Salford Van Hire Neil Howard Stage Rally | Oulton Park | 7 November 2026
By Eamon Yates | Photography: ey.motophoto
Thick fog forced organisers to abandon the final two stages of the 2026 Salford Van Hire Neil Howard Stage Rally, but not before John Griffiths and Emma Morrison had done enough to claim victory in the opening round of the 2026/27 Protyre Circuit Rally Championship. Six seconds separated the top two crews across the six stages that ran, leaving the question of what might have been hanging over a result that nonetheless counted in full.
A Day of Two Halves
The morning arrived with Oulton Park blanketed in fog. As the event got under way, conditions improved and the sun broke through, giving crews a reasonable platform through the earlier stages. By the afternoon, however, the fog had returned with a vengeance. Visibility dropped to just a handful of metres in places, and with two stages still to run and darkness approaching, Bolton-le-Moors Car Club had no realistic option but to call a halt.
The final classification was declared at 16:30, based on six of the eight planned stages. Of the 104 starters, 91 were classified finishers. The completed competitive distance was approximately 36.74 miles, against an originally planned 54.
Griffiths and Morrison Control the Event
John Griffiths and Emma Morrison were the class of the field across the stages that ran. In their Skoda Fabia R5, they won three stages outright and matched Michael Igoe for fastest on two more. Their total time of 41 minutes and seven seconds was six seconds clear at the flag. It was a composed, consistent performance that never gave the reigning champion a foothold.
Igoe and Kirsty Riddick, late additions to the entry in the Dom Buckley-run Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, pushed throughout and never fell away. The gap between the two leading crews never exceeded six seconds across the stages that ran. With the final two stages cancelled, Igoe was denied any opportunity to close the deficit.
Third place went to Jack Darbyshire and Matthew Kendall in a Ford Fiesta R5, who held their position despite making contact with another car on stage six at a point where two route sections merged. The damage was cosmetic. Mike English and Lewis English recovered well to take fourth in their Ford Fiesta Rally2 despite power steering problems, finishing just six seconds ahead of Mark Gellatly and Harriet Worth in fifth.
Escort Steals the Show
The result of the day away from the outright fight belonged to Wil Owen and Chloe Thomas. Sixth overall in a Ford Escort Mk2, they beat a field packed with modern Rally2 machinery and took top two-wheel-drive honours by five seconds over Pete Taylor. It was the kind of performance that underlines exactly why circuit rallying draws such a diverse entry.
Seventh went to Pete Taylor and his co-driver in a Citroën C3 Rally2. Jordan Murphy and John Hornby took eighth and Class 2 honours in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9. Philip House and Nick Beaumont were ninth overall and first in Class 5 in another Escort Mk2, while Rupert Lomax and Andy Darlington rounded out the top ten on their return to rallying in a Fiesta R5.
Simpson Exit Proves Costly
Pre-event number one seed Stephen Simpson and co-driver Chris Williams arrived at Oulton Park among the leading favourites in a Ford Fiesta Rally2. A ten-second penalty for clipping a chicane post on stage one disrupted their rhythm, and a misfire ended their day shortly after. Jason Wilson, running fourth on the road at the point of his retirement, also failed to reach the finish. Thirteen crews in total did not complete the event.
A Championship Season Begins
Oulton Park was the opening round of the 2026/27 Protyre Circuit Rally Championship, a nine-event series in which competitors count their best seven scores. Griffiths and Morrison leave the first round with maximum points and an early marker set. Igoe and Riddick, despite finishing second, will know how close they came.
The championship calendar already carries one notable change: the planned Brands Hatch Winter Stages in January 2027 have been withdrawn due to circuit works, with organisers reviewing whether to continue with eight rounds or find a replacement event. It is a development that could have a greater bearing on the eventual title than two fog-cancelled stages at Oulton Park.
Fog and Fireworks
The Neil Howard Stage Rally is one of the longest-running circuit rally events in the country. Run entirely within the Oulton Park complex, crews navigate bespoke routes that take in everything from the main circuit to service roads and access lanes, including a water splash section. Saturday’s entry featured 104 starters across a wide spread of machinery, from WRC-specification Skodas to a Chrysler Lotus Sunbeam and a Porsche GT3. That variety is one of the event’s enduring qualities.
The fog may have cut the competitive action short, but it did not end the day entirely. A bonfire and fireworks display closed the evening, a fitting reminder that the Neil Howard Stages is as much a spectator event as a rally. The championship comes to Oulton Park each November, and the circuit rarely makes it easy.
📸 Eamon Yates
