Ollie Mellors took the second Phil Price Memorial Woodpecker Rally win of this career at the weekend, overcoming tricky conditions to take his Proton Iriz R5 to top spot against an impressive field. 

Mellors, alongside brother Ben and Team Flexifly will shortly be representing Team UK in the Rally Categories at the 2024 FIA Motorsport Games from 23-27 October 2024. 

Over 125 crews headed for a revised Woodpecker Rally, held entirely in Wales. Based in Newtown due to the unavailability of the English borders stages that have been used on the event for decades, a lineup of mid-Wales classic stages such as Hafren, Ceri and Sweet Lamb were on offer to test the crews. 

Mellors was able to add to his 2019 victory after a progressive afternoon which saw him and co-driver Max Freeman take a convincing win over Elliot Payne and Patrick Walsh in their Fiesta Rally2, with Russ Thompson and Steve Link rounding out the podium. 

Thick mist and fog descended on the region, making the already difficult stages an altogether tougher proposition. Setting the pace in the opening Ceri test, Matthew Hirst showed no sign of needing to bed into his new Skoda Fabia Rally2, which he would be using for the very first time. 

Hirst went two seconds faster than Ludlow driver Perry Gardener with Mellors nine seconds shy of the lead. But Hirst’s glory was short-lived as he went off the road on the very next test, losing almost five minutes trying to extract the Fabia. Mellors would be the one to benefit and the fastest time saw him take the lead; a position he wouldn’t relinquish for the rest of the day. 

Behind Mellors, a feverish battle was unfolding between Gardener and Payne, not only for the podium but also for the chance to catch Mellors. Sadly, Gardener exited the rally after getting stuck after a spin with just two stages to go, leaving Thompson to capitalise and move into third in his Mitsubishi Evo. Hirst would go on to set several fastest times during the afternoon, but the damage was done earlier in the day and the podium was secure. 

The National category would house the best of the British Historic Rally Championship crews, and it was 2023 category winners George Lepley and Dale Bowen who opened out an early lead in the Mitsubishi Galant VR4. However, Ludlow driver Joe Price, with Chris Brooks alongside hauled their Ford Escort MKII out front in spectacular fashion, enjoying a comfortable cushion over the chasing pack. 

Sadly, their effort ended on the sixth test when they went off the road, handing the lead to Seb Perez. The Porsche 911 driver was locked in a tussle with former British champion Mark Higgins in his Triumph TR7 V8, but Perez and co-driver Gary McElhinny did all they needed to secure the win. Higgins claimed second in the category whilst Nick Elliott and Dave Price claimed third in their FIAT 131 Abarth. 

The Woodpecker Rally was renamed in 2022 in memory of the highly regarded rally driver and coach Phil Price, who sadly passed away in 2021 and welcomed a variety of top-line championships, including the Fuchs Lubricants British Historic Rally Championship, the Protyre BTRDA Rally Series, Pirelli Motorsport UK Welsh Rally Championship, Reis Motorsport Insurance UK English Rally Championship, TCS Plant Rally Challenge, ANWCC Forest Stage Rally Championship and HRCR West Wales rally Spares Stage Masters Rally Challenge. 

First run in 1983, the rally was supported for a third year by Presteigne Tyre Services and Phil Price Rally School and organised by Sixty and Worcestershire Motor Club.