Chris Ingram gave the new Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 its first victory in the UK when he won the 2024 Nicky Grist Stages in the Castrol MEM Rally Team car, and in doing so adds his name to a prestigious list of past event winners.
Co-driven by Alex Kihurani, the 2019 FIA European rally champion finished just 14.7 seconds ahead of Keith Cronin/Shane Buckley (Ford Fiesta Rally2), while Meirion Evans/Jonathan Jackson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) completed the podium.
Builth Wells Mayor Cllr. Gwyn Davies flagged the cars away from the start outside Strand Hall, as 118 crews headed out for the morning loop of four stages.
Ingram held a slender lead as the cars returned for midday service on the Builth Wells RFC pitch and he extended that advantage when the Llyn Login. Monument, Halfway and Bowlsey stages were repeated in the afternoon.
There were tremendous battles right through the field, with Elliot Payne/Tom Woodburn (Amigos Ford Fiesta Rally2) claiming victory in the Protyre BTRDA Series section, Russ Thompson/Stephen Link (Dunnow Plant Mitsubishi Evo 9) taking home maximum points in the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship and Mark Thomas/Philip Mackay coming out on top in the Defender Rally Series UK Championship.
Mike Brown Jnr (co-driven by his sister Nikola Brown for the first time) was the first Quinton MC driver home in his LB Passive Fire BMW Compact M3, while Geraint Thomas was the club’s top-placed co-driver, having successfully guided Paul Walker (Green Paw Subaru Impreza STI N11).
Russell Thompson and Nick Dobson (Ford Escort Mk2) were joint winners of the ‘Spirit of the Rally – The Autosport Trophy Award’ for their dedication in making the start after separate accidents on their previous events.
2024 Nicky Grist Stages – top 10 overall finishers
1. Chris Ingram/Alex Kihurani (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)….37mins 41.0secs
2. Keith Cronin/Shane Buckley (Ford Fiesta Rally2)….37mins 55.7secs
3. Meirion Evans/Jonathan Jackson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)….38mins 34.4secs
4. Elliot Payne/Patrick Walsh (Ford Fiesta Rally2)….38mins 35.8secs
5. Kyle White/Peredur Davies (Hyundai i20 R5)….39mins 01.9secs
6. Vivian Hamill/Lorcan Moore (Volkswagen Polo GTI R5)….39mins 12.0secs
7. Russ Thompson/Stephen Link (Mitsubishi Evo 9)….40mins 29.4secs
8. Brendan Cumiskey/Martin Connolly (Ford Fiesta Rally3)….41mins 11.3secs
9. James Giddings/Aled Davies (Mitsubishi Evo 9)….41mins 20.3secs
10. Dan O’Brien/Mark Glennerster (Ford Fiesta Rally2)….41mins 29.4secs
© Image by Paul Davies