Plains Rally 2026

Woodpecker Rally 2026 - A Fast and Dramatic Day

The Britpart Woodpecker Stages provided a spectacular day of rallying, in the Mid Wales Forests, with crews tackling a demanding new look route that included the long awaited return of the legendary Radnor Forest Stages. Based in Newtown, the 43rd running of the Woodpecker featured eight competitive stages and more than 38 miles of gravel action. The compact route kept the competition intense throughout the day, with Cwmysgawen and Radnor Forest providing a mixture of fast, flowing and technically demanding sections.

Payne makes it back-to-back Woodpecker victories

Elliot Payne and Patrick Walsh arrived as defending winners and once again emerged victorious, although their second Woodpecker victory was anything but straightforward.Payne made the last-minute switch from his usual Ford Fiesta Rally2 to a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, but immediately found himself involved in a closely fought battle with late entrant Mark Donnelly and co-driver Martin Bradley.Donnelly set the early pace, taking the opening stage by a single second before Payne responded on the first run through Radnor Forest. The lead changed hands again during the morning loop, with Donnelly reclaiming the advantage before Payne hit back on the shortest stage of the rally by the halfway service, Payne had established a slender advantage, but there was still everything to play for.The afternoon brought more challenging conditions, with heavy showers and thick fog adding another element to the already demanding forest stages. Payne adapted quickly to the Skoda and set the fastest time on the opening two afternoon tests, gradually extending his advantage.He held his nerve through the final stages to secure victory by just 12 seconds.For Donnelly and Brady, second place was an impressive result after making the late decision to contest the event.

Yates returns with a podium finish

Rhys Yates made an impressive return to Rally2 competition, taking third place alongside Dale Bowen in an M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2.Competing in a Rally2 car for the first time since 2024, Yates showed consistent pace throughout the day and was never outside the top five on individual stage times. He even climbed as high as second after the opening test before settling into a rhythm that ultimately secured a well-deserved podium finish.Daniel and Asta Sigurðarson brought their Skoda Fabia Rally2 home in fourth, while two-time Woodpecker winner Ollie Mellors and Ian Windress completed the top five in the Proton Iriz R5.

Plenty of drama behind the leaders

While the overall battle provided plenty of entertainment, there was also considerable drama further down the field.The Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship contenders had their own fight for honours, with Russ Thompson and Stephen Link eventually taking maximum championship points in their Ford Fiesta Proto. James Wilson and Paul Mulholland had been in contention before a slide on one of the later stages cost them more than a minute. They recovered to finish the rally but dropped behind Thompson and the Skoda Fabia of Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear.Hirst and Dear had shown the pace to challenge for the overall result, but an early power-steering problem cost the five-time Welsh champions significant time.

A full list of results can be found at https://ewrc-results.com/event/98614-britpart-woodpecker-stages-2026/final-results

A selection of photographs from the event can be viewed below...