Nicky Grist Stages has won the prestigious Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship’s ‘Rally of the Year’ award, as voted for by registered competitors.

The Speedsports Shield was presented to event organisers Quinton Motor Club at the annual Welsh Association of Motor Clubs gala prize giving.

Based in the centre of Builth Wells, with a ceremonial start on Strand Street, the service area on the Builth Wells RFC pitch, a champagne podium finish on the banks of the River Wye and gravel stages in the nearby forests of Llyn Login, Monument, Halfway and Crychan (allowing for minimal road mileage), the Nicky Grist Stages is a well-established and much liked round of the Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship – attracting one of the biggest championship entries of the season.

“The Nicky Grist Stages is one of those events you see in the calendar and can’t wait for it to come around,” says triple and reigning Pirelli Welsh Rally Champion Matthew Hirst.

“Crychan has a more traditional Welsh forest stage feel to it, with quite a few junctions and a nice flow.

“It’s also got some technical narrow bits under the trees which can bite. I find it helps to have some good pace notes and previous experience of Crychan – me and Dec [Declan Dear, co-driver] try to spend some extra time on the notes in here.

“Halfway is a stage of two parts. The first section of the stage runs through a quarry which is quite wide, giving you confidence to move the car around and use all the space available.

“The stage then moves onto a stunning hillside section – at least to look at in photographs, less so as a crew focusing on the drop on the outside!

“Still, what a pleasure Halfway is to drive at speed, right on the edge at points, it can feel a bit like being on a downhill ski slope. One corner just flows into the next and you can push properly hard all the way to the finish.

“The last stage; Monument was a highlight for me last year. We were fastest through here on both runs by a decent chunk. There are a few corners where you can take some interesting lines.

“We had a great battle with Elliot Payne for the overall rally win on last year’s event.

“Fair play to him, he was on some pace and took the win by eight seconds. This didn’t detract from the day, and I’m thoroughly looking forward to 2024’s running of the event.”