Nicky Grist Stages – Saturday 11th July 2026

A hot and dusty day looks to be in prospect for our West Wales Rally Spares Stage Masters contenders competing on the Nicky Grist Stages. The rally will be using some NRW forestry stages and also MOD gravel roads including the infamous Route 60 stage albeit a slightly shorter version this year. The rally will begin with scrutineering in Builth Wells on the Friday afternoon with the competitive mileage on the Saturday.

A strong contingent has entered the Grist and will be led by Nick Elliott and Dave Price in the glorious Fiat 131. They should top the time sheets but Rudi Lancaster won’t be far behind and will be there to take advantage in the Woolacombe Bay Escort RS1800 should Elliott and Price slip up. Mike Simpson and Ian Jones will also be in the same class in their Escort and Mike could go well on roads that he knows quite well. Also in the class is Rob Latham who could throw up a surprise, previous outings have indicated that there is serious potential for a good result, he is also Escort mounted. Charles Hopkinson and Alan Jones round out class D5 in their RS1800 and they will be rusty for their first foray into Stage Masters this year but always go consistently well.

Gary Smith will want to stamp his authority on class C5 in his RS1600 but similarly mounted Dave Hopkins and Siobhan Pugh will be very keen to get the jump on him. This could be the battle of the rally with Dave taking it seriously with a pre event test to get him in the mood! Jeremy Wells is also in the class in his RS1600 and will be around to take advantage should either of the other crews hit trouble.

Paul Holmes and Liz Beesley are Challenge leaders at present but with a lack of Pinto powered Escorts out competing they are now receiving reduced scores in line with the Challenge regulations. They will however do their best as always and enjoy a day out in the Welsh countryside albeit in a hot and dusty car! Ricky Evans wheels out his E4 Peugeot 205 again but has as yet not nominated a co-driver. Jon Adams and James Wardle will be hoping for a clean run in their 1600cc Escort, luck has not always been on their side. And rounding off our contenders, Bob Clarke and Jane Edgington bravely tackle the stages in their Mini. It is not Bob’s first attempt at the event so he will know what to expect!

All photos: Ben Lawrence