Matthew Hirst, the reigning Protyre BTRDA Rally Series and five-time Pirelli Welsh rally champion, has entered the Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt Rally Championship for the first time in his Pirelli-shod Delta Salvage/Witham Motorsport/Speedline Corse Škoda Fabia R5.
The 29-year old Doncaster ace is better known for his title-winning performances on gravel and is keen to develop his asphalt rallying pace.
That said, Matthew has already shown his potential on a sealed surface and has twice finishing inside the top 10 on the East Riding Stages Rally – an event he will contest for the third time later this month.
With discussions ongoing regarding his full plans for 2026, Matthew will decide after the East Riding which events and championships he will contest in his immaculately prepared JD Rallysport-run Škoda.
In the meantime, all of Matthew’s focus will be on his opening rally of the year – and to try and challenge the UK’s most experienced asphalt drivers on what is still a relatively unfamiliar surface for him.
“The East Riding Stages Rally is a natural first event of the year for me because it’s very local – the opening stage is only a thirty-minute drive away from my house,” says Matthew.
“The event is always well promoted by the organising motor club, it features some very interesting and challenging stages, and it always draws a big crowd of spectators and a great atmosphere. It’s the perfect rally to shake a bit of the winter rust off.
“Being more of a gravel focused driver, it’s also a great opportunity for me to try something outside of my comfort zone and a chance to continue to widen my skills set. There are a lot of different techniques between rallying on gravel and asphalt, and the ability to carry speed through the high-speed corners and to trust the grip that you’ve got underneath you is important. That’s something that I’ve potentially lacked in the past and hopefully this year I can make another step forward.
“I’ve done the East Riding twice before and finished in the top ten both times, and this time I’d like to see if I can get a bit closer to the front group of big asphalt hitters.
“This year’s event will also be a bit more of a level playing field for a gravel man like me against some of the asphalt specialists, as the format is different. In addition to the stages run in darkness on the Saturday night, which includes two stages in the South Cave area which are completely new to the event, all the Sunday stages are being run in the reverse direction from last year. That makes it effectively a completely new event for everybody.
“I’ll certainly give the event my best shot. My Škoda Fabia R5 is a little behind on spec and is an older car, but Mark Kelly won the event in a very similar car that I’ll be competing in two years ago, so I know the car’s more than capable. I’m confident we’ve got a very good package with the Pirelli tyres, and it’s down to me to extract every bit of potential out of the car. And I know there is a lot more to come from the package on asphalt as well.”
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