Just a fortnight after the round in North Wales, the Fuchs Lubricants British Historic Rally Championship returned, this time to mid- Wales and the Severn Valley Stages on 11 April for the third of three consecutive gravel rallies in the Championship.

After a fan-friendly ceremonial start on Friday night, stages such as the world-famous Myherin were on the bill, part of an impressive 51 stage miles. Adding to the mix was a spectacular change in weather during the day, as sunshine alternated with heavy snow, hail and rain, making the already tricky stages even more treacherous.

Ben and Steven Smithcontinue to lead the championship Photos Russ Otway / 90Right

The category-based points scoring system offers any competitor the chance to become British Historic champion, and leaving Wales, it was Ben and Steven Smith who extended their lead with a clean sweep of Category 2 victories. Not only were they unstoppable in Category 2, but the pair also showed good pace overall, running as high as third Historic for some of the day. Their Porsche 911 was well-suited to the high-speed stages and another Category 2 win, puts them firmly in the lead of the overall standings with three wins from three rounds.

With George Lepley making a late withdrawal, Marty McCormack and Barney Mitchell were unchallenged in Category 4, hurling their BMW E30 M3 through the forests to back-to-back wins. Continuing the development of the BMW on a the gravel surface, McCormack continues to evolve his machine, and increase his lead in the Category standings. Ricky Evans and Dan Evans started their first BHRC round of the season and were rewarded with second place in their Peugeot 205 GTi, with the fellow 205 crew of Paul Clayton and Veera Johnson rounding out the podium.

The Irishman turned misfortune into redemption on the very last stage

In Category 3, it was a case of ‘finally’ for the Irish crew of Damian Tourish and Kevin Duggan who secured their first BHRC Category victory with a sensational comeback drive in their Ford Escort MK2.

Enduring technical issues on both rounds so far this season, Tourish has starred on each event, but never quite made it stick. It looked like it would be the same story this time after a one-minute penalty for an early check-in dropped the pair down the order on the fourth test. Up to that point, they had battled with both Ben Friend/Osian Owen and Paul Thompson/Josh Davison for the scratch time during the opening loop, but that penalty just before service turned a three-second lead into a one-minute deficit.