A DRIVER from Conwy has won this year’s BRC4 British Rally Championship title with a round still to go.

Stephen Waugh, originally from the Scottish borders and now based in Mochdre, said he can now “relax and enjoy” after winning the 2023 BRC4 title.

Victory was sealed after the penultimate round of the championship, the Trackrod Rally in Yorkshire on September 23.

BRC4 is the fourth level of the British Rally circuit, but Stephen’s win suggests he could be set for bigger things.

The garage technician is a former World Rally mechanic for the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team, and is following in the footsteps of his grandfather Gavin Waugh.

North Wales Pioneer: Stephen Waugh in action.Stephen Waugh in action. (Image: Submitted)

Gavin drove for the Factory Chrysler Rally Team in the 1970s in the famous white horse whisky livery and alongside famous names such as Jimmy McRae, Russell Brookes, Stig Blomqvist and Ari Vattanen.

The final round of the championship will see Stephen compete in the Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally on October 28, which kicks off on Llandudno promenade.

Stephen said: “I'm very excited to be part of this event which is on my doorstep.

“Now we've secured the Championship we can relax and enjoy.”

Stephen drove the Ford Fiesta R2T to victory this season, but him and co-driver Mark Broadbent escaped serious injury earlier in the season, hitting a tree after leaving the road at the Ulster Rally.

Upon close inspection of the car at the Fleetsmart Base in Mochdre, the body shell was badly damaged and with just six weeks until the Trackrod Rally it was “all hands on deck” to strip the car to a bare shell and re-fit it.

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Team Principal and father-in-law, Garry Whitney, said the severity of the damage could very easily have spelt the end of Stephen’s season, had it not been for the specialist Motorsport Restoration Facilities of CME nearby.

Stephen and Garry paid tribute to the owners of North Wales Scaffolding, RS Scaffolding and Llwyn Landscapes, all of whom stepped in to support his campaign following the costly repairs after the accident.

Garry said: “Our rallying budget is very tight and without the help of our sponsors we simply could not have made it back out to the stages.

Next year, Stephen will step up to the next category, Rally 3 cars, and will again compete in the British Rally Championship.  

The Rally 3 car will be Stephen’s first experience driving Ford’s latest 4WD machinery used by the junior ranks competing in the Word Rally Championship).

Garry added: “This machinery offers a superb learning platform for those who will later progress to the top flight cars of the Rally 2 category that battle for outright honours in the BRC.”

You can follow Stephen’s progress on Facebook, at SWRallying.