ENGINES roared through the Island’s twisting narrow roads this past weekend, as 2025’s Jersey Rally presented a thrilling show on the tarmac.
The 91-strong bumper entry list took to this year’s new course from Friday, racing through to Saturday evening in pursuit of glory.
Amidst the stacked entries, including the two-time titlist duo of Ross Le Noa and Domonic Volante, as well as three-time champion Stevie Leonard, it was Sam Touzel and Max Freeman who rose above the rest to claim gold, followed by Le Noa and Volante in second and Leonard and Ben Andre in third.
It was a historic win for Touzel and Freeman, as they became the first ever crew to achieve the incredible feat of winning the rally while topping all 24 stages.
“This year’s rally was such a well put together event, it was great to see the Island come together to make it what it was,” said Touzel following his rally triumph.
“I’ve seen a lot and joined the committee to help out, but I never realised just how much work went into putting on this rally. Everyone gives 110% to making this a great event, and these are all volunteers who give so much of their time.
“So, I’d like to thank everyone who made this event possible, all the volunteers, marshals, the committee, everyone who gave their time to help put on this outstanding rally.
“Jersey had a great weekend, everyone came out to support the rally and that made me feel proud to be from this great Island.”
Rallying is never an easy ask, but the “unique beast” which is the Jersey Rally always presents it’s fair share of challenges.
Touzel described the conditions out there, saying: “Jersey has some of the best tarmac in the world, it’s so smooth. However, it makes for a slippy surface, so it’s harder to control the car at pace.
“To get any grip, you have to put on the softest tyres. Also, when you’re driving, you have to be very precise in what you do, and you can’t back off or hesitate.”
Day one – Friday
With the rally commencing at midday, Friday promised plenty of action, with 12 stages scheduled to be contested.
Entrants began their quest for victory speeding through stages in Trinity and St Martin throughout the afternoon, before then heading off to St Brelade and the Rossignol area for the evening.
Touzel didn’t hesitate to show his intent, showcasing his progression and applying his high-level experience to take a strong early lead. After all the first 12 stages, he led the field by 2mins 33secs, with a time of 46m 33.3s.
Behind them, a fierce battle ensued for the next five places, which presented a thrilling nip-and-tuck affair throughout the day.
After the day’s hotly-contested encounter, it was Le Noa and Volante who pulled through to place second, driving well to secure a total time of 49m 6.3s.
Just a mere 12 seconds behind was the dynamic duo of Darryl Morris and Steve Gully, who came in third at 49m 18.3s. They put in an admirable performance in the evening, coming up from behind at the supper break to put themselves in the top three.
Ed Fossey and Will Rutherford finished the day in fourth, still very much in the mix with their time of 49m 23.3s, just five seconds out from a top three position.
Stevie Leonard and Ben Andre closed out the top five, with their small 4.1 second deficit from fourth place, as well as only being 21.1 seconds out from the runners up, showing just how evenly matched the competitors were on the day.
Day two – Saturday
Saturday morning saw the good weather continue, as the reseeded crews headed out to the centre of the Island for morning stages. Saturday morning saw drivers compete across stages in the Frontiere area and Waterworks Valley, before then competing in St Lawrence and across the North Coast in the afternoon, then finishing up where it all began at Trinity’s Royal Jersey Showground.
Touzel and Freeman didn’t miss a beat, continuing to only build on their lead atop the rankings, extending it to four minutes by lunchtime.
Meanwhile, the entertaining battles were far from over, as Le Noa and Volante managed to retain second place, just 22 seconds ahead of the rising threat in Leonard and Andre, who had claimed several second-fastest stage times to climb up to third place.
In what was some of the contested action the seen in the rally for years, Morris and Gully were a close fourth, after also securing second-fastest times on three stages, while Fossey and Rutherford were just nine seconds behind going into the lunch break.
Going into St Lawrence and St John’s afternoon stages, Touzel had built an untouchable lead, where he was clocking speeds of up to 120mph on the North Coast, but there was still plenty to play for.
With Leonard and Morris now both strongly in the picture, former winners Le Noa and Volante pulled out all the stops to retain their spot, claiming two second-fastest stage times to cement themselves at second place at 1 hour, 34mins 18secs, coming in over 30 seconds ahead of Leonard and Morris in third, who clocked in at 1h, 34m 43.1s.
To show just how tough of a rally it was, former three-time winner Leonard commented it was “one of the hardest rallies” in which he’d competed.
Morris and Gully kept up the pressure, but couldn’t get themselves into the top three, as they came in just two seconds behind to claim fourth place, with 1h 34m 45.5s, while Fossey and Rutherford finished fifth, after consolidating their place in the afternoon at 1h 35m 14s.
For those who were unable to complete Friday’s stages, there was still hope for silverware, as they competed for Saturday’s Trophy Rally. It was Mark Syvret and Chris Fox who came out on top in their immaculate Ford Escort, after having to change gearbox and clutch overnight in order to get on the tarmac.
After the race
After winning his home rally, Touzel was happy with the result, saying: “We were very happy and comfortable in the car, and we were happy to showcase our progression firsthand. I know we came into the race as the odds-on favourite, but now I’ve shown locals here the top-level pace, at the moment I feel on another level.
“Our process to stay focused for this rally was to just keep our heads down and tune out the noise. We also watched back a lot of our stage videos, to keep it fresh in the mind and avoid surprises.
“The key to this success has been the commitment and dedication that we’ve put in this year, we’ve been all in.
“I’d like to give a huge thank you to all of our sponsors, I honestly wouldn’t be where I am without their support.”
Touzel didn’t refrain from singing the praises of his fellow drivers, adding: “By no means was this an easy win, the level of competition here is very high as the locals really push the speed to the limit, given their knowledge of all the roads, and there’s previous winners out there competing.
“All of the drivers really put the effort in, and every place was hard fought. However, through all that everyone was smiling, which made for a great atmosphere and weekend.
“From me, I want to congratulate all the drivers on their efforts. I know they don’t get the same amount of publicity as I do, but they sacrifice just as much out there and put in all the effort, so they deserve the recognition.”
Reflecting on yet another successful Jersey Rally, a spokesperson for the Jersey Motorcycle and Light Car Club said: “The Club and event organisers are delighted that the Roberts Garages Jersey Rally has showcased Jersey so well once again. With great weather and huge support, this event passed relatively incident-free.
“We are very grateful to all those who ensure the success of this event, especially Islanders, authorities and all the many, many volunteers for their support.”
Awards:
Roberts Garages trophy, first overall driver & co-driver: Sam Touzel and Max Freeman
Randalls Brewery trophy, second overall driver & co-driver: Ross Le Noa and Domonic Volante
Seymour Hotels trophy, third overall driver and co-driver: Stevie Leonard and Ben Andre
Class 9 (up to 1400cc) – 1: Simon Hunter & Howard Pridmore, 2:James Weaver & Teresa Butler, 3: Paul Vibert & Nick Le Masurier
Class 8 (up to 1600cc) – 1: Jack Hinton & Connor Carre, 2: Steven & David Knight, 3: Andy Corner & Ade Campo
Class 5 (up to 2000cc) – 1: Paul Trebert & Kieran Gregory, 2: Steve Ellis & Jamie Vaughan, 3: Joao Rodrigues & Jordan Neill
Class 3 (over 2000cc) – 1: Jeremy Baudains & Rhiannon Sim, 2: Craig Robert & Chris Guille, 3: Rob de Ste Paer & Jolie Mars
Class 1 (Four Wheel Drive) – 1: Darryl Morris & Steve Gully, 2: Ed Fossey & Will Rutherford, 3: Neil Cotillard & David Jardine
Trophy Rally winners: Mark Syvret & Chris Fox
Jersey Pearl trophy, highest placed lady: Rhiannon Sim
MAC Tools trophy, highest place to valves per cylinder: Kevin Shales & Steve Ahearne
La Motte Ford trophy, highest placed Ford: Sam Touzel & Max Freeman
Falles Longueville Road Garage trophy, highest placed Vauxhall: Jack Hinton & Connor Carre
First placed driver over 50 years: Jeremy Baudains
Sign Solutions Trophy, highest placed Jersey resident crew: Ross Le Noa & Domonic Volante
Roys Ceramics Shield, highest placed Guernsey crew: Craig Robert & Chris Guille
Team Award: The Inbetweeners cars 3,4 and 6
Speedsport Design Trophy, best improvement on seeding: Tyler Collins & Jack Butel
Vac Load “Thanks for coming” Pete Rayner Handbrake Award: Craig Robert
Mark Lowe Spirit of the Rally trophy: Emma Falle
