Preview of Round 5 : Nicky Grist Stages (11th July)
For the past three years, the highest-placed BTRDA-registered finishers on the Nicky Grist Stages, the fifth round of the 2026 Protyre Autocare BTRDA Rally Series, have gone on to take the Gold Star crown! Matthew Hirst / Declan Dear (Fabia R2) were victorious last year while Elliot Payne (Fiesta Rally2) won the title in 2024 with Patrick Walsh and Tom Woodburn the previous year. As Hirst / Dear and Payne / Walsh head for Builth Wells, it is the latter who currently hold sway, having taken maximum Fuchs Lubricants Gold Star Championship points on each of the last three events.
The featured image (above) is Russ Thompson and Steve Link – Joint leaders of the Kingfisher Insurance Motorsport UK English Rally Championship
With four events – including the Nicky Grist – still to run, there is no call on the ‘fat lady’ to sing just yet but, should Payne / Walsh’s run of success continue, she’d be well advised to start rehearsing! Hirst has one DNF on his scorecard but, with everyone’s five best scores from seven to count, there’s still time to mount a successful title defence. However, it has to be said that a ‘win’ here would help the job along considerably…
Following a string of good results – including 2nd O/A in Kielder, just three seconds behind the winners – Daniel Sigurðarson and Asta Sigurðadóttir (Fabia RS) currently occupy runners-up spot in the points, marginally ahead of a resurgent Russ Thompson and Steve Link in their Class 2 Fiesta. Alistair Ginley (Skoda RS), Dan O’Brien and Trevor Gamble / Chris Davies (both Fiesta Rally2s) have all seen the finish of each event so far, with their consistency rewarded with 4th, 5th and 6th places respectively. 2022 BTRDA Bronze Star Champions Pete Gorst and Mark Twiname have swopped their all-conquering Nova for a Lancer EVO9 and are Thompson / Link’s closest challengers in Class 2. Fellow Mitsubishi pilots Pat Naylor / Tom Bishop & Geoff Smith / Joe Dunn each have one DNF but, as mentioned before, there’s still plenty of time for them to recoup their losses.
Having led both the Protyre Autocare BTRDA Silver Star® Championship and the BTRDA Historic Cup in the early stages of the season, Baz Jordan and Arwel Jenkins’ (Galant VR4) 
absence from the Plains Rally allowed Rian Walker / Paul Gribben (Adam R2) and Steve ‘Korky’ Ward / John Millington (Escort Mk2) to overhaul them in the Silver Star table and the latter to assume command of the Historics.
<<< Rian Walker/Paul Gribben (Adam R2) – BTRDA Silver Star and Rallye R2 Cup Leaders
2015 Silver Star Champion – and runner-up by a single point in 2023! – Boyd Kershaw and co-driver Keegan Rees (Escort Mk2) started their campaign with a retirement on Rally North Wales. Notwithstanding, ‘wins’ on both the subsequent Kielder Forest and Plains Rallies have catapulted the ‘Flying Kiwi’ into 3rd place from only two scores! Meanwhile, long-term absentee Max Utting (Fiesta ST150), who returned for the Plains and came away with 2nd place points, also features in the strong field….
Ben Jemison / Adam Burkill (Chevette HSR) took top BTRDA Historic Cup honours last time out but a non-finish in Kielder is currently holding them back. Similarly, Bryan Jardine’s Escort – runner-up to Jordan’s Galant on both Rally North Wales and Kielder – spat its dummy out on the Plains and, hence, an element of catching-up is now required…
Rian Walker / Paul Gribben (Adam R2) lead both the BTRDA Rallye R2 & R2 Junior Cups but the similar car of Oliver Phillips / Barry Young, which beat them on Rally North Wales before retiring in Kielder and subsequently missing the Plains, and Michael Jenkins (Fiesta), the ‘winner’ last time out, will both be present in Builth Wells as they all attempt to further their respective claims to the title.
While defending Fuchs Lubricants BTRDA Bronze Star® Champions, Dylan Fowler-Bishop and Dan Evans (Micra) missed the Kielder Forest Rally and title winners in 2023/24, Nigel & 
Kaz Jenkins (Nova), didn’t begin their current campaign until the Plains, Luke Watts / Matt Rogers (MG ZR) have been quietly going about their business. Aided, in no small way, by a maximum score in Kielder, they start the Nicky Grist as Bronze Star leaders and it’s not unreasonable to assume that they’d still like to be in that position at the end of the day. Indeed, as the only crew in the category to have, thus far, maintained a 100% finishing record, another one would virtually guarantee their wish!…
Luke Watts / Matt Rogers (MG ZR) – Fuchs Lubricants BTRDA Bronze Star Championship Leaders >>>
Dale Glover / David Smalley (Alfasud TI) opened their scoring on the Plains but, having retired from the same event, Ed James / Kevin Lane (Micra Kit Car) would now like to move forward in similar fashion!
The Kingfisher Insurance Motorsport UK English Rally Championship makes a cross-border sortie on this occasion to include the Nicky Grist Stages and give joint leaders of the drivers table, Russ Thompson (Fiesta) and Elliot Payne (Fiesta Rally2) another chance to assert their authority and claim top spot for themselves. Nevertheless, it’s worth noting once more that, should anything go awry with either of their respective challenges, the scoring is currently so close that maximum points from any of the next 16 drivers in the table would considerably alter the leaderboard’s perspective! This is especially relevant to those at the tail end of the cluster – Baz Jordan (Galant VR4), Dylan Fowler-Bishop (Micra) and Max Utting (Fiesta ST 150) have each 
registered one maximum score and one ‘did not start’. As they all feature in the Nicky Grist entry list, should any / all of them finish the day with another ‘first in class’, they’ll then have a couple of months to prepare themselves for the second half of the season which culminates on the Grizedale Stages in early December.
<<< Baz Jordan / Arwel Jenkins (Mitsubishi Galant VR4)
SPECTATORS: The first car leaves the start in Builth Wells at 8.30am on Saturday 11th July and, having completed eight stages totalling 44 miles, is due to return at 3.30pm. Full details can be found at : http://www.nickygriststages.co.uk/spectators/
All photos © Kevin Money / Malcolm Almond
Further information on the 2026 Protyre Autocare BTRDA Rally Series: www.btrdarally.com
AH