Jersey Rally 2026
Well it has been a while but the blogs are back! Shaun took on one of his all time favorite events once again....The Jersey Rally. This rally is based on the channel island of Jersey and despite the islands small nature it packs a punch with 93 competitive stage miles for crews to tackle!
For 2026 Shaun returned to the event alongside Roger Holder in the stunning Ford Escort MK 2 which is powered by a 2L BDG engine and oh boy does she sound amazing!
As always with this event the first hurdle is simply getting onto the island due to a lack of travel dates via boat or plane, so Shaun and Roger headed across early on the Tuesday of rally week via plane.
The early arrival meant that it allowed plenty of time to recce the stages in a hire car and the weapon of choice this time round was a convertible Porsche Boxster....nothing but style we know!
Nevertheless the boys got on with the task at hand and begun recce with the 2 closest stages to the airport. Prior to their arrival they'd put plenty of time into the note preparations which showed due to the extremely low amount of edits made during recce. With the notes working well they headed off to another set of stages on the other side of the island.
A look over the remaining stages of the rally saw that the preparation once again had paid dividends as the notes were flowing really well and the pairing were completing the stages with ease. For Tuesday they only completed one pass of the stages before calling it a day and enjoying what the island had to offer for a couple hours.
After a stormy night they woke up on Wednesday to torrential rain and some mild flooding, but this was perfect as it allowed another pass over the stages in wet conditions. The wet conditions were forecasted for the rally start on the Friday too. A plan to see each of the stages once again was in motion and to create some "wet" notes.
With the rain falling and the stages showing where the puddles were and also where the grip level was going to change, a solid set of notes was produced across the whole day. As evening fell the rest of the team joined the pairing as they had arrived via boat with the car. As ever it was time for a catch up and an evening of story telling. 2 days of successful recce was completed, which only left half a day on the Thursday.
With both Roger and Shaun happy with the outcome of recce so far, they decided to focus on the first 2 stages of the rally Thursday morning so that they were fresh in their minds. A swift and efficient recce once again was completed, meaning they had time to simply relax for a couple hours. The Thursday of rally week is traditionally noise test, scrutineering and signing on in the evening and this year was no different. The atmosphere is always excellent with a spectator area next to the scrutineering bays, music and so much more!
With absolutely no issues to report the team flew through all the checks and it was time for some well needed rest ahead of a busy couple of days rallying!
Friday came and after the obligatory crew briefing it was time to hit the stages as the rain fell.... SS 1 & 2 were damp and the drizzle wasn't holding off just yet. The stages certainly weren't taking any prisoners with various crews already suffering mechanical failures or incidents. A clean run from Roger and Shaun though and they got back to service in 41st overall which is an improvement of 8 places on their seeding already.
After this first loop the drizzle disappeared and allowed the stages to begin to dry up gradually thus allowing the boys to push on that little bit more. The afternoon stages were completed without a hitch and it was now time for a dinner halt before tackling some fresh stages in the dark...
The rally gods had a plan for the night stages and that was simply to pour down for the majority of them! This obviously threw a curve ball and with some wet tires bolted on Roger and Shaun went out to try and find some grip.......there wasn't much!
Nonetheless they came back and reported nothing but positive news by setting some respectable times and beaming with smiles at what can only be described as a road rally crews dream! Both of them cut their teeth in road rallying so this was the perfect scenario!
After many a handbrake turn and good ol' skid in the dark they worked their way up to 28th overall overnight which isn't to be sniffed at in the historic car. They'd certainly earned a good nights sleep, but with less than 9 hours to go until they were due back at service they were limited on time before Leg 2.
Saturday arrived and the weather was slightly better in the sense that it wasn't pouring down this time! Although it wasn't raining it was still a little damp due to the morning dew and this made the first 2 stages of the day a little unpredictable grip wise. On the very first stage of the day a car was beached on the outside of a corner for the boys and they had to slow right down and squeeze through the smallest of gaps.
After finding their feet it was time to dial up the pressure which saw them in a battle with a few different crews to take a top 25 spot. Some of these crews included locals to the island but also high powered weapons with modern suspension and gearboxes. Again.....not to be sniffed at!
The day proceeded on and people were dropping out of the rally with various mechanical failures or incidents that put them out of the event. It truly is a rally of attrition, but this didn't phase the pairing as they battled on with the technical and rewarding stages that Jersey had to offer them this year.
With nothing of note to report and just a really good enjoyable days motorsport to be had whilst performing some sterling handbrake turns and drifts, we'll skip to the end of the event...
They'd covered 93 competitive stage miles, not missed a single stage and not had a single issue throughout the event which is a first on this one for Roger. As a pairing they proved to work as a great team which comes as no surprise at all. After a successful event they came home with 22nd overall and 11th in class which is a PB for Roger on the Jersey Rally.
To their amazement though, during the awards ceremony Saturday evening they managed to pick up the handbrake award for their committed cornering on the bar! Now this award is one that everyone that enters the event wants and some may even say more so than 1st overall. It is a huge privilege for the pair to have taken it and they are over the moon with receiving this award.
Channel Island Success for sure!
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