November 2, 2022
Oliver Solberg wins the final British Rally Championship round
A thrilling Visit Conwy Cambrian rally last weekend saw Oliver Solberg back in the Welsh forests, run by Melvyn Evans Motorsport in Osian Pryce's British Rally Championship winning R5. Oliver commented, "That was fantastic fun in a great car and on amazing stages - and I had the biggest smile in a long time. Big thanks to my team and partners, Monster Energy and HTB Racing, for making it all possible!"
Photo of the rally winners thanks to the British Rally Championship
The second year of our partnership with the Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally celebrated another fantastic event and a fitting end to the BRC rally season, with over 20 competitors from across the field joining with 15 organisers vehicles supporting the event's environmental plan.
The event however would prove to be one of mixed fortunes for our event ambassadors.
There was bad luck for regular BRC competitor and CPM brand ambassador Garry Pearson and Dale Furniss, as their final event of the season ended with a broken steering arm on SS6, Penmachno.
The crew had started the event in the best way possible, leading overall after the first stage, and competing for the BRC lead throughout the event until their retirement. Although disappointed, Garry was happy that they could end the season with increasing competitiveness as they reverted to their familiar Skoda Fabia, saying "After a superb start to the event it's a bitter pill to swallow, but we will be back - and back stronger. Thank you to everyone for their support this year! - it's carried us through the entire season."
Fellow CPM ambassador Jason Mitchell and Paddy McCrudden were also competing on the National event in their Greenville Group/Carbon Positive Motorsport Fiesta Rally2, but also suffered a retirement after a competitive performance. The team had hoped to continue their record of several podium finishes in recent months.
Jason Mitchell unfortunately only made it to SS9
It was left to Matthew Jackson and Sasha Heriot to reach the finish line in their debut in a Bowler Land Rover Defender, albeit running as car 0 and opening the event which meant no overall classification. However it was an event and an experience that they greatly enjoyed, with Matthew commenting, "What a weekend, an incredible atmosphere, so many people lining the stages, it was a joy to see so many waves and cheers on the way past."
Photo of MatthewJackson and Sasha Heriot thanks to Matthew Jackson.
As well as the final BRC round, the rally was also the final round of the 2022 Pirelli Ravenol Welsh Rally Championship, which was won by Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear. The Fiesta R5 crew won the Interclub event, which also secured them 2nd place in the 2022 BTRDA Rally Championship.
Photo of Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear thanks to Declan Dear Motorsport.
Carbon Positive Motorsport worked with last weekend's Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally to help mitigate the event's environmental impact for the second year. Director Steve Smith attended the event: "It was a wonderful event once again, and it was great to have the chance to speak with our ambassadors and the many people involved with Carbon Positive Motorsport. We always take feedback on how we can make our offer even better for the 2023 season for UK events and internationally. We learned a lot from this event and we're always keen to further improve what we do for the benefit of the sport and our customers."
Founder Paul Glass said, "Congratulations to North Wales Car Club on an excellent Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally. We would like to say a big thank you - although Carbon Positive Motorsport has worked together with many events this year, Alyn Edwards and the event organisers were amongst the very first to encourage us and to work with us last year.
Dai Roberts/James Williams supporting the rally's bid to reduce their carbon footprint
"We would also like to thank all competitors who decided to support the event's environmental plans. We have a long way to go as a sport - but taking these first steps is always the hardest part. We hope to work even more closely with the Cambrian team next year."
Photo of Matt Edwards thanks to BBC.
In a BBC Wales interview that included our ambassador Matt Edwards, triple British Rally Champion, and Meirion Evans from Melvyn Evans Motorsport who run 2022 BRC Champion and ambassador Osian Pryce, the event received positive exposure on its environmental actions and the inclusion of Carbon Offsetting as part of that plan.
The BBC Wales Interview really highlighted how the sport and events can benefit from using Carbon Positive Motorsport's end to end carbon offsetting package. Paul Glass commented, "We are really starting to see after several events just how much positive interest and coverage is coming from the public media towards the sport, which shows the benefits of working with the high-quality carbon offsetting projects we use. This is really great news for the events working with us and is creating a more positive perception of the sport. We are looking forward to building on this and working with more events during 2023."
You can read more about the rally's involvement with Carbon Positive Motorsport and the efforts they are making to mitigate their carbon footprint in this BBC News article
Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally 2022 National Top 5 Results:
1 Oliver Solberg/Craig Drew VW Polo GTI R5
2 Ruairi Bell/Max Freeman Škoda Fabia R5 +1:51.8
3 Eamonn Kelly/Conor Mohan VW Polo R5 +3:00.5
4 Hugh Hunter/Rob Fagg Ford Fiesta Rally2 +4:31.3
5 James Williams/Dai Roberts Hyundai i20 R5 +5:50.1
Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally 2022 Interclub Top 10 Results:
1 Matthew Hirst/Declan Dear Ford Fiesta R5
2 Elliot Payne/Patrick Walsh Ford Fiesta Rally2 +53.3
3 Niall Devine/Peredur Davies Ford Fiesta R5 +2:39.5
4 Rob Wilson/Richard Morton Crozier Mitsubishi Evo VII +2:41.3
5 Russ Thompson/Stephen Link Mitsubishi Evo 9 +2:50.1
6 James Giddings/Aled Davies Mitsubishi Evo 9 +3:13.0
7 Eddie Lewis/Sion Cunniff Ford Fiesta R5 +3:52.5
8 Roger Duckworth/Mark Broomfield Ford Fiesta R5 +4:47.3
9 John Caine/Andrew Sankey Subaru Impreza +5:05.8
10 Bob Morgan/Ade Williams Škoda Fabia R5 +6:03.9
It only costs a little to make a big difference for the sport, so whether you're a competitor or spectator, why not join with us to help make motorsport sustainable.
To become Carbon Positive yourself, visit our website www.carbonpositivemotorsport.com
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