11/05/2026
Best of luck to you both for the next round ๐ช๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ท๓ ฌ๓ ณ๓ ฟ๐
DAVIES HEADS HISTORIC ASPHALT CHAMPIONSHIP ON MANX RALLY
โข Historic Asphalt Championship continues on the Isle of Man
โข Victory for Stefan Davies and Michael Gilbey
โข Double-header round on classic Manx roads
The Roger Albert Clark Historic Asphalt Rally Championship continued on the Manx National Rally (May 8-9) with another impressive performance from Stefan Davies and Michael Gilbey in their Ford Es**rt Mk2.
The new Historic Asphalt Championship takes in five high-profile UK closed-road rallies and is open to competitors in all categories of historic car, including the new Categories 4 and 5. The Manx National Rally was a double-header round of the championship, forming rounds two and three of six, with full points awarded at the end of Fridayโs leg and again on Saturday.
As usual, the Isle of Man roads delivered a tough test of crews and their cars but Davies was up to the challenge as he tackled these famous roads for the first time. โItโs a two-day marathon,โ said Davies before the start of the rally, acknowledging that his road rallying experience of Welsh lanes in the dark was likely to come in handy.
The challenge facing round one winner Davies eased considerably early in the rally when the similar Ford Es**rt Mk2 of Gareth James and Dale Gibbons was forced out on the third stage with engine problems. After two full days of rallying, Davies said: โItโs been a long and tough event but a nice experience for our first time on the Isle of Man. The car has been spot on and it has been brilliant!โ
Davies could never relax too much because Will Rowlands and Emyr Hall were on the attack and led the chase through Friday before upping their pace on Saturday to scoop maximum points in part two of the double header.
Though Davies and Gilbey won overall and took maximum points on Friday, it was Rowlands and Hall who took the top points on Saturday. โWe got our foot down today,โ said Rowlands after a strong performance.
Next up around 45 seconds down on Rowlands came Michael McDaid and Harry Stubbs, who were troubled across the rally by a fuel issue that prompted a misfire. They still brought their Es**rt home for third in the championship standings, before David Jones and Nigel Roberts, who were pleased to have a clear run after non-finishing in Yorkshire due to an off.
Hywel Davies and Dilwyn John completed the Category 3 finishes in their Es**rt Mk2 but among the retirements on Saturday were Rhys Morgan and Peredur Davies and Graham Muter and Mark Mason.
The Category 4 pace was always likely to be set by Will Onions and Dave Williams in their BMW M3. However, they retired on Friday's leg before returning on Saturday to take maximum points in part two. That opened up the way for Isle of Man newcomers Paul Clayton and Veera Johnson to win Category 4 in their Peugeot 205GTi after a great performance which took them clear of the Talbot Samba of Danny Cowell and Paul Holmberg.
With a couple of non-starters, Category 2 came down to the Mini Cooper of Shane Gamble and Michael Diehl and the Hillman Avenger of Ian Robertson and Andrew Scott. Though Robertson gave valiant chase, he could not match the pace of the flying Mini and it was Gamble who once again took maximum Category 2 points.
There is little time to regroup now before round four of the championship, the Jim Clark Reivers Rally on Sunday May 24 on the famous closed roads of the Scottish Borders.
Photo: Ben Lawrence
