 2018 to run on the classic Welsh gravel roads in Halfway and Route 60 – while the Crychan stage is in prime condition and a brand new smooth, fast and flowing stage, which has never been used for rallying before, replaces the rested Monument test.

This year’s Quinton MC-organised event returns to its traditional one-day all-gravel format. The stages will be in excellent condition, as the Army has re-graded parts of the route after recent logging and other sections of the route will not have been used since Rally4Wales re-graded the roads following last year’s rallying.

The much loved and challenging Crychan, Halfway and Route 60 stages will be joined by a brand new five and a half mile stage to the north of the Epynt military range. In total, there will be 45 stage miles.

The event will be based at the Royal Welsh Showground in Llanelwedd, and with 180 cars allowed to start the Nicky Grist Stages will once again been a major boost for the economy of Builth Wells and the nearby Powys and Carmarthenshire towns and villages.

This year will celebrate the 38th running of Quinton Motor Club’s forest stage rally and the eighth year of title sponsorship from Nicky Grist Motorsports. It’s also the 31st consecutive year of it hosting a round of the BTRDA Rally Series and therefore the event will play host to the 2018 Jordan Road Surfacing BTRDA Rally Series, incorporating the BTRDA Gold Star, BTRDA Silver Star, BTRDA Production Cup, BTRDA 1400, BTRDA Rally First, BTRDA Historic Cup, BTRDA Rallye R2 Cup and the Fiesta ST Trophy. The 2018 Nicky Grist Stages is also proud to host a round of the Pirelli MSA Welsh Forest Rally Championship, FMP Rally Challenge and the all-new Swift Shining Stars Rally Series.

After a second stint of 10 years, making 24 years in total, Susan Butcher has stepped down from her role as Secretary of the Meeting. Helena Mayall, who for the past two years has been the Entries Secretary, is the new Secretary of the Meeting.

Neil Cross, Nicky Grist Stages Clerk of the Course, said: “After two successful years running as a mixed-surface two-day event, we are reverting back to our traditional one-day gravel rally in 2018. We are planning a great event, and using the knowledge gained over the last few years to enhance the reputation of the Nicky Grist Stages. All the stages are in prime condition and are smooth, challenging, fast and flowing. We are the only rally to run in Halfway and Route 60 this year, and we have introduced a brand new five and a half mile stage to the north of the ranges that has never been used for rallying before. That stage replaces the Monument stage, which we are resting for 2018. The route has now been finalised, and we are extremely happy with it – it will be a truly great challenge for competitors come July 14. And on a personal note, Susan’s contribution to the event is unquantifiable and I’d like to thank her for all her efforts over the years.”

Nicky Grist said: “A new year, but not exactly a new rally, but we do have a brand new stage that no-one will have used before! Add this to the other three near perfect condition stages in Crychan, Halfway and Route 60, which are some of the best stages in Welsh rallying, and the crews will have a great time. I am delighted to be involved with the event again this year, although I am sad to see Susan leave us. After all the years she has been our Secretary of the Meeting we cannot complain, she has been a tremendous asset to the rally and I would like to thank her for all her hard work and effort over the years. I look forward to seeing you all on the Nicky Grist Stages in July.”

Nicky Grist Stages entries open, as fine-tuned route provides magnificent gravel and Tarmac challenge

Entries are now open for the Nicky Grist Stages (8-9 July) – with the official event Regulations and Entry forms published on-line at nickygriststages.co.uk.

2017 celebrates the 37th running of Quinton Motor Club’s forest stage rally, the 30th consecutive year of it hosting a round of the BTRDA Rally Series and the seventh year of title sponsorship from Nicky Grist Motorsports. Following its maiden success last year, the Nicky Grist Stages remains the only mixed-surface round of the Prestone MSA British Rally Championship, with a fine-tuned route for 2017 giving competitors a magnificent gravel and Tarmac challenge and spectators a weekend-long festival of top class rally action.

Competitors have a choice of three events to enter – a gravel National B stage rally on the Saturday (8 July), a Tarmac National B stage rally on the Sunday (9 July) and a two-day (8-9 July) mixed-surface National A stage rally. All of which is fantastic news for spectators, who’ll have 10 different championships and up to 180 cars to watch competing on some of the best forest and Tarmac stages in the UK.

Both the gravel route on the Saturday and the Tarmac course the following day have been revised – with Saturday containing eight gravel stages (a loop of four run twice), separated by a midday service at the Royal Welsh Showground. The Monument, Halfway and a longer Crychan stage will be run in the opposite direction to last year, leaving Route 60 as the only unaltered test. In total there will be 45 stage miles of gravel for competitors in the BRC, Ravenol BTRDA Rally Series, Pirelli MSA Welsh Forest Rally Championship, MAXXIS MSA English Rally Championship, BTRDA 1400 Championship, BTRDA Rally First, Fiesta ST Trophy, MG ZR Rally Challenge, FMP Rally Challenge and ANWCC Forest Rally Championship.

Sunday will see a revised Tarmac route, with a further 12 stages totalling 72 miles over the famous roads of the Epynt military ranges. In a change to 2016, this year will see two loops of three stages in the morning and two loops of three different stages in the afternoon, separated by a lunchtime service at the Royal Welsh Showground. In addition to Sunday being the second Nicky Grist Stages day of the BRC, there will also be a separate event called the Spencer Sport Acropolis Rally, which is part of the MAXXIS MSA English Championship double-header weekend and open to all other National B stage rally competitors.

In line with MSA requirements, competitors on these rallies will be seeded together in their order of expected performance on both the Saturday and Sunday.

Not only will rally fans be able to see the BRC cars in high-speed action on two surfaces, 20 stages and over 117 miles, there will also be a two hour service halt at the Royal Welsh Showground on the Saturday night, when teams change car set-up from gravel to Tarmac – a sight to behold for those mechanically minded and a great opportunity for driver autograph hunters. The finish ceremony will take place in Builth Wells shortly after 16.00 on the Sunday.

Neil Cross, Nicky Grist Stages Clerk of the Course, said: “We’ve acted upon all the feedback we received from competitors following last year’s event, and we hope that the changes that we have made to this year’s route will be to everyone’s liking. The Nicky Grist Stages really is blessed with some fantastic roads, and we’ve tried hard to make best use of the available gravel and Tarmac stages. We’ve once again created a 45 stage mile route on the Saturday for the BTRDA, Welsh and other championships, which is a great challenge on some fabulous forest roads. Following on from lessons learnt last year, Sunday’s Tarmac event will start later to allow the Army to clear the ranges, should any of its overnight exercises overrun. Crews will then do two loops of three stages before a service halt at the Royal Welsh Showground, and another three stages done twice in the afternoon. This format will make Sunday’s stages run a lot more efficiently, yet provide competitors with the very best challenge Epynt can throw at them and make it a truly tremendous day out for the spectators.”

Nicky Grist said: “This year’s route is going to be absolutely fantastic for each and every competitor, with some great viewing points for spectators. We’re very lucky to have some of the best forestry stages on our doorstep, and the gravel part of the event will feel similar to last year – albeit with three of the four stages run in the opposite direction. The next day on Tarmac has been designed to flow and breathe a lot better. Cars will still run at thirty-second intervals, but the stage layouts and timetable will make it much better for crews and spectators. As the only mixed-surface round of the British Rally Championship, this year’s event will be a true rally challenge.”

In association with Spencer Sport, Nicky Grist Stages VIP Hospitality packages are available for both Saturday and Sunday – with exclusive car parking, stage-side viewing area, marquee, breakfast, lunch, unlimited refreshments and guest speakers. For information on availability and cost, please contact Sarah Williams on 01559 371534.

Regulations and entry forms are available in the Competitors’ section of www.nickygriststages.co.uk