News

Tom Pryce Memorial Trophy win for Walters Arena

3/2/2020

A former open-cast mine in the Dulais Valley, which has become a world famous location for motorsport and off-road vehicle development, Walters Arena plays a significant role in bringing in visitors to the local area, and supporting the economy.

The site began life as an opencast mine after the second world war, and after the coal reserves were extracted, it was backfilled, topsoiled and landscaped with conifers and grass.

It evolved into an international motorsports complex hosting the Welsh round of the World Rally Championship, and became established as a testing venue for WRC teams. It has also been used by vehicle manufacturers to develop cars with off-road ability.

Walters Arena now hosts a number of national and international motorsport events, and has also featured on television in Top Gear, Fifth Gear and Wheeler Dealers.

Joe Pugh wins 2019 John Arfon Edwards Memorial Prize

10/2/2019

A journalism graduate has won a £1,000 prize a driving experience at Silverstone, and work experience at some of the UK’s top automotive publications.

Joe Pugh, of Abergavenny, was one of six MA students who opted to take the automotive module at Cardiff University’s School of Journalism. All six were eligible to compete for Welsh Motoring Writers’ John Arfon Edwards Memorial Prize in 2019.

Assignments submitted looked at issues around electric vehicles and autonomous technology, and Joe produced a three-minute video on the potential of electric cars in club racing, including interviews with race organisers and drivers.

Jobs boost for Wales with assembly plant for 4x4 start-up

9/18/2019

Wales will receive an employment and investment boost with a new car plant to build a utilitarian 4x4 vehicle, as production is planned for 2021.

The vehicle will be called Grenadier, after the pub in which the project was conceived in January 2017, and following an online poll of more than 6,000 international fans and followers responding to select the vehicle’s name.

Ineos also confirmed that the Grenadier will be built in a bespoke new manufacturing facility on a greenfield site in Bridgend. This will create 200 jobs initially, and up to 500 in the long term. Site development is now under way to support planned start of production in 2021.

The 50,000 appeal fund to remember F1 race ace Tom Pryce and inspire future generations

6/11/2019

A £50,000 appeal fund has been set up to erect a statue in memory of the Formula 1 ace Tom Pryce in his hometown of Denbigh.

The official launch was timed to coincide with what would have been the local hero’s 70th birthday today (Tuesday, June 11) and just weeks following the death at the age of 70 of his racing rival Nicki Lauda.

Poignantly, Lauda was taking part in the 1977 South African Grand Prix in which Tom was tragically killed and went on to win the race.

A website, a Facebook page and a Go Fund Me page https://www.gofundme.com/tom-pryce-appeal have now gone live so supporters can make donations.

Organisers say they want to inspire future generations to follow their dreams as well as creating a permanent memorial and the strap line to the appeal is #whatsyourdream.

The talented sculptor Nick Elphick is on board and is keen to make an “interactive piece of public art” which people can use to take selfies. There is already a Tom Pryce mural celebrating his achievements in nearby Ruthin and a stretch of track at the Anglesey Circuit is named the Tom Pryce Straight in his honour.

On July 13 and 14 his life will be celebrated at when the Historic Sports Car Club’s first race meeting at the spectacular track is dedicated to Tom.

The programme will include the inaugural stand-alone races for Formula Atlantic as a period category. Tom was a star of Formula Atlantic during his rise to stardom and the pair of Formula Atlantic races will be run for the Tom Pryce Trophy.

Tom, or Maldwyn as he was known to his friends, was raised in the small village of Nantglyn just outside Denbigh and he was a pupil of the former Frongoch School in the town.

After leaving school he became an apprentice tractor mechanic at North Wales Agricultural Engineers in St Asaph. But he always had a burning ambition to be a racing driver and he moved swiftly up the ranks, winning the Formula One Race of Champions at Brands Hatch in 1975.

He went on to start the British Grand Prix at Silverstone that year in pole position and led the field for two laps. As part of the Shadow team, he enhanced his burgeoning reputation as a supremely skilled driver by coming third in the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix and repeating the feat a year later in Brazil.

According to his friends and his fans, he was on his way to becoming a Formula One great, a Lewis Hamilton on his day, and they are convinced he would have become world champion had he lived.

Sadly, he perished in a freak accident, leaving behind his distraught widow Fenella, parents Jack and Gwyneth and a racing world in shock.

Among those supporting the appeal is the Mayor of Denbigh, Cllr Gaynor Wood-Tickle. She said: “I think the appeal to create a special piece of public art to remember Tom is absolutely wonderful. “No matter what young people want to do, they need things to inspire them and this can only be a good thing for the town of Denbigh.”

One of Tom’s friends, Dave Jones, from St Asaph, brought Tom’s beloved blue MGB GT car to the launch. He recalled: “I first met Tom when he was a tractor mechanic and I was a spotty 14 year old.

“At that time, I knew he was going to a racing drivers’ school which impressed me immensely but as a person he was a lovely chap, very quiet but very funny too.

“At the racing drivers’ school, they very quickly realised that he was something special. They’d seen James Hunt before, but Tom was something special.

“He was a hero of mine and I was passionate about motor racing because of Tom, and I followed his career closely. His death was a terrible tragedy and a great loss.

“He was flying in terms of his career as a Formula 1 driver and I’m sure he would have been world champion.

“I was deeply honoured when his parents gave me Tom’s MGB GT for safe keeping.”

Among the main drivers of the appeal is leading businessman, Mario Kreft MBE, from Denbigh, who stressed that they were not looking for any public money for the statue which would be funded by donations from supporters. He said: “The idea was spurred by Tom Pryce exhibition at Denbigh Museum, which is housed in his old school, and which was the brain child of Ronwy Rogers, from Denbigh.

“Ronwy had made a promise to his father to keep Tom’s memory alive and thanks to a great deal of hard work by a lot of people the exhibition was a huge success and attracted interest from across the world.

“The strap line of the campaign, #whatsyourdream, is perfect because Tom went from being an apprentice tractor mechanic to Formula 1 racing in a very short space of time.

“It’s a wonderful story and Tom has clearly not been forgotten but I think he’s probably not had the recognition he deserves.

“We hope that this fitting and exceptional piece of public art will inspire all of us but particularly our young people.”

Sculptor Nick Elphick, from Llandudno, has already been busy sketching and making maquettes. He said: “Personally, I feel extremely proud to have been asked to be involved in this project. “I really feel like I’ve got a connection to Tom Pryce already and it’s become something that I just want to do as a personal thing - just knowing about his history and talking to his friends and realising what an amazing person he was.

“When you look at the photos, Tom is almost like an actor playing the part - he’s got these film star good looks and his smile was so genuine, and that’s what I’m trying to capture.

“It’s important to me that we make Tom’s history real so that he can never be forgotten.”

For more information go to www.tompryce.co.uk or www.Facebook.com/TomPryceF1 and to make a contribution to the appeal fund go to https://www.gofundme.com/tom-pryce-appeal

Wales Air Ambulance receives £500 donation from WMW

2/25/2019

Wales Air Ambulance community fundraising manager for Mid Wales Andrew Hall receives a cheque for £500 from Welsh Motoring Writers.

Members of Welsh Motoring Writers visited Welshpool Mid-Wales Airport to present a cheque for £500 to Wales Air Ambulance on Saturday (23 February).

Wales Air Ambulance is now the largest organisation of its type in the UK, and its helicopters can be with a patient anywhere in Wales within 20 minutes. They are not only capable of flying patients to hospital, but with life-saving equipment on board, its pilots are able to bring A&E directly to the patient.

Critical care consultants and practitioners have some of the most pioneering equipment and skills in the world, including blood products and techniques developed in the Armed Forces. It means that patients receive advanced care before they even reach the hospital.

When the weather is too poor for helicopters to fly, the team has a number of rapid response vehicles to attend the scene of an accident with this vital equipment.

The charity doesn’t receive government funding and needs to raise £6.5 million a year to operate, with each mission costing an average of £1,500.

Simon added: “Wales Air Ambulance provides an invaluable service, often at the scene of road traffic accidents, so we are keen to offer support through our donation.”

WMW committee changes for 2019

2/25/2019

Welsh Motoring Writers ushered in committee changes at its annual business meeting on Saturday (23 February), with chairman Huw Thomas retiring at the end of his fifth term.

The role will be filled by Simon Harris, while current treasurer Liam Bird is confirmed for a further two years in the post.

Huw will become the group’s vice-chairman to assist with a smooth transition, while other committee posts will be finalised in the next few weeks, although Colin Barnett has taken over from Ian Johnson as membership secretary, and Rachel Boagey has replaced Simon Harris as website editor.

WMW to launch car awards for Wales as members mark Guild success

12/10/2018

Pictured (left to right): WMW member Michael Nash, WAF CEO Tim Williams, WAF chairman Prof Richard Parry-Jones CBE, WMW chairman Huw Thomas and Secretary of State for Wales the Rt Hon Alun Cairns MP.

Wales will have its own car awards in 2019 in a new partnership with the Welsh Automotive Forum.

The awards will be presented at the WAF Annual Dinner, a black tie event attended by around 400 members representing the automotive industry in Wales.

Introducing the Car Awards Wales initiative at the 2018 annual dinner of WAF, CEO Tim Williams said: “Jointly with WMW we have a special announcement to make. More details in the New Year but our aim is to create a select and limited number of awards, each of equal value, grounded in the Welsh Automotive sector.

“They will also take account of innovation here in the areas of powertrain and propulsion technology. We plan to make the first Car Awards Wales presentations at our next Annual Dinner a year from now.”

Top awards to Wales Rally GB and and Honda UK

10/28/2018

Left to right, Edmund Bailey, Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Gwynedd, with David Hodgetts, managing director of Honda UK, Ben Taylor, managing director of Wales Rally GB and WMW chairman Huw Thomas.

Dayinsure Wales Rally GB has been awarded the highest accolade by Welsh Motoring Writers, as recipient of the Tom Pryce Memorial Trophy, while Honda UK's has received the Terry Davies Automotive Award, recognising its reliance on component suppliers in Wales for production at its Swindon plant.

The team behind Dayinsure Wales Rally GB – the UK round of the FIA World Rally Championship – have produced a truly world class rally experience which has attracted significant investment and provided a real boost to the local economy.

The spectacle of top-class drivers and cars vying with each other against the backdrop of the towering mountains and dramatic coastline of Wales has created a following for it going well beyond the ranks of those already into rallying.

The Terry Davies Automotive Award 2018 recognises Honda's excellence in automotive engineering, and its investment in Swindon marked the beginning of a turnaround in the fortunes of the UK’s motor industry.

Journalism student wins £1,000 prize from WMW and group vice-chairman moves to staff role

10/1/2018

Jake Horton's multi-media feature on driverless cars

A journalism student has won a £1,000 prize, a driving experience at Silverstone, and work experience at some of the UK’s top automotive publications.

Jake Horton was one of six MA students who opted to take the automotive module at Cardiff University’s School of Journalism. All six were eligible to compete for Welsh Motoring Writers’ John Arfon Edwards Memorial Prize in 2018.

Assignments submitted looked at the future of car use, including autonomous vehicles, car sharing schemes and alternative fuels, and Jake’s work focused on self-driving car trials in the US.

WMW makes £500 donation to Blood Bikes Wales and appoints a new patron and treasurer

6/15/2018

Welsh Motoring Writers continued support for Blood Bikes Wales with a £500 donation in June. The donation follows a £500 donation made a year ago.

Blood Bikes Wales has 300 members and operates more than 20 motorcycles. Members are motorbike enthusiasts who deliver blood and other vitally required items overnight or at weekends for NHS Wales when NHS transport is unavailable or committed elsewhere.

Blood Biles Wales members do this entirely free of charge and the organisation is a charity dependent on public fundraising.

The presentation took place at Cruz Cymru 2018 – an annual gathering of both custom and performance cars, fire service, police, other emergency services and road safety organisations. Venue was the Royal Welsh Agricultural Showground at Llanelwedd, Builth Wells.