Ollie Mellor and Max Freeman win the Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally

Ollie Mellor and his co-driver Max Freeman were the surprise winners of the 63rd Cambrian Rally which roared off from Llandudno this morning.

But the victory was not an easy one with their Proton Iriz R5 suffered a puncture in the penultimate stage of the competition which saw drivers tackle seven difficult stages including stunning forest sections.

However, Mellor of Matlock car club and Freeman of Wolverhampton and South Staffordshire car club managed to hold their nerve to finish the course six seconds ahead of their rivals Paul Bird and Jack Morton.

Mellors “It was very tricky and the stages were very hard for the car and for the crew. “The competition has been very strong with world cars and local cars and local knowledge so to be able to come out on top is fantastic.”

Their victory is even more remarkable considering the pair had never spoken before entering the rally and they were late entries into the competition having only registered on Wednesday.

His co-driver Freeman said: “We’ve never really spoken to each other before but I got a phonecall to go together (in the rally).

"We looked around at the competition and thought what can we do? We were watching the timings all day and were leading for most of it.

"But on Stage 6 we had a puncture and my heart was in my mouth for that stage but fortunately we gelled together really well and came out on top.”

The rally, which started and finished at Llandudno Promenade, also marked the opening round of both the British Trials and Rally Drivers Association national championship and the Welsh Forest Rally Championship.

Special recognition was given to second place man Bird and Morton as they were crowned victors of the British Trial and Rally Drive Association round.

Article by Daily Post.