Round 1: Weir Engineering Wyedean Forest Rally, 15 February

Mat Smith and co-driver Giles Dykes were the top MSA English Rally Championship crew on the Wyedean rally, maintaining a slender Class E2 lead throughout the event.

Matthew Robinson and Sam Collis picked up from where they left off in 2013 by dominating Class E5 and winning the event’s historic category.

The event ran thanks mainly to the determination of the organisers and their volunteers after the severe storms afflicted the area, bringing down many trees on Wednesday and again on Friday. There were 65 championship crews among the 136 cars that started.

Results (class winners)Class E5 Matthew Robinson / Sam Collis (Ford Escort Mk2) 47m40sClass E4 Phil Morgan / Bryan Hull (Renault Clio) 57m01sClass E3 Mike Harris / Steven Davey (Ford Puma) 54m44sClass E2 Mat Smith / Giles Dykes (Ford Ka) 48m29sClass E1 Neil Andrew / Dominic Adams (VW Lupo) 54m41s

Provisional championship standings1 Matthew Smith – 25 points = Matthew Robinson – 25 = Neil Andrew – 25 = Mike Harris – 255 Phil Morgan – 23