Rali Ceredigion stage was cancelled after radio failure

ORGANISERS of Rali Ceredigion have now clarified why a key stage of the weekend event was suddenly cancelled on Saturday morning.

According to a Facebook post on the official rally page, stage SS6 was abruptly cancelled at 10:05 on Saturday morning, moments after the high-performance rally cars began racing on the circuit.

SS6 stage, billed as Soar y Mynydd, skirted the northern end of Llyn Brianne.

The Facebook post from Rali Ceredigion reads: “SS6 of Rali Ceredigion has been cancelled due to a safety reason. Cars are driving though uncompetitively.”

A spokesperson from Rali Ceredigion said that later posts from the organisers said the cancellation of the stage was blamed on poor radio communications, with a generator failing.

The Soar y Mynydd section included two stages, SS6 and SS9 is just short of 21kms and originates to the east of Tregaron.

Since Rali Ceredigion returned in 2022, local residents have complained the organisers fail to give proper notice of road closures, signs are improperly placed, and local rural residents in particular are effectively “held hostage” in their own homes.

One business owner in Talybont complained to the Cambrian News that organisers tried several times to wrongly close off the village Square, effectively shutting access to the White Lion. In fact, the road closure did not include the Square and he says it took several efforts over days to have the signs moved.

Cambrian News had asked them about the cancellation of SS6.

“The 2026 European Rally Champion was crowned in Aberystwyth – these images will be seen around the world,” the spokesperson said. “Rally winner Kris Meeke scored his first ever European Rally Championship win, and the first global win on Tarmac for the Toyota Yaris Rally2.”

He cited the performance of international and local drivers, noting that attendances for the Rali had increased on previous years.

“There is no further update or comment on the SS6 cancellation,” his email said.

Moments after the story was posted citing private cars on the route, the spokesman said rally cars drove on the stretch at normal speeds and no private cars had entered the circuit.

Last week, Ceredigion taxpayers were up in arms after Cambrian News revealed that council CEO Eifion Evans had offered county councillors a chance to win top-price hospitality at the Rali in a lottery. In previous years, senior council figures including Evans and Council Leader Bryan Davies, used a helicopter to view the racing action.

Normal racing fans will have to stump up £60 for a day pass to watch the racing or £15 a person to watch the Aberystwyth street stage of the rally, which saw several roads round Aberystwyth on Friday and Saturday.

CEO Evans, who earns £155,000 a year, is a key supporter of Rali Ceredigion, with the council under his direction underwriting the events of hundreds of thousands of taxpayer pounds each year.