2 from 2 for Jackson!

After a strong opening round on Rally North Wales, Matthew Jackson headed to the second round of the Ravenol Pirelli Welsh and BTRDA rally series full of optimism. 44 stage miles would await Matthew with co-driver Sasha Heriot as they headed off from the start in Builth Wells.

‘We’re really looking forward to the day. We’ve had a busy couple of weeks since Rally North Wales, the car needing a new clutch and flywheel so that has stretched the resources and budget somewhat. However, everything is back perfect and ready to go through these extremely fast stages’.

A great run through the opening stages saw Matthew & Sasha emerge with a 1 second class lead, a welcome early lead. Stage 2 wouldn’t be so kind with Matthew commenting at the stop line of a lack of grip leading to reduced confidence, but nonetheless the pair were safely through. Stage 3 saw a return of confidence with a 2nd fastest time leaving them 3rd in class, just 8 seconds off the class lead heading into the midday service.

Credit: Paul Mitchell

Whilst overseeing the repreparation of the car during service by C1-R Motorsport, Matthew commented: ‘We’ve had a great morning all in all. Stage 1 and 3 were great. Of course we’re slightly disappointed with the time in the second stage, but really, we’re still learning the new car so to be even comparing times with the top runners is a huge bonus’.

The team headed back out to the repeat 3 stages with one aim, close that 8 second gap and challenge for the class lead. Another committed run through Stage 4 was rewarded with a stage win, 2 seconds clear of their rivals. The Carbon Positive Motorsport supported crew carried this momentum into the 2nd stage of the loop with a much improved performance over the morning run. Another stage win in the bag, this time a scintillating 11 seconds clear of their Fiesta compatriots. 4.7 miles of Welsh forestry remained with now a class lead of 10 seconds. Nothing was taken for granted at this stage. Another push through the Cwmysgawen Stage saw a joint stage win, confirming Matthew & Sasha as R2 class winners on the Rallynuts Stages!

Credit: Geoff Bengough

‘I honestly cannot describe how we are feeling. Coming into this rally, our aim was to see how close we could get to the newer generation R2 cars, so to be engulfed in a battle and to come out victorious is far beyond our expectations. Rallying has been my passion for as long as I can remember so to have worked up to this level, to own and drive a car like this, but also show we can put the stage times in really is a dream come true. Sasha and I have been working hard on the notes and our preparation and that is showing in the stage times and results’

To further our impact from the event, all of the fuel used by the rally car has been offset by Carbon Positive Motorsport. In fact, an increase of 25% on the amount of carbon produced has been offset creating a positive impact on the event. This offset will be achieved through environment restoration, rewilding projects and tree planting, all based in the UK. Fellow competitors, marshals, teams etc can achieve a 20% reduction in cost for their offsetting for the Rallynuts stages using code RNS22CS (until 13/04/22). Make a positive impact now!

Some stats from the event:

1st class R2

1st class W4

1st Front wheel drive car overall

2nd Motorsport UK Pirelli Ravenol 2WD

3rd BTRDA Silverstar overall

34th overall out of 139 starters.

Preparations are now well underway for the Plains Rally on 21st May. After such a successful start of the year, the team are looking for increased support heading into the critical part of the season. If you would like to be part of the journey in any form, please reach out to matthewjacksonrallying@gmail.com , we’d love to hear from you!

Link to In-car from Stage 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQJNmoSjK_o