OSIAN Pryce put himself back into contention for a second Probite British Rally Championship title after a sensational win at the second round of the season, the Rallynuts Severn Valley Stages on Saturday.

The Machynlleth star would give co-driver and best friend Rhodri Evans his very first overall rally win with a storming drive in his Michelin-shod Ford Fiesta Rally2, overhauling early rally leader Chris Ingram to take victory by 20 seconds from William Creighton’s similar machine.

Ingram rounded out the podium in his Volkswagen Polo GTi, blowing the title race wide open with two different victors in as many rounds.

Once again, the BRC attracted a star-studded and sell-out entry list as over 62 miles of world-class stages offered up the perfect battleground for some of the best drivers in the business with the 50th edition based in Llandrindod Wells.

County Times: Osian Pryce in Rallynuts Stages action.Osian Pryce in Rallynuts Stages action. Picture: BRC.

With iconic tests such as Myherin and Hafren Sweet Lamb in store, the longer afternoon stages, rain and thick mist re-created a sense of Wales Rally GB fever for the thousands of fans who lined the stages.

Just to hammer home his authority on the Welsh stages, Pryce set the scratch time on the seventh and final stage of the event, to take his first BRC victory since Rally Yorkshire in 2022.

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“It’s a big relief, I’m so happy to get the win today. We had a dodgy couple of stages at the end, and to be honest, it was so slippy, but I drove at a pace where I was comfortable,” said Pryce.

“I did lose some time, which in the end wasn’t too bad, but we certainly had some hairy moments just trying to keep it on the road. Credit to everyone who’s got me here. Top job from Rhodri today too, that's his first-ever win!

“I`m pleased we bounced back from our North West disappointment and now we move forward to the Jim Clark which is an event I really enjoy.”

Making his British rallying debut and embarking on his first competitive gravel outing, Jos Verstappen made the trip to Wales to sample the BRC in his Skoda Fabia R2 Rally2. With co-driver Renaud Jamoul alongside, the father of F1 superstar Max enjoyed his outing, despite the difficult conditions.

“We previously tested on gravel, or actually on sand, in the south of France” explained Verstappen.

“We really liked it, so started to look for a nice place for a rally on gravel, which is why we did the Rallynuts Severn Valley Stages. It was really difficult, but I enjoyed it. It was incredibly foggy during the first stages. Fortunately, the notes we had were good, but we had to build it up because we had never driven here before. It was a completely new challenge, totally different than what I am used to. But we went for it, and it was great.”

County Times: Jos Verstappen in action.Jos Verstappen in action. Picture: BRC.

Matthew Hirst/Declan Dear put in another stunning performance in their Delta Salvage/Witham Motorsport Ford Fiesta R5 to score maximum Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship points.

Such was the pace of the defending champions that they would have finished sixth overall in the British Rally Championship section, despite having to alter their driving style to overcome an engine misfire during the long afternoon loop of stages.

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Ashley Francis Adams/Mark Ammonds stormed to a convincing class W2 win in their T2 Fabrication Nissan Micra.

Round 3 of the Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship is the Plains Rally on Saturday, May 18th.

Organised by Knutsford & DMC, the event is based in the picturesque south Eryri National Park town of Bala, which is celebrating the 700th anniversary of being awarded a town charter by King Edward III. As part of the celebrations, all rally cars will carry the Y Bala 700 logo.