Three cars. Three crews. Three strong performances.
Three cars. Three crews. Three strong performances.
2 OCTOBER 2026 12:03
The 2026 season continues to be a busy one for Wales Motorsport, with three of our historic Ford Escorts taking on the challenging Welsh stages in recent events.
From a European Historic Rally Championship podium at Rali Ceredigion, to a National Historic victory and a strong result in a highly competitive Historic field at the Hills Ford Stages, the cars all demonstrated the performance, reliability and preparation that goes into every Wales Motorsport build.
Andy Davies / Owain Davies – Rali Ceredigion: 3rd Overall
Rali Ceredigion delivered a weekend to remember for Andy Davies and co-driver Owain Davies, who brought their Wales Motorsport Ford Escort home in an impressive 3rd overall on the FIA European Historic Rally Championship event.
It was a particularly significant result for Andy, competing on tarmac in the car for the first time and also making the transition to a rear-wheel-drive car.
The weekend was far from straightforward. The team was faced with the challenge of a gearbox change during a short service, completed in less than ten minutes – an outstanding effort from the service crew.
The car also suffered damage to second gear, forcing the crew to adapt their approach and consolidate their position rather than take unnecessary risks. Despite this, Andy and Owain continued to enjoy the stages and produced some spectacular performances where conditions allowed.
For Andy, much of the credit went to the team around him, with Wales Motorsport’s Meirion Evans providing the relentless support required to ensure that both the car and engine were performing at their best.
Alongside him, Owain Davies delivered another outstanding performance on the notes, providing the experience and confidence needed to attack some of the event's demanding stages.
A week later – straight back onto gravel
There was barely time to celebrate before the car had to be converted back from tarmac specification to gravel for the Woodpecker Rally.
Andy and Owain responded with another excellent result, taking:
2nd Historic
2nd 2WD
The pair were involved in a superb battle throughout the day, swapping seconds with the leading historic crews and taking several stage wins along the way.
With just a week between Rali Ceredigion and Woodpecker, the turnaround required a huge effort from the team. Wales Motorsport worked alongside KJ and the service crew to prepare the car and have it ready to compete again at the sharp end of the historic field.
Two rallies. Two podium results. A very productive few days for the car.
Iwan Jones / Nigel Roberts – National Historic Victory
Rali Ceredigion 2026
11th Overall | 1st National Historic
Car 219 – Ford Escort Mk2 Historic BDG
For Iwan Jones and Nigel Roberts, Rali Ceredigion produced another highly successful weekend, bringing their Wales Motorsport-built Ford Escort Mk2 home 11th overall and first in the National Historic category.
Iwan has been adapting to the Wales Motorsport Historic BDG throughout the season and continues to make progress with every event.
The crew found themselves involved in some excellent battles throughout the rally, including a particularly close fight with Gethin Davis during the final day.
With the competition extremely close, the final stage required a measured approach. Rather than risk the result by pushing beyond the limit, Iwan and Nigel brought the car safely to the finish to secure the National Historic victory.
It was a result that rewarded a huge amount of work behind the scenes.
Iwan gave special thanks to Meirion Evans for helping at service and building the car, as well as the team responsible for preparing and running it throughout the weekend.
Hills Ford Stages
The same car was back in action at the Hills Ford Stages, with Iwan Jones and Nigel Roberts once again at the wheel of the Historic BDG Escort.
The crew thanked the entire team for another faultless event, with particular praise for:
- Meirion Evans for the power and the car
- Nigel Swain for preparing the Escort
- Robi Wood and Jac Jones for the service support
The combination of the Wales Motorsport-built Escort and BDG engine continues to provide Iwan with a competitive and reliable package as he gains more experience with the car.
Rhys Morgan / Aled Pennant – Hills Ford Stages
The third Wales Motorsport Escort was piloted by Rhys Morgan and Aled Pennant at the Hills Ford Stages.
The crew completed the rally in:
60th Overall | 9th Historic
In what was described as a particularly competitive Historic class, Rhys and Aled enjoyed a strong day's competition and brought the car to the finish.
Rhys was quick to praise co-driver Aled Pennant for his excellent work on the notes, while the wider team also played its part, with Llion Williams and Arwel Thomas on the spanners and window-cleaning duties.
Most importantly from a Wales Motorsport perspective, Rhys described the car provided by Meirion Evans as faultless.
For a driver continuing to build experience in a very competitive Historic field, a top-ten Historic finish represents another positive step.
As Rhys himself put it, perhaps the next step is simply finding a little more courage to keep the right foot down for longer!
Built to Compete
Three cars, three different crews and three very different rally stories – but one common theme: reliable, competitive Wales Motorsport machinery.
From the high-speed tarmac stages of Rali Ceredigion to the demands of gravel rallying, these Escorts are built to perform.
Behind every result is a huge amount of preparation, engineering and service work. Engines, gearboxes, axles, suspension and every other component have to perform under some of the toughest conditions in motorsport.
The results from Rali Ceredigion and the Hills Ford Stages are a great reflection of the commitment of the drivers, co-drivers and service crews – and of the performance of the Wales Motorsport cars and engines.
A huge congratulations to Andy & Owain, Iwan & Nigel, and Rhys & Aled, and thank you to everyone involved in preparing, running and supporting the cars.
With more events ahead, we're looking forward to seeing where these Escorts go next.
Wales Motorsport – building and preparing historic rally cars and engines for competition.
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