Preview of Round 4 : Plains Rally (13th June)
Knutsford & District MC’s Plains Rally – an event steeped in history – returns to both the Protyre Autocare BTRDA Rally Series and the Kingfisher Insurance Motorsport UK English Rally Championship this year. Starting out in the early 1960s as a road event and taking crews over the Cheshire Plains – hence the name – it was a qualifying round of the legendary Motoring News Road Rally Championship from 1968 before moving to the forests in 1976. The last time it featured in the BTRDA Rally Series (2019), it was won by Euan Thorburn / Paul Beaton on their way to becoming Gold Star Champions that year.
So, fast forward to 2026 and Elliot Payne and Patrick Walsh (Fiesta Rally2) arrive in Bala for the pre-event formalities as Fuchs Lubricants BTRDA Gold Star® Rally Championship leaders. Whether they are still in that hallowed position by the end of the day will be determined by a number of factors and not just purely on their own performance – although it can’t be denied that a good result would put them in the ‘pound seats’!
Featured image above is Elliot Payne / Patrick Walsh (Fiesta Rally2) – Fuchs Lubricants BTRDA Gold Star Rally Championship Leaders
Having retired last time out on the Kielder Forest Rally, defending Gold Star Champion Matthew Hirst (Fabia Rally2) is reunited with his winning co-driver from last year, Declan Dear, for the Plains but, as the current Top Six drivers in the points table will all be present, the pair have some catching-up to do! Daniel Sigurðarson / Asta Sigurðadóttir (Fabia RS) were 2nd in Kielder and hold the same position in the table, one point ahead of Russ Thompson / Steve Link (Fiesta), with Alistair Ginley (Skoda RS), Dan O’Brien (Fiesta Rally2) and Pat Naylor / Tom Bishop (Lancer EVO9) all conveniently placed to push their campaigns forward.
Joining Hirst with just one score to their names so far are Liam Clark / Michael Gilbey (Fiesta Rally2) and Ian Bainbridge / Andrew Roughead (Fabia Rally2). With five out of a possible seven scores to count, these three crews still have some wriggle-room but another DNF would result in a requirement for ‘no-fault’ rallying for the remainder of the season if their campaigns are to be deemed successes….
Baz Jordan / Arwel Jenkins’ perseverance with their Mitsubishi Galant is paying off, both in terms of the Protyre Autocare BTRDA Silver Star Rally Championship and BTRDA Historic Cup. Their nearest challenger in each category is the Escort of Bryan Jardine, while Rian Walker / Paul Gribben (Opel Adam R2) are upholding front-wheel drive honours which also sees them ahead of Michael Jenkins (Fiesta R2) in the race for the BTRDA Rallye R2 Cup.
<<<<< Baz Jordan/Arwel Jenkins (Galant) – BTRDA Silver Star & Historic Cup Leaders
Boyd Kershaw and Keegan Rees (Escort Mk2) took top Silver Star honours last time out but that came on top of a DNF on Rally North Wales. Such is the strength of the competition that the top eight cars in the points table have all finished both events so far, leaving the ‘Flying Kiwi’ down in 9th place. Hence, with plenty of scope for improvement and the pair’s proven speed, this must be viewed in terms of a ‘work-in-progress’… Nick Dobson / Phil Sandham’s Escort Mk2 leads Class 6 and is currently just shy of a podium place in Silver Star while Steve ‘Korky’ Ward / John Millington’s Historic spec. version is 5th. Ben Jemison / Adam Burkill started strongly in their quest for BTRDA Historic Cup honours but then their Chevette HSR waited until the final stage in Kielder before throwing its toys out of the pram. So, a reset is now required – not to mention a good result!…
Having opened the season with a ‘win’, defending Fuchs Lubricants BTRDA Bronze Star Rally Champions, Dylan Fowler-Bishop / Dan Evans (Micra), missed the last round but now return to an event that they contested last year, even though it wasn’t a Championship qualifier. However, with the benefit of hindsight (which is always 20/20!), they’d probably have been better staying at home as they rolled into retirement on the opening stage!
Moving swiftly on, Luke Watts / Matt Rogers (MG ZR) currently hold sway in the Bronze Star points table but into the mix this time we also find Ed James / Kevin Lane (Micra Kit Car), Dave &
Freddy Brick (Nova) and Dale Glover / David Smalley (Alfasud TI). Giles Armitage / Josh Rhodes (Peugeot 205) took a well-deserved maximum in the BTRDA Rally First Cup in Kielder and more of the same would be much appreciated by all concerned.
Luke Watts/Matt Rogers (MG ZR) – Fuchs Lubricants BTRDA Bronze Star Championship Leaders >>>>>
Following the Kielder Forest Rally, the Kingfisher Insurance Motorsport UK English Rally Championship has three joint leaders, i.e. all those who scored maximum points in their respective classes. So far, so good, then, for Elliot Payne (Fiesta Rally2), Russ Thompson 
(Fiesta) and Baz Jordan (Galant)…. However, the job gets even tougher now for each of them as repeat performances are required to maintain their positions as ‘Kings of the Castle’! With the top fifteen drivers currently separated by a mere four points, major changes can be expected in the look of the leaderboard throughout the season. At this stage, it’s still perfectly possible for someone to rise up through the ranks, casting the early runners aside as they do so!
<<<<< Russ Thompson/Steve Link (Fiesta) – Joint Leaders of the Kingfisher Insurance English Rally Championship
The Plains Rally features ten special stages, totalling 43 miles, and the first car leaves the start in Bala at 08.00 on Saturday 13th June, returning there for the finish from 16.30.
Full details of the Plains Rally : www.plainsrally.co.uk
All photos © Kevin Money & Malcolm Almond.
Further information on the Protyre Autocare BTRDA Rally Series : www.btrdarally.com
& Kingfisher Insurance MSUK English Rally Championship : www.englishrally.co.uk