The 2026 British Rally Championship is entering a critical point of the season, as the final three points-scoring opportunities take us into Wales to round out the year.
First of those, the JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion holds a key element during the weekend, with two points scoring chances up for grabs, with the leaderboard at the end of Saturday’s leg offering the first points, whilst Sunday gives a second chance to grab vital championship scores.
Add to that, the Lewis and Hunter Cambrian Rally offering 1.5X points plus the additional Joker bonus opportunity; and it all becomes a race for a top result at every twist and turn of the final two rounds.
Osian Pryce holds all the aces. The championship leader has a sizeable advantage and, crucially, could win the BRC title at Ceredigion if he wins both rounds and Max McRae finishes lower than third in both rounds.
McRae has little room for error. The title contender must ensure at least one second place and a third if Pryce wins both. He will play his bonus-inducing Joker in round four [Friday/Saturday].
For Meirion Evans, the challenge is even greater. He realistically needs a win under his belt and a second or third to take the fight to the final round once again. He will play his Joker on Sunday [Round 5]
An outside bet is Sam Touzel. He would need to win all three final rounds and his rivals to falter to be in with a chance – but in the BRC – anything is possible!
So, while the door remains open for all three drivers, the advantage is firmly with Pryce.
The Junior BRC fight is a little more straightforward, with Ben McFall able to clinch both titles in Ceredigion if he wins both points-scoring rounds at the weekend. He has some leeway in that he can finish as low as fourth on one of the rounds if he wins the other. That task is made harder by a charging Luke Constantine, Sam Mason and Irishman Oran England throwing his hat into the ring for the weekend.
Aoife Raftery could become BRC3 champion if she scores well against Junzhe Tang in both rounds at Ceredigion. She plays her Joker on round four, but Kalum Graffin’s return could well make that a harder task. However, the BRC3 co-drivers title will almost certainly not be decided until the Cambrian.
The door is a little more open in the National Rally Title, but Owen Paterson is in the box seat despite missing the opening round. For the Scot to take the title, he would need to win both Ceredigion rounds and for Alfie Hammond to fail to finish one scoring round [and win Cambrian].
