Elliot Payne and Patrick Walsh made it back-to-back Britpart Woodpecker Stages victories on Saturday, but had to fight all the way to the finish to claim a hard-earned win over late entrant Mark Donnelly and Martin Brady.
Payne made a last-minute switch from his usual Ford Fiesta Rally2 to a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 for the Newtown-based event, and the change proved a successful one as he eventually emerged from an absorbing battle with the Irishman to take victory by just 12 seconds.
Donnelly, making a late decision to contest the Woodpecker, immediately showed that he had no intention of simply making up the numbers. He set the pace on the opening Cwmysgawen test, edging Payne by a single second before the defending champion hit back on the first run through Radnor Forest to take the lead.
The battle continued to swing from one crew to the other. Donnelly responded by going fastest on the third stage to reclaim top spot, before Payne struck back on the shortest test of the rally, gaining eight seconds to establish a lead heading into the halfway service halt.
With more than 38 competitive miles packed into just eight stages, there was little room for either crew to relax, and the returning Radnor Forest stages provided a suitably demanding backdrop to the contest.
The afternoon brought another challenge as heavy but sporadic rain swept across the forests, while thick fog descended over the hills. Payne, however, was increasingly comfortable in his new Skoda and produced back-to-back fastest times through the opening two afternoon stages to strengthen his advantage.
The Yorkshireman maintained his composure through the final stages to secure his second successive Woodpecker victory, with Donnelly and Brady rewarded with an impressive second place after their late decision to make the trip across the Irish Sea.
Rhys Yates completed an impressive podium on his return to Rally2 machinery. Contesting his first event in a Rally2 car since 2024, the former WRC2 and British Rally Championship contender was never outside the top five on stage times throughout the day, and briefly climbed as high as second after the opening test.
Yates and co-driver Dale Bowen gradually found their rhythm in the M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2 and produced the consistency required to claim third, marking a highly encouraging return to competitive rallying.
Daniel and Asta Sigurðarson enjoyed a strong day on their visit to the Woodpecker, bringing their Skoda Fabia Rally2 home fourth after a series of confident stage performances.
Two-time Woodpecker winner Ollie Mellors and co-driver Ian Windress completed the top five in his Proton Iriz R5. With limited recent gravel mileage in the Proton, Mellors had to settle for fifth this time around, having previously taken victory in 2019 and 2024.
Behind the leading Rally2 crews, the Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship battle provided plenty of its own drama.
Russ Thompson and Stephen Link emerged victorious in their Ford Fiesta Proto to take maximum championship points on round five of the Welsh Championship. The pair moved into the lead with just two stages remaining after James Wilson and Paul Mulholland slid off the road in their Skoda Fabia Rally2.
Wilson was able to recover and complete the rally, but the incident cost him more than a minute and dropped him behind both Thompson and the Skoda Fabia of Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear.
Hirst and Dear had been expected to be among the leading contenders for both overall and Welsh Championship honours, but their challenge was compromised early on by a power steering failure, which cost the five-time Welsh champions significant time through the morning stages.
Full reuslts available at: https://results.djames.org.uk/results/event_stage_select.php?EventID=765&Combined=Stage+%26+Overall