Aaron Jones and his rally team overcame a combination of technical difficulties and testing conditions to win a fifth consecutive class stage, and leave them within touching distance of the Welsh Championship title.
Racing at the fifth of ten rounds of the 2016 Welsh Tarmac Rally Championship at the Mid Summer Caerwent, in Newport, on Sunday June 12, 20-year-old Aaron and co-driver Owen Evans, 18, once again defied adverse weather conditions to secure top spot in the Class 2 standings.
The duo’s decent run of results landed them their highest seeding of the championship, lining up as the 27th car to tackle the former-military base course.
Penpedairheol-born Aaron highlighted the course’s busy surroundings as a reason for its difficulty, saying: “The nature of the rally means it is a very tough event, the venue is a military base which is covered with old deserted buildings and very high kerbs on all the roads, designed to stop even the toughest of vehicles from leaving the road.”
Heavy rain played a big part in the rally, with large puddles of standing water pooling on some of the course corners.
Aaron added: “Picking the right tyres to suit the conditions was easy as it was wet, but driving the car to its full ability and having the confidence to drive as fast you can when it’s raining sideways is another thing.”
Thanks to their seeding, the early start provided a chance of a cleaner run, as there were fewer cars in front to churn up the mud.
However, after struggling with a misted up windscreen on the first stage, issues with the Honda Civic Type R’s gearbox struck on the second stage, with Aaron unable to select some gears.
First and second gear, regularly in use to gain acceleration out of tight corners, began to be affected by the fault, meaning the team posted a slower second stage time than they’d initially hoped for.
Despite the continued deterioration of the gearbox, Aaron and Owen managed to get the car across the line in 15th position overall, and once again, top of Class 2. That result means that just one more high finish in standings will wrap up the Welsh Championship title.
The next event is the Harry Flatters Rally in the Brecon Beacons on the Sunday July 31st.