Pitstop Garage Dixies Challenge 2026

The annual visit to Epynt for our West Wales Rally Spares Stage Masters contenders usually throws in a few curved balls but this year there were many more than expected. With the rally being the first round of the Metric Services (Leicester) Ltd. Asphalt Cup we were joined by a number of new contenders. The rally uses short sharp stages at the southern end of the Epynt ranges which are used in a loop system with 2 stages per loop which are repeated before being turned around and a final reconfiguration to give a sting in the tail. To add to the day the weather became extremely unpredictable in the afternoon and caused problems for many crews.

Before the start we lost John Morgan and Llinos Jones Edwards to the dark side when their ZF gearbox didn’t appear in time necessitating a change to a sequential ‘box in their Escort RS1800. This meant that newcomers Sebastian Ling and Aled Rees were top Challenge seeds in their Escort and they didn’t disappoint as they dominated the class to take maximum points and fifth overall. Seb was also presented with the Exol Oil award for such an outstanding drive ably assisted by Aled. Mike Simpson and Ian Jones were running very well in their Escort RS1800 and looked to be heading for second in the class when disaster struck on stage 7 when the heavens opened and biblical amounts of rain fell on the stages. Unfortunately the drainage couldn’t cope and on the flying finish of the stage four cars aquaplaned into the hinterland. Mike and Ian were one of those and despite little or no damage they were unable to regain the road. Disaster struck for Roger Holder too, he had been gently acclimatising to a recently acquired RS1800 and all was going well until the wipers failed when the rain was at its worst. With a trip to Antibes next it was decided not to risk damaging the car.

Seb Ling & Aled Rees were in fine form

In the other classes there were crews who serenely sailed through all the hazards but also some who didn’t. Some were luckier than others of course so read on! Dave Hopkins and Siobhan Pugh (C5) had a relatively good day in the Escort RS1600, Dave had never competed on Epynt or tarmac before so a steady learning day was planned with no heroics. This they succeeded in doing, the only blip being Siobhan unusually suffering a little car sickness. Paul Holmes and Liz Beesley managed to get an entry this year and enjoyed the stages but not the hectic schedule in between, it was nothing like the last time Paul competed on Epynt in 1978 in a ford 100E with Albert Webber! Their day was not without incident either as they were first on scene when another competing crew inverted their car and had to stop to alert the medical services via the in car tracker.

Clive King & Anton Bird humbled many more powerful cars with an outstanding drive

In class B2 Clive King and Anton Bird had a fine run to take maximum points and also finished a fine 27th overall, no mean feat in a Mini. Shane Gamble took the runner up slot despite having an issue when the alternator bracket made a bid for freedom via a water hose and the newly painted fibreglass bonnet! It was good too to see Steve Powell’s Hillman Avenger, he had a trouble free day and took first in the C2 class. Steve has a busy year as he is also competing in HRCR road rallies which takes him all over the country. Craig King and Kevin Hogan (who seems to be playing musical seats this year) were going nicely in their Mini until a wiring fire which made the car cut out. After a while the car just started again and despite being left out of the results initially they were classified as finishers and claiming valuable C2 points. Joining the the retirement list were Eric Davis and Russ Joseph who would have no luck at all if they didn’t have bad luck, the gearbox crying enough in their C2 Mini Clubman at the end of special stage 3. Epynt certainly took its toll this year and now there is the long haul north for the Dunoon presents Argyll Rally.