Rally Archive
Rali Mynydd Du
Sponsored by CW Autobody Repairs + South Wales Campers
Amman & District Motor Club
30th November/1st December 2024
Winners: Christopher Williams/Mark Kehrein (Citroen C2)
Photograph: © Alun Rees Photography
Organiser: Amman & District Motor Club
Date: 30th November/1st December 2024
Clerk of the Course: Richard Thomas & Seyyan John
Route: 100 Miles (Map 146 159 160 & 170)
Base: Pontardawe
Starters: 51
Fifty-one cars took the start of the Rali Mynydd Du, the entry having been cut by a number of late withdrawals and by one car failing the noise test and another refused a scrutineering pass as a result of an unsecured roll cage.
There was a demanding 100 mile route, although there were fewer controls than the average Welsh road rally. The meat of the action being in the lanes to the south and west of Llandovery. Conditions were tricky, with torrential rain showers making the going difficult for competitors and, especially, marshals.
From the Ponterdawe start, cars passed through Cyldach to the beginning of the first section at Rhyd-y-gwin. There were three TCs before the end of the sector, which was at Pwllfawatkin.
From SS1 to TC1 was an easy run up the moorland road to Tor Clawdd and then down to Ty Uchaf Cwm. It was easily cleanable, but a number of crews gained penalties after misreading the time card, where the target time was against the start control, rather than, as usual, the end control. The navigators in question, took four minutes rather than six to be the target and booked in two minutes early. Both Lynn Jones/Michael Hardwick (Peugeot 206) and Mike Parker/Nicky Yates (Ford Escort) were amongst those that opened their penalty account with four unnecessary minutes.
These matters were immaterial to two of the leading runners, who retired at this early stage. Top seeds Sam Ducroq/Rhys Jones (Citroen Saxo) went out with a failed gearbox, while a blown top hose added Rob Tout/Dean Wiltshire (Ford Escort) to the retirement list.
The route to TC2 and then to TC3 was much tighter, taking in the lanes just north of Pontardawe. Bleddyn Thomas/Sam Weller (Ford Escort) were the only car clean at TC2 and maintained their advantage at TC3, however they then dropped a minute at SF1, which all the other leading runners cleaned; this meant that they fell to seventh place.
At the end of the opening section, Christopher Williams/Mark Kehrein (Citroen C2) led, but, in a close contest, they were only three seconds ahead of Ricky Reynolds/Hefin Jenkins (BMW E30) and five seconds in front of Aaron Jones/Justin Davies (Citroen Xsara).
The second section skirted the western edge of the eponymous Black Mountains, but caused no problems for most crews, who cleaned it.
The third section started near Pont Newydd, passed through Llandeusant to a tricky section around the Red Kite Feeding Centre at Talsarn. The route then went via Myddfai to finish just south west of Llandovery. There were four TCs, plus the finish control.
At the start of the section Nick Evans/Ian Taylor (Toyota Corolla), who had been in sixth place, picked up a fail for booking in a minute early at RS3.
Everyone dropped time at TC5, at Talsarn, and at TC7, which was near Olchfa. This meant that at Petrol, which was taken at Llandovery, Williams/Kehrein had increased their lead to a healthy 54 seconds. Reynolds/Jenkins were in second, 25 seconds ahead of third placed Curtis Evans/Nathan Summers (Vauxhall Corsa), the latter crew were just two seconds in front of Jones/Davies.
The second half opened at Llwyn-y-brain, just off the main road to Llandeilo. The longest section of the night ran through Mount Pleasant, Wern, Porthyrhyd, Mynydd Llansadwrn, Halfway, Bancylan and Glandulais before finishing at Manordeilo. There were 8 TCs before the finish of the section, six were timed to the second.
Williams/Kehrein emerged with an extended lead; they were now just over two minutes ahead of Reynolds/Jenkins and Jones/Davies. This was largely down to the leaders being clean at TC13, which was timed to the minute - their nearest rivals both dropped a minute here. Jones/Davies may have been closer to the winning pace but for the fact that the navigator was suffering severely from mal-de-nav; valiantly he continued despite being sick several times.
Evans/Summers, who had been in third, fell down the leader board after missing a route check; without the resultant fail they would have finished in fourth place.
The quickest pairing at this point was Craig Harries/Jamie Clifford-Jones (Mazda MX5), they dropped the least time of any crew over the second half, but had lost five minutes on the cleanable opening run to TC1 when a tyre had come off its rim at the first spectator point. Their performance in the latter stages propelled them up the leader board and they finished in sixth place and won the Semi-Expert Class.
The final section opened with a tight loop around Cefn-y-coed Common, with a TC, timed to the second, after it. The top two crews both arrived at TC16 on time, but Jones/Davies dropped over a minute.
The section continued with a long run down and through Llandyfan to finish at Twynmynydd. Almost all competitors cleaned this 24 minute section. This meant that Williams/Kehrein came through to claim a dominant win, with Reynolds/Jenkins equally secure in the runner up spot. Jones/Davies survived to claim the final podium place. Thomas/Weller climbed up from eighth at Petrol to take fourth place overall in front of fifth placed Rhydian Jones/Darren Jones (Peugeot 206).
There was a close fight for the win in the well supported Novice Class; Mark Powell/Jordan Burrow (Mazda MX5) finished just eight seconds ahead of Danny Williams/Eilir Williams (Ford Focus), while Rhys Jones/Iestyn Jones (Nissan Micra) were 45 seconds further back. These top three Novices finished just outside the top ten.
Out of the 102 competitors who started the Mynydd Du, 100 were male, unfortunately neither of the two female participants were amongst the finishers, so the Mixed Crew Award went unclaimed.
RESULTS
- Overall Positions
- Award Winners
- Class Positions
- Time Penalty Details
- Fail Penalties
- Overall Positions at MC2
- Non-Finishers
- List of Starters