Pirelli Welsh Junior Champion George Lepley, of Collingham, reflects on testing Cambrian Rally

A rally driver from Collingham has been named as the Pirelli Welsh Junior Champion.

George Lepley travelled to North Wales for the Cambrian Rally in the penultimate round of the British National BTRDA and Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship.

The event was filled with classic Wales Rally GB stages, infamous for the tight and technical stages which are muddy and rough from time to time.

And this year proved to be no different, with the championship battle going down to the wire.

With huge rainfall all week prior to the event, tyre choice proved to be the first challenge to decide on, a big factor for the first morning’s loop of stages.

After starting on Llandudno’s promenade, the first stage was in Gwydyr forest for six miles of twisty and muddy roads for the crews.

Lepley and co-driver Tom Woodburn eluded from the stage third overall, just six seconds off the lead.

“It was challenging,” said Lepley. “I had more grip than I was expecting but some corners were deceiving and they were like ice — it was a real challenge, it was so hard to read the grip levels.”

The next two stages were slightly faster, which looked to suit the Mitsubishi Evo X as the crews tackled the Penmachno and Alwen stages.

A push from Lepley through those stages resulted in a second and third fastest time overall.

“I was pleased with the times,” he said. “It was so hard for us to compete with the R5 and WRC cars with the nature of the stages, but we did and we kept the pressure on.”

A solid outing saw the duo maintain third overall in the rally ahead of the final stage — racing on closed tarmac roads down country lanes.

Speaking after the stage, Lepley said: “Wow, what a stage and it was interesting on those tyres.

“There was not much to gain time-wise, but a lot to lose. It was very slippery on some corners with the cuts and mud on the road. We were pleased to have a clean run.”

The 2021 Cambrian rally finished with another fantastic result for the team, with Lepley and Woodburn taking third in the overall Interclub Rally, third in the Overall Pirelli Welsh Championship and first in the Junior, 1st Class B13 (non R5).

The junior championship also saw Lepley earn a test in a R5 rally car.

“I cannot wait, it is the natural next step in my rallying career so I will be able to learn from the test and utilise the learning in my future, brilliant news.”