Last year’s winners Elliot Payne and Patrick Walsh will lead a formidable field away from Newtown on Saturday morning [12 September] as the Britpart Woodpecker Stages returns with a spectacular new-look route for 2026.
Starting from Newtown and heading into the Cwmysgawen and Radnor Forest complexes, the compact event promises a fiercely competitive day of gravel rallying, with an impressive line-up of contenders set to battle for victory and the chance to add their names to a roll of honour stretching back to the early 1980s.
Payne arrives at the Woodpecker with plenty of momentum, having contested this year’s British Rally Championship in his Ford Fiesta Rally2. The three-time BTRDA Rally Champion will, however, have none of the championship pressures that accompany his BRC campaign when he lines up in Newtown, allowing him to focus solely on defending his Woodpecker crown alongside Walsh.
Standing in his way will be one of the most successful crews in Welsh rallying, with five-time Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship title holders Matt Hirst and Declan Dear bringing their Skoda Fabia to the fight.
Hirst is chasing a sixth Welsh Championship crown this season and will be determined to add another Woodpecker victory to his impressive record, but he faces some serious competition from a field packed with Rally2 machinery and experienced gravel specialists.
Ollie Mellors is arguably the driver with the strongest Woodpecker pedigree in the field. A winner of the event in 2019 and again in 2024, Mellors is the rally’s most decorated current driver and returns once again in his distinctive Proton Iriz R5, with Ian Windress alongside.
The international flavour of this year’s entry is further strengthened by the arrival of Irish crew David Kelly and Shane Buckley, who make the journey across the Irish Sea in a Skoda Fabia Rally2 for what will be a rare gravel outing. They will be joined by Icelandic pairing Daniel and Asta Sigurðarson, adding another international dimension to an already impressive field.
Another name attracting plenty of attention will be Rhys Yates, who makes his return to competitive rallying after several years away from the sport. The former WRC2 and British Rally Championship contender will pilot a Ford Fiesta Rally2 with Dale Bowen alongside, bringing considerable experience back to the Welsh forests.
James Wilson and Paul Mulholland will also make the trip across the Irish Sea, while Russ Thompson, Alistair Ginley and Dan O’Brien complete a strong top ten, all three crews competing in Ford Fiestas.
With the field assembled, the drivers will face one of the most anticipated Woodpecker routes for several years.
The return of the legendary Radnor Forest complex is the headline attraction for 2026, bringing back some of Wales’ most celebrated gravel roads after an absence of several years.
Fast, flowing and technically demanding, the Radnor stages have developed an almost mythical reputation among forest rally competitors, while the inclusion of Cwmysgawen provides a contrasting test and ensures crews will have little opportunity to settle into a comfortable rhythm.
The rally has been deliberately designed as a compact event, with almost all of the competitive mileage concentrated around the same forest complex. Eight special stages will cover more than 38 competitive miles, while liaison mileage has been reduced to less than 80 road miles. The event is a round of the Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship and West Wales Rally Spares HRCR Stage Masters.
Following Friday’s pre-event scrutineering and documentation at Britpart’s headquarters in Newtown, Saturday’s action will begin with the rally start before crews head directly to Cwmysgawen.
They will then enter Radnor Forest for three further special stages before returning to Badlands Farm nearby for service. The morning loop will be repeated during the afternoon, with the rally concluding at Badlands Farm after eight stages of competition.