Hemicuda Rally 2026 - aka The Belgian Slip 'n' Slide
Well as the title suggests it was a slippy one that's for sure! After a challenging year that has resulted in less events than originally scheduled for the pairing of Richard Weatherley and Shaun Layland they were back for the Hemicuda Rally. This rally is the same one that saw them take their first closed road rally stage win together last year on the final stage of the event. Despite having this positive experience they were keeping their expectations realistic due to a huge lack of seat time in the 2026 season to date. So with that in mind we'll pick the story up from Recce signing on, on the Saturday morning of the weekend.
Recce signing on took place at the very relaxed and welcoming Cafe Monroe. This was the same place as last year and the organisation is absolutely perfect. No time wasted in queues or anything silly like that.....it was as simple as walking in and out again within a couple minutes. Just what it should be like!
After the quick signing on it was time to begin recce and with 1 stage being run twice in the Saturday evening and a limited time to recce this it was first on the list. Incidently it was also the one furthest away from rally HQ/ service, so by getting it done early it allowed time to complete the others without panic. The stage in question was called Middelkere and it was identical to last year (much like all the other stages this weekend). Due to the identical stages it meant that the pairing had a solid base of notes already allowing for a stress free recce.
After arriving at Middelkerke it very quickly became apparent that the previous few days rain and the current weather (more rain) was going to play a huge part in the weekend. The stage was already polluted from where people were testing the cuts on recce, so not only did this allow them to see the extent of the cuts that lay ahead. Alongside this, it also allowed the boys to see where the stage was going to be "muddy" (if you have watched any in car footage then you'll know that the word muddy is normally replaced with something else....). 2 runs of Middelkerke were completed and much like last year there was very little room for error and it required some very precise driving. Some great alterations and additions had been added so it was time to let those notes do the talking later on and head to the other stages for more recce,
With notes from the previous years running of the event and the stages being identical it meant that the rest of the stages were very much the same as Middelkerke. By this we simply mean that there were no major alterations or additions to make, just adaptations for the weather. The day seemed to fly by and with the evening stages looming it was time to meet up with the team from EDSL Sport to make those final preparations ahead of the evening start.
By the time Rich and Shaun were at service EDSL had got the car scrutineered and it was simply a case of making any final set up changes and getting ready for the 2 stages that lay ahead on leg 1 of the event.
After just over an hour it was time to head out to SS1 of the event and start leg 1. It was 4.30pm so not quite dark yet, however in the interest of ease and potential delays Richard opted to put the light bars on the car for the first stage. Luckily there were no delays though and as they were 8th on the road they had hoped for a relatively clean line....they were wrong by a long way! The stage portraited some of the worst conditions they'd ever seen for a tarmac rally with furter rain falling too! Slippy like ice is the only way to describe it!
SS1 saw a few moments for the crew, but they got through unscathed and laying 8th overall. After the stage they had a quick remote service and breather before a re-group outside of a casino which also acted as a "parc expose" which was great to see. Lots of rally enthusiasts despite the poor weather and an excellent atmosphere.
With SS2 being a repeat run of Middelkerke it is fair to say that not many people were looking forward to Slip 'n' Slide and especially in the dark! However the stage ran and with more rain and more cars through the stage than before the conditions were worse! Simply no grip and a horrific feeling of almost being a passenger for the stage. More moments were had and a massive sigh of of relief when they got the end of the stage. Despite the conditions they only saw 2 cars off on the stage but later on the 2nd running of the stage would claim a further 12 competitive crews!
Anyway with that out of the way it was on to a quick service before parc ferme for the night. Nothing major to report and nothing exciting to tell you so we'll pick the story back up on Leg 2 of the event.
Leg 2 then...here we go....the sun is shining and everyone was hopeful for better conditions compared to last night. The boys opted for a safe tyre choice for loop 1 of day 2 and oh boy that was a good call as the Slip 'n' Slide extended into the first stage of the day!!! Kortemark was the stage and it was simply a case of sliding around once again, although not quite as bad as the previous 2 stages.
With the scene set to be another slippy day they adjusted their speed accodiringly and were fighting their way up the pecking order nicely to fight with the locals and finish the first loop at 9th overall.
From here it was another quick service before heading out for loop 2 which sadly saw the cancellation of SS 6 due to a fellow FIRC crew having a major off in the first run of the stage (SS 3). Our best wishes and speedy recovery goes to them at this time.
The rest of the event was trouble free and the stages even started to dry up, which saw some excellent committment from Richard behind the wheel of the C3 Rally2. A mega fight was had throughout the whole day and multiple top 10 stage times were had. The crew even managed a 5th fastest on the first running of the Koekelare stage, which is actually the one that they won in 2025 so theremust be something about this stage that Richard likes.
After a long and gruelling event which saw a faultless running of the C3 Rally2 Richard and Shaun finished the event in 6th overall, 5th in class and 2nd FIRC. An excellent return to the stages and it is great to put the years mishaps behind them. Now they look ahead to the remainder of the year and ahead to 2027. Plans are coming on nicely for 2027 so watch this space!
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