THIS weekend sees six Jersey Motorcycle & Light Car Club rally crews and two Guernsey crews taking on the 40 mile South Downs Stages around the evocative Goodwood Circuit.
Leading the field will be Ed Fossey and Steve Hobbs, returning as Seed 1 following their 2024 victory at this challenging circuit.
For the third year, Fossey will be piloting the potent Proton Satria Millington, the 4WD car originally built for the World Rally Championship in 2008 and now powered by a 2.5 normally aspirated engine.
The entry features strong competition from several English teams and the win is likely to be hotly contested this year.
Fossey admitted he is “looking forward to returning to Goodwood”, saying: “it’s my third visit to a great rally which will always be special as this is where I took my first overall win.
“The Goodwood Circuit has a very special atmosphere and we always have a warm welcome. The stages are a good length and the wintry conditions are usually testing – let’s hope there is no snow this time!
“We are looking forward to a great result again at the end of our successful season.”
Hot on the heels of his fifth overall finish at the Jersey Rally, Rob de Ste Paer is looking forward to his first visit with Sam Simon co-driving in his powerful 2.5lt Escort.
Seeded at 7, the duo are aiming for a finish and a good class position, as the second highest over 2 litre RWD car.
A year ago, Romany Stephens won the best newcomer driver award at Goodwood – this year she returns to co-driving with Nathan Nicolle at the wheel of their BMX 130i – their first trip to the UK this year and they will hope to build on the 12th overall achieved in 2023, certainly a seeding of 20 is one to beat.
Delta Racing’s Stewart Barrow with Sion Humphreys co-driving returns to rallying after a 16 year “break” with the BMW Compact 328. Barrow has some knowledge of the circuit from track days and will be looking to challenge his seeding at 41.
Fellow BMW rally driver, Paul Carre, in his first season of rallying, completed Bovington in an excellent 52nd and he is forecast to certainly beat his seeding of 53 with Zak Simpson in the “hot seat”.
Last amongst the Jersey teams are Josh Torphy and English co-driver Harry Nichols in the powerful BMW Millington One Series. Seeded at 54, it’s anticipated that their initial target is a finish at their first visit to Bovington.
The two Guernsey crews are regular Jersey rally entrants – Paul and Jamie Trebert (Escort) and Jono Robilliard and Greg Robert (Citroen C2).
The last event for them as well before the Guernsey Rally which will be held in mid February 2026.
