It was a fantastic spring day that greeted riders, as the first round of the Factory Image Racing-backed Welsh Open Sprint Enduro Championship got underway at the Grand Prix venue of Cwmythig Hill, Rhayader.
Race Report by Chris Czora – Images Courtesy of Welsh Open Sprint Championship
The organising Rhayader Motor Club are renowned for putting on a professional and friendly event, and Sunday’s championship opener was no exception as the ‘King of the Hill’ event kicked off the Welsh sprint calendar for 2026. Over 210 riders lined up for the hotly anticipated event, with the organisers laying out an interesting course that included a variety of flat-out grassland sections, the jumps and hillside sprint of the Cwmythig Hill motocross track, along with some technical hard-enduro-inspired obstacles.
With a course time anticipated of around eight minutes for fast riders, it struck a fine balance between offering a tough challenge for the fastest riders, whilst being rideable and enjoyable for the amateur enthusiasts who also took to the line. A practice lap was followed by a packed day of tests, and despite the high number of riders, organisers were able to get seven tests completed.
Cwmythig Hill is always a wonderful place to compete and enjoy off-road motorsport, and competitors awoke to a bright, spring morning, the organisers even watering the dusty motocross track to help keep the dust at bay. A remote chance of rain threatened a curveball, but this did not move through until long after all of the riders were home and hosed.
The ‘Sprint Enduro’ format means riders take part in the same test all day, so they really get the opportunity to learn it well. And, after a somewhat slippery first test with morning dew on a slippery grass surface, it soon got dry and a little dusty which meant conditions were fast, and times improved during the day.
READ MORE: ENDURO NEWS
There were plenty of spectators in attendance, with the combination of good weather, free attendance and some rather notable riders in competition all helped to pack out the venue. The Elite Championship section saw some of the local star regulars joined by some notable wildcards, notably the recent Enduro GP of Italy winner Brad Freeman, whilst a couple of top extreme enduro stars in Jonny Walker and Billy Bolt also made a foray into the Welsh hillsides.
Both of the hard enduro stars certainly showed their skills on the technical stuff, but had some mixed fortunes. Walker was in the shadows of the established stars and put together a solid eighth overall. Bolt’s day ended on the fifth test, as whilst closing on the event leaders for pace, he caught his hand on a trackside post. Whilst he was not seriously injured with a bloodied hand, with other championship commitments taking precedence for him, Bolt opted to retire after test five. Still, he certainly kept a legion of fans happy, both young and old, and news emerged later on that he’s back in August for the Grand Prix!
At the sharp end though, it was all about Brad Freeman, who topped the early timecharts, and began to pull away as he improved through the day, posting a day’s best time of 7:35.270 on test five. Jamie McCanney and Jack Edmondson were close behind as they looked to repeat their close duel from last year, however Edmondson dropped a little bit of time on the fourth test to give McCanney the advantage. However, whilst Freeeman looked to be running away with things, one rider really making inroads on the leaderboard was Jed Etchells. After a modest eighth on the first test, he got quicker as the day went on and was soon challenging Freeman for pace. Could he top the timesheets on the final test? Well, the answer was yes as he posted a 7:37.149 to comfortably take the final test and snatch second overall from McCanney by just two seconds. However despite losing time on the final test, Brad Freeman’s 53:52.263 total score was enough to take the ‘King of the Hill’ title for 2026, at a venue where he sill surely be feeling confident with when he returns to the GP in August!
Jack Edmonson was just off the podium in fourth, whilst the French Enduro GP star Leo Joyon picked up the pace as the day went on for fifth, ahead of Daniel McCanney, Alex Walton, the aforementioned Jonny Walker and the Fast Eddy team duo of Harry Edmonson and Jack Keenan.
The Expert class saw Reece Jones emerge as the standout rider, consistently topping the test times. Jones has been making a name for himself on the youth motocross scene in recent years but is now showing himself to be dab hand at enduro, posting some times that would indicate he could be a good Elite rider in the future, a total time of 57:10.775. Kit Szabo kept him honest during the afternoon and finished 31 seconds adrift of Jones’ time, whilst taking the fastest third test, with Joshua Lawer just a little further back in third keeping the pressure on the leaders all afternoon as he finished 56 seconds adrift. Lawer headed off a close group of riders, with Fraiser Lampkin, William Barnett and Iwan Roberts all only separated by a handful of seconds.
The Clubman class was a little closer cut, as Albie O’Connell and Alfie Crealock-Lovell traded fastest times throughout the seven tests, leaving no margin for error between the two. In the end it was O’Connell who emerged the winner, posting a 1:01:52.713 total, just seven seconds ahead of Crealock-Lovell who had lost a bit of time on the first test. They both finished just over a minute ahead of Mitch Conway who took the final podium spot comfortably, with George Ward, Chad Prosser, Ryan Jones and Benjamin Walker all finishing close behind.
The Ladies’ class saw two star names dominate the lead spots, as Nieve Holmes and Rosie Rowett challenged for the win. Rowett took a strong lead after the first two tests however Holmes was able to fight back during the remaining five tests, chipping away at Rowett’s lead to take the victory with a 1:01:56.798, 19 seconds ahead of Rowett. There was a little gap between them and third, with Brooke Mudie 90 seconds further behind, whilst Emmy Joy Pitcher, Chrissie Harcourt, Ceri Wyn Jones, Zoe Zembruski and Christina Pillar filled out the remaining spots.
Youth riders were split into Under 19 and Under 16 categories, and south Wales star George Sheldon was the comfortable winner of the Under 19s with a total time of 58:52.321, posting times that would have comfortably mixed with some of the Expert and Elite riders. He was 50 seconds ahead of Gruff Morgan, who also managed to finish under the hour mark over the seven tests, with Ben Allen just over the hour marker as he took a comfortable third place. Jack Brooks, Charlie Waters, Harrison Rees and Tommy Willis were just a little further behind.
The Under 16s saw the 85cc warriors pushed hard on the fast circuit, as Aaron and Harry Jones battled for the win. Aaron took the early lead before dropping some time on the mid point of the enduro, allowing Harry back into the mix, but was able to hang on and take the win with a 1:05:05.575 time, 22 seconds ahead of Harry. There was a bit of a gap thereafter as Gruff Rowlands took third, six minutes behind, demonstrating what a fast pace the leaders had put in. Bethan Thomas and Pippa Forman never gave up and completed the final spots.
The Super Vets category was, as expected, closely fought. Paul Bolton had been the rider to beat, but a couple of spills on test three cost him valuable time. Will Keenan was always a close match and managed to keep ahead of Bolton to take the hotly disputed victory by 24 seconds. Jamie Paget had been right on the leaders’ shoulders all day and completed the podium just 26 seconds off the leader, with Christopher Milliar, Jason Darby and Tom Allen just a little further back.
Vets 40+ was also a closely fought category as two of the South West visitors, Cornwall’s Richard Penhaligon and Somerset’s James Drinkwater emerged at the front. Penhaligon emerged as the early leader but Drinkwater was also able to take some test wins, and some lost time for Penhaligon on the final test, it meant that with a 1:02:34.643, Drinkwater was able to claim the win by 12 seconds. However Timothy Saunders almost staged a late claim for victory after a fast final test, just 13 seconds adrift at the end, he took third place. James Berrill, Luke Powell and Justin Bolton were all closely matched and might well have taken the podium on a different day.
Rounding off the big entry of riders was the Sportsman class, where Luke Davies emerged as the early frontrunner, setting some strong times very early on during the morning tests. He was going to be tough to catch, but Tallis Price certainly made a good go of it, closing in on Davies before taking the final two tests. However, Davies’ total of 1:05:47.001 was enough to secure him the victory, just under a minute ahead of Price. Archie Knill rode well all day and took a strong third place, just over 30 seconds ahead of Max Powell, with Ty Maytom Jones and Jordan Williams a little further back.
Just before 3:30pm the event drew to a close, it had started early and finished by mid afternoon to give plenty of time for the competitors to make their way home, and for some of the further travelled riders, ample time to make the ferry!
It’s always a social atmosphere post event, and plenty of fans and competitors gathered at the clubhouse for the award presentations, and also grab a post race beer or two!
A great way to round off a fantastic day of enduro, with very few retirements over the race classes most riders had certainly enjoyed an action packed day!
The Welsh Open Sprint Championship returns in just a couple of weeks as Hafren Dirt Bike Club stages round two on Sunday, 10th May.
Results
King-Of-The-Hill-Results
