The 2026 Fuchs Lubricants British Historic Rally Championship got its season underway in typically dramatic fashion at the Riponian Stages Rally on Sunday [8^th February], with muddy, wintry Yorkshire forests providing a classic start to the new campaign.

Six demanding forest stages, including the iconic Cropton and Gale Rigg tests greeted crews for the opening round, though delays earlier in the day resulted in the cancellation of the second pass of Boltby. Even so, the Riponian once again proved a fitting curtain-raiser, setting the tone for another competitive championship ahead.

Category 4 [Cars Registered 1982 – 1990] & Category 5 [Cars Registered 1991 – 1999]

Category 4 honours went to an unstoppable George Lepley, who delivered a flawless performance in his Mitsubishi Galant VR4. Lepley and co-driver Dafydd Evans set the benchmark overall Historic time on every one of the five stages that ran, controlling the category from start to finish.

An intriguing intra-family battle developed early on, with George locked in a thrilling duel with his brother James and Tom Jordan, who were competing in Category 5 machinery with their Mitsubishi Evo IV. Despite not fighting for the same points, the pair were inseparable on the road, ending the opening loop of stages separated by just one second. Unfortunately, James’ challenge came to an end with a differential failure, allowing George to press on unchallenged.

Lepley completed the rally with a trouble-free run to secure Category 4 victory and lead the BHRC field home with an impressive 11th overall finish. Paul Clayton/Veera Johnson claimed second in the category aboard their Peugeot 205 GTi.

Category 3 [Cars Registered 1975 – 1981]

As expected, Category 3 delivered the most unpredictable and captivating fight of the day, with both established names and newcomers trading blows throughout.

Irishman Damian Tourish, with Kevin Duggan alongside, made an immediate impact on his BHRC debut, topping the category on the opening Boltby stage and going four seconds quicker than local favourite Matthew Stroud/Simon Jones, with Matt Robinson/Hannah McKillop and Paul Thompson /Josh Davison completing a tightly packed Yorkshire-heavy top four; each in Ford Escort MKII’s.

However, the rally turned decisively on the longer Cropton and Gale Rigg stages. On Cropton, Richard Hill stamped his authority on the event, going three seconds quicker than Thompson before backing it up with a scratch time on Gale Rigg to vault from seventh after Boltby into the category lead.

A measured and controlled drive across the final two stages saw Hill and co-driver Patrick Cooper secure a deserved Category 3 victory, their first since the 2024 Manx Rally.

Behind them, the battle for the remaining podium places raged. Thompson, despite struggling with an underpowered engine, capitalised on the retirement of Stroud due to mechanical issues on Cropton to emerge as Hill’s closest challenger, securing second place on home soil. Tourish, hampered by clutch problems after his early charge, held on for an impressive third, rounding off a highly encouraging BHRC debut.

The category also saw its share of drama, with Ben Friend/Osian Owen retiring after an off on the opening stage and Jack Mathewson/Chris Williams forced out on stage two with radiator damage in their Fiat 131 Abarth.

Category 2 – [cars registered between 1968 and 1975]

Category 2 belonged emphatically to Ben and Steven Smith, whose Porsche 911 enjoyed a faultless run. The pair won every stage in the category, building a commanding lead of over two minutes to claim victory. Jeremy Easson/Mike Reynolds finished second in their Escort Mk1, while former Category 1 champions Terry Cree and Richard Shores completed the podium in their BMW 2002Ti.

With the BHRC’s category-based points system once again ensuring a level playing field across eras and classes, the opening round sees Richard Hill and Ben Smith emerge from Riponian tied at the top of the British Historic Rally Championship standings.

The championship now heads to Wales at the end of March.

Fuchs Lubricants British Historic Rally Championship - Provisional Category Points after round 1 - Riponian Stages Rally

James Lepley / Tom Jordan - Category 5 - 1 point
George Lepley / Dafydd Evans - Category 4 - 16 points
Richard Hill / Patrick Cooper - Category 3 - 31 points
Ben Smith / Steven Smith - Category 2 - 31 points

For more information on any of the Championships promoted by the RACMRC, please visit:

www.racrmc.org

Photo: Lepley/Evans - Category 4 winners