Four local crews made the long trip to the picturesque North Wales coastal town of Llandudno recently, for the Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally 2018.

The event was the opening round of both BTRDA and Welsh championship and attracted just 104 starters - long gone are the days when the traditional opening round for many years at the Wyedean Stages regularly attracted 180 starters.

However, the entry was high on quality, especially at the sharp end, for the 43 competitive miles in the classic Penmachno and Clocaenog forestry complexes.

Ross Motor Club’s Will Rogers also teamed up with Group N front runner Tom Naughton for the first time - the Bury based businessman making a return to the sport after a sabbatical in his usual Lancer Evo 9.

The duo got off to a solid start to hold 10th overall and 2nd in Group N after stage two, just four seconds off early class leader Russ Thompson, but a loose turbo pipe on the next test in Crafnant cost them 20 seconds and they dropped to third in Group N at service.

After taking a few seconds back on their rivals in stage four Alwen, they returned for a re-run of Penmachno South, which was now very rough, and brought an end to their rally when they cut a left hand bend a bit tight, hit a rut that sent them across the road and off into the undergrowth, luckily without any real damage.

Will said: “It was a bit disappointing to slide off but the state of the roads were not good. It’s not the thing you’d expect on a national championship event to be honest.”

Another former Group N front runner, Sacha Kakad, switched to a new Ford Fiesta R5 together with regular co-driver James Aldridge. The Westbased backed car had an event to forget, when starting motor issues brought retirement before they got to the stages.

Kakad commenting before the start said that “it will take me a while to get used to the new car.”

Scott Partridge had a new co-driver in the shape of Beverley Mace in their Subaru Impreza and finished 51st overall & 11th in class.

James Dunkley was another with a new co-driver in Paul Barbet in the Jim Dunkley Auto Services backed Vauxhall Corsa, finishing 67th, 13th in class.

James said: “Really pleased to see the finish, great stages, but so rough and rutted especially second time through. The car took a hammering today.”

The event was won by the new Proton Iziz R5 of Ollie Mellors and Max Freeman, just six seconds ahead of the Focus WRC of Paul Bird and Jack Morton.

The championship resumes in two weeks time in the twisty flowing forests of the Lake District for the Malcolm Wilson Rally.