The Last Post...

Meet the Team...

Before I commence with what Kenny & Sir Steve have been up to recently, I thought you may like to meet the team that have been out and about for the past two weeks bringing you the best rally in the World...EVER! The Rally Evolution.

The Recce Team

Here is you Clerk of the Course and Rally Director - Kenny Owen, without hat!

Here is Sir Steve, with Hard hat!

...and here is me...Road Ant, don't I look great...but who's the geezer in the Top Hat, hey, hey!

Anyway, back to business...

Our advance party are now on their final day, the sun shines over Craig y Nos Castle as they venture out and in to the forests of South Wales. Some of the highest mountain peaks in the UK are found here in the Brecon Beacons National Park. Tyle forest sits on top of one of these mountain tops, today bathed in brilliant sunlight. This is basically a five mile hill climb from start to finish and absolutely thrilling - putting in the shade the event encountered earlier in the week on Epynt! This is the sting in the tail and it is expected that the lead will change numerous times during this spectacle! After a return trip to Cox's Quarry, a holding control at Tredegar Park will regulate competitors to the final Selectif at Tredegar House. This venue has never ever been used for rally Selectif, the only motor sporting events held here previously are Classic Car static shows. So this will be a real treat for the regulars that visit this 'best-kept' of Stately Homes.

So all that remains is for Kenny to get back to the office and prepare the Draft Road Book for the Rally Evolution. It has been a pleasure to have been part of the recce squad this time around and an eye opener it has been - and a brilliant event in the offing for November!

See ya soon and signing off...

The Road Ant

Its not over until the fat lady sings!

Madam PattiLive from the Pen y Cae Inn, Craig y Nos, in the Swansea valley.

For the real initiated amongst you, Craig y Nos was the home of Madame Patti, the World Famous Opera singer from way back when! Anyway, the start this morning was from Rhandirmwyn and the Llyn Brianne reservoir. The first section this morning was over the Abergwesyn mountain and on to Pwll Bo for another run. This test is completely different in the dark but the flowing corners and blind brows make for an exciting time since you cannot pick out the road edges easily. Then its back to Llandrindod Wells for the rally overnight halt - end day three.

Days four route starts around the Lake at Llandrindod - no Selectif this year due to frogs! - but a fantastic setting to start our Rally Evolution from! The first section takes us back on to Epynt for more glorious fun tests before heading in to the Glasfynydd Forest which has not seen the light of day since the Lombard in 2007! Rated as one of the best Selectifs on the rally you will surely enjoy this years run through without a doubt!

So overnight for our recce crew is at the Pentre Riding Stables just east from the Pen y Cae Inn. No Kenny and Sir Steve are not acting out a Biblical scene but this B& B is well worth a call if in the area, especially if you are out and about on the Rally Evolution or the WRC round in October!

Bye for now
The Road Ant

HRH, Americans and Tins of Beans!

Cwm Berwyn Forest over looks Abergwesyn and the Tregaron Marsh with a sharp escarpment dominating the distance.
With 57 Selectifs schedule for this years Rally Evolution, there is no other event than can come anywhere close, with competition and cheap pound for pound miler for mile rallying...you'll have to be mad to miss this event...seriously! I have now spent over a week with Kenny and Sir Steve working on the route and believe me more work goes in to running an event of this size than I ever thought! I am aware that most competitors and certainly members of the public believe that events are just thrown together on the kitchen table...this is not the case! Well not the way that Kenny & Andrea organise - the detail is awesome! However, there will still be the infantalia out there that will criticise just to get their buzz...I say, take up drugs instead, its far better for you and it may ease your headache! No malice intended, but...!
So on to today's recce and what a lovely day it has been. The sun shining again, after a few days of cloud and heavy rain. This made life in the hot recce car a little more comfortable - well, listening to Sir Steve waffle on about how much better he is than the Stig every five minutes can be heavy going! This morning, Sir Steve refused to eat his brekkie until he had baked beans on his plate. The waitress insisted that beans were not part of the menu but Sir Steve held out until a full tin of musical fruits were poured unceremoniously over his bacon and eggs! Thank goodness it was a lovely day and the car windows could be left open!!!
Caio forest being the first Selectif of the morning. A seven mile run over fast and twisty hilly terrain last used in 2007 will be a dream to drive! During the Second World War, the Americans were based near Caio and but could not pronounce the village name - they called it 'C.A. Ten'! Cynghordy was called 'Sing or Die' and as for Ffairfach...well I'll let YOU guess! Sorry, I digress...
...so on to Brechfa and three long sorties for you competitors to get your teeth in to! The first uses the complex - a section of junctions and hairpins to excite your driving styles...then on to Brechfa 2. A fast Selectif with long sweeping bends and open hairpins to stimulate you further...then on to the final Brechfa test with its huge drops and fast sweeping bends which preside over precipices that will make your heart flutter before you even start the Selectif! The WRC round does not use this forest any longer so this will be a real treat. A long road section up in to the Towy forest now beckons. All these forests were used in 2007 but with a few variations to make the drive really interesting.
Well, on arriving back at the office late in the day, Andrea and our new assistant Bethan were full of excitement after the visit to the office by no other than HRH Prince Charles. HRH now resides near Llandovery and K&A have been invited for morning coffee and scones. Lets hope Sir Steve doesn't get wind of this or he'll be expecting one of 57 varieties!!!

See ya tomorrow...Evolutionists
The Road Ant

PS

Watch out for the new competition launching very soon where you can enter the Rally Evolution for a £1! Also a massive TV boost for the event!

Hill Climbing to Victory

As our intrepid crew arrive on the Epynt Ranges to start the days recce, they stumble across Brecon Motor Clubs Hill Climb event! Before the event starts, Kenny and Sir Steve attack the hill measuring the Selectif for next November. They now settle down for a few minutes to watch this exciting sport. Unlike rallying, this is a short sprint type event and great for beginners or the seasoned competitor! Some cracking machinery was on show but time ran out, the recce had to continue. The first of the Epynt Selectif's is at the Farm. This is the shortest of the Epynt tests but brilliant fun, with blind brows and yumps that get the belly going...but not in the way you're thinking! A long hill climb finishes off this test with every driver trying to get the most out from their cars. You'll have to take your 'hat off' to us for this test!

We now move on to the Big Dipper. No, not a fun fair ride but a long section up and down the rolling hills of the MoD ranges, with laybys and gravel tracks that will give you plenty of sideways motoring - this is the most fun you can have with your hat on!

A short drive to the next Selectif where you negotiate the Telephone Exchange triangle, Four Ways bridge - which way arrrrggghhh! - and the demanding Burma Road! You'll know you have done a real test at the end of this one! Again you'll have to take your hat off!

As our recce crew leave the MoD ranges, they head for Crychan forest and the Cefn Llwydlo. This forest has a mixture of fast flowing bends and in total contrast, tight twisty tracks that link the roads together. A short road section to Esgair Dafydd with a complete new finish to previous years. This Selectif was famous in the 1970's for the Rally Sprint that was shown on BBC Sports TV. Malcolm Wilson - Ford Motor Sport WRC guru - in his then works Total Ford Escort famously rolled in front of the cameras and in front of a youthful Kenny Owen, your Clerk of the Course. Again, the best fun with your hat on! So, make up your mind, with hat or without hat! The decision is yours!

The recce day ends at Llandovery where Prince Charles - who currently owns a local estate -will be visiting the Rally Office. So tune in tomorrow for our Royal Seal of approval and more on recce notes!

The Road Ant

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside!

After an over night halt at Talyllyn near Tywyn, Kenny and Sir Steve set out on another adventure to bring you the best rallying Selectifs the UK has to offer.

However, the night before an urgent message had to been received on Kenny's mobile phone. With no phone signal anywhere in the region, a short 15 minute drive to Tywyn was made. On arrival, the only signal that could be received was by standing on the pebble beach. With the tide in, a paddle was the only way to make the call! Sir Steve felt peckish after a long days work-load, so bought some chips, which attracted the attentions of the famous Tywyn Pheasants...Seagulls! A quick retreat back to the overnight accommodation at Talyllyn was actioned if only to get rid their avian friends!

Saturday morning and a further run through Pantperthog to fine tune the route before heading South once again and on to the Taliesyn stage variation. This time the Selectif finishes over the Nant y Moch reservoir side. The mountain section that follows this test is a treat in itself. Kenny reminisces - "I competed in the Welsh 1300cc championship in 1985 taking third fastest time along this section, beating a field of top 2 litre Escorts of the day!" His enthusiasm for navigating hasn't waned and it shows in the excellent Road Books.

So on to the Sweet Lamb Rally Complex for a reverse of the earlier Selectif run in the dark the day before (on the event). This way around is even more exciting that Thursday route!

So to complete the day two the rally heads for Llandrindod Wells and the Hotel Metropole. However, the recce day has not ended for our team in the VW Passat as they head for Epynt and the start of day three's route. More on this tomorrow when we go agricultural, go to the fair, unsure which direction to take and climb the Steps!

Bye for now,

The Road Ant

Leaving the home of Owain Glyn Dwr and heading South in to the forests where Legends are made! Two short Selectifs to start this days recce, approx three miles each. The first, an up hill drive of some one and a half miles before decending the last. Fast and sweeping bends to look forward to here. The second three miler is a bumpier affair, but far more interesting with a tight uphill hairpin junction and crests that can catch you out quite easily if you do not concentrate...great fun though! From here and on to Bala where Penllyn Forest lies at the foot of the Hirnant Mountain. A good climb with steep drops to keep you honest is the order here. A tight hairpin to finish before the long road section across the Hirnant and Lake Vyrnwy and on to Dyfnant for the next competitive section. In 2007, numerous competitors were caught out in Dyfnant with some clever working of the junctions that even the experts had to think about, but what a brilliant forest this is! Some three Ply to start, then Cat 1 sections, before more three ply, fast open corners to entertain the most careful drivers and a surface smoother that a billiard table!

Its back to Dyfi for a re-run of this special of special Selectifs. There's no repeat of our Alien friend this time around. May be he didn't want a 'close encounter for the third time!'

Joke!

What do you call an overweight ET ?

An extra cholesterol !

On that note, gud bye fa now!

The Road Ant

Pretenders to the Crown & Alien Nation!

The day starts bright and early for Kenny & Sir Steve, having an overnight halt at Machynlleth, where once Kenny was booked by a Traffic Warden called 'Jake the Pegg' while spectating on the Lombard RAC Rally in 1978! No such dramas this time but off and on to Dolgellau for this mornings recce start.
Coed y Brenin, rarely used these days, was the first forest to be visited. This beautiful wood is fast and flowing, with catch you out culverts! Sir Steve still reckons the crows are birds of prey stating that Buzzards in Wales are the size of Budgies in Oxfordshire - ???!!! I didn't ask! However, on to the mountain road overlooking the Snowdonia mountain range and the pinnacle itself, Snowdon, it is on to Trawsfynydd and the Bala Motor Clubs Ranges. A fast flowing tarmac Selectif which can catch out the best of drivers, is a change from the gravel tests seen earlier in the day. There is one brow that catches most drivers on their first visit, but a carefully placed chicane will make sure there will be no dramas!!! Yeah!

So on to Clocaenog and two Selectifs of quality! The first, a nine miler of fast flowing corners is a tough test before heading across Llyn Brenig and the Llyn Alwyn Selectif with its narrow lanes and tight junctions. Encountered today was another Alien type figure, again clutching UFO debris. It appeared from the long overgrown scrub land and bounced in to the foliage the opposite side of the forest road, never again to be seen! Brandishing a large bow and plastic type sheet, this strange human life form must have built a community with other aliens close by! Maybe there are millions of these life forms walking the planet and all in Clocaenog Forest! So beware, the beast of Bodmin impales in to insignificance compared to this alien life form from Planet Clocaenog!
So after our recce crews shocking encounter today, they are to meet with Owain Glyn Dwr, No, not the Price of Wales, but a pub in the heart of Corwen!

So off to gwelly now - gwelly means bed - and see ya tomorrow when Kenny meets Legends and Sir Steve meets Leg Ends...Lamb Shank to you!

Gud Nite
The Road Ant

Rack of Lamb & the Aliens of Gwynedd

An early start sees our fearless recce crew descend in to the Plynlimon mountains and that of the Sweet Lamb Rally Complex. This will be a tougher test than anything the Wales Rally GB had to offer last year..or should we say the Rally GB! Sweet Lamb offers some of the best rallying in the UK and we can only thank the forward sightedness of the Bennett-Evans family. An eight mile test of hairpin after hairpin, sweeping bend after sweeping bend and 100% FUN! Kenny has designed a much slicker test than in previous years and entrants will know they have competed on something special by the finish line.

A short distance from here and on to Aberystwyth for a Closed Street Selectif. This is highly secretive at the moment with Kenny only stating..."a sting in the tail on the first day!"

Aberystwyth is the host for the rallies first overnight halt with first cars arriving at around 8pm. This allows more social time for tales of daring do at the bar!

The following morning sees the Rally Evolution head in to the historic Taliesyn Forest. Famous rock bands reside close by and the sound of rally cars will rock the community like never before! Taliesyn is a Selectif that climbs and climbs steadily in to the clouds with fantastic views of the Mawddach Estuary, before a sudden drop in to Artists Valley...Brilliant!

So on to Machynlleth and the famous, yet demanding Pantperthog Forest. Unlike Taliesyn with its gentle climb, Pantperthog ascends quickly through hairpin after hairpin until you reach Heaven! Then the road descending to Hell is approached with great caution...obviously! You'll be outta breath by the end of this spectacle!

Now on to Dyfi and a very strange phenomenon indeed!

After completing the Dyfi Selectif, a strange sight indeed! What can only be described as an alien encounter, walking through the forest! This figure, a man shaped creature, about 12 feet tall, hovering above the ground, clutching a mysterious crumpled roll of space debris, face void of expression, came in to sight and then...disappeared!!! It is said that Sir Steve has many Close Encounters of the third kind! His dear lady say's..where have you been, what time do you call this and who is Barbaraaaaa!!!

Machynlleth plays host to our hard working recce crew today, so we wish them good night and hope the encounters tomorrow are of a less unworldly nature.

Gud Nite

The Road Ant

Marching in to the Marches

Unfortunately, the 'Ed' has been taken ill so I (the half brother of a pesenter from a top motoring programme) have had to take over writing this blogg for him.

After the over night halt at the Premier Inn, Hereford, our fearless crew head off, deeper in to the Welsh Marches and the venues that lie there! Foxley Wood - now here's a good blast. Our good friends at Hereford Motor Club will be running this Selectif. Although a short test, competitors will have to have their witts about them! A dash through the wood yard avoiding the seasoned oaks is a challenge in itself before being unleashed into the wood where numerous obsatcles have to be negotiated with precision and skill! Well that defeats our intrepid Sir Steve..so Kenny has to take the reins and set the bogey! This Selectif is great fun!


So on to the Welsh border and Radnor Forest for two tests! The first starts with hairpin after hairpin, looping around a short circuit before launching deep in to the darkness of this pine tree wonderland! You will just have to wait and see how fantastic this 8 mile Selectif is, cos I'm not saying what the best bits are - you mean there's more! The second of the Radnor tests is different with up hill hairpins every few yards, climbing high up in to the Welsh mountainside the low clouds. Some of the roads in this section are tricky to say the least and you have to be clean and clinical to get a quick time here! The historics will love this old RAC Stage as will any spectators, bringing back fond memories of yesteryear! A quiet pint in the Severn Arms near Crossgates is a must if you are out and about watching in November!


The Radnor sortie is followed by a rest halt at Knills Service Station where the RAC Roadside services mobile teams will be located to assist with any mechanical problems you may have. They were out and about last year and did a magical job for us, which was rewarded when all the entrants gave the team a standing ovation at the presentation dinner. They promise an even better mechanical service this year - we can emagine how, but bring it on lads!

Tonight Kenny & Sir Steve are staying near Sweet Lamb Rally Complex in readiness for tomorrows recce of the venue - I know what Kenny has planned for the entrants on this years Rally Evolution, but you will have to wait until tomorrow for this next report from Mid Wales!

If you remember some time ago Sir Steve met Glen Millar wandering through a forest in Scotland. Glen said to Steve, "How the Heck do I get otta here!" Well today, geuss who he met - Lord Lucan! Lord Lucan came running along the Randor Forest track shouting...someones stollen my clothes! So Sir Steve comforted him saying..."Don't worry, I'm not playing golf today, you can have one of mine!"

On that note, see ya tomorrow!

The 'Road Ant'

Recce Day 2: Sunshine & Day of Thunder

Above: Tredegar House, with insert...Captain Morgans Anchor found in the garden shed!

As the recce heads out from Tredegar House the sun is bright, the air is warm and what a pleasant day it is, as Kenny and Sir Steve head out from Britain's best kept historic house! As our intrepid recce crew head north - well they couldn't head south, cos they'd get their feet wet! - the roads are clear and it is an easy run to the first of the venues.
Cox's Quarry is a 3 mile forest track that has only been used once before, by a local motor club is a good opener. A short narrow uphill section leads to a quarry before a testing, twisty 'baby bottom' surfaced section to an enclosed open hairpin right! A short down hill section in to a devious 90 left bend with a fresh air drop in to Abercarn, 400 feet below!!! The last section of this short sortie in to the south Wales forests ends with a long straight, with 'catch you out' bends that look quicker than they really are! A number of dog walkers encountered while recceing this wood stopped to chat, interested in the Rally Evolution - great, maybe thhe'll marshal!
From here and on to our mysterious Racing Circuit that never was! Only a mile and a half in length but a clean clinical route that will test the best of you with short straights, up-hill twisty bends and tight sharp 90's.
A quick down hill run into a long fast right to turn 90+ left through a gateway...a short uphill sprint into a long left, tightening in to a fork left, over crest flat and bumps, to a series of quick bends which lead to a long sweeping right-hander. This leads to a negative camber series of bends that take us through a middle of a golf course. It is said that Sir Steve plays golf with two pairs of trousers...just in case he gets a hole in one - droll! Leaving the golf course the route heads down hill from a very deceptive 90 left narrowing on the exit and then a series of fast bends - again deceptive - to the finish. As our recce crew completed the test the clouds began to 'fluff up' and rain was on the way!
Along the Heads of the Valley, Monmouth, across the border and in to Herefordshire - cider country. A secret forest here only use once before, tight and twisty with a slippery surface for most of the way. Five years ago when this was last used on the Lombard Rally many slid off trying too hard! So be warned. One competitor said, "You just cannot get the power down, but what fun!"
As our recce crew leave this dark forest the rain clouds burst open, followed by loud claps of thunder! The road becomes a river and aquaplaning is evident as the car heads through this beautiful garden of England. The hop fields are taking a hammering as the recce car meanders its way along this river bed - the A40.
So on to Worcestershire and the Three Counties Showground Selectif. This was last used to great effect in 2007 and many photos have since been used on the event web site showing Owen Turner four wheels in the air over one of the many Yumps! This is a highly safe but fun venue with loads of run off space - I can't wait myself! A short journey back in to Herefordshire before a well earned rest for our recce crew.

See ya tomorrow when Kenny tells 'Tales from Foxley', rumours from Radnor and Sir Steve meets Barbaraaaaa...again!

See ya

The Ed

Here we go...Recce Time!

As Kenny and his driver, Sir Steve arrive in Newport to start the Rally Evolution Reconnaissance the sun is shining brightly on what will be the best Rally Evolution yet! Scrutineering and noise check areas have been confirmed today along with hotels and other venues that will precede the start in November.

This year the event will start from the rally HQ at the Hilton Hotel, Coldra, Newport just off the M4 making routes to the start better than ever before! From the parc ferme out control at the Hilton Hotel the rally will make its way along the A48 to Tredegar House where a civic reception is arranged. Maybe Captain Morgan the famous Caribbean Pirate will make an entrance...or we may have to do with just Sir Steve! Newport City Council have been excellent in their approach to this years event and we can expect to be well looked after - at this Jewel in the Crown City start!

It is said that Sir Steve like jewels...well for those old enough to remember Nearest & Dearest on ITV that's Jimmy Jewell - yes, him of Eli's Pickle Factory fame!

So on to the recce...well just tune in and read all about it tomorrow night when Kenny will expose the finer details of the route...there may be some exciting surprises in store - but not what you're thinking!

The Ed