Defending Realish Rally champion Mark Gormley got off to the perfect start in the first round of the Realish Rally Chronicle. In front-wheel-drive class H1 cars from the 1960s, the Irishman kept his momentum to pick up where he left off with a win.
Nic Redhead also continued his strong form from last season, finishing just 12 seconds behind Gormley in 2nd, while Nigel Croese finished on the podium on his Realish Rally debut. In a season where car choice will play a critical role, the Mini Cooper S was the popular choice, being driven by all three podium finishers and eight of the top ten.
Mark Singleton was 4th and the only Lancia Fulvia in the top ten, ahead of Lazaros Filippakos and PJ Tierney. Behind them was one of the closest battles in Realish Rally history, with Philip Morby edging out Pete Walker for 7th by a mere 0.077 seconds after six tough stages.
Allie Ferrie finished a heroic 9th in the gorgeous Citroen DS 21, while Neil Sheard rounded out the points scorers. A bumper field of 26 cars took the start, of whom 22 saw the finish. Outside the top ten, Jean-Pierre Xhonneaux, Chris Groves and Andy Martin all made their competitive debuts at Realish Racing; Bjorn Golda, Arwyn Brock and James Price-Harper, all established Realish Racing drivers in circuit racing, also took part in their first rallies.
| Pos | Nat | Driver | No | Car | Time | Difference |
| 1 | IRL | Mark Gormley | 4 | MINI Cooper S | 28:02.065 | — |
| 2 | GBR | Nic Redhead | 42 | MINI Cooper S | 28:14.694 | 00:12.629 |
| 3 | NED | Nigel Croese | 16 | MINI Cooper S | 29:01.680 | 00:59.615 |
| 4 | GBR | Mark Singleton | 36 | Lancia Fulvia HF | 29:29.702 | 01:27.637 |
| 5 | GRC | Lazaros Filippakos | 14 | MINI Cooper S | 29:48.353 | 01:46.288 |
| 6 | IRL | PJ Tierney | 450 | MINI Cooper S | 30:05.920 | 02:03.855 |
| 7 | GBR | Philip Morby | 41 | MINI Cooper S | 30:09.150 | 02:07.085 |
| 8 | GBR | Pete Walker | 71 | MINI Cooper S | 30:09.227 | 02:07.162 |
| 9 | SCO | Allie Ferrie | 35 | DS 21 | 30:53.982 | 02:51.917 |
| 10 | RSA | Neil Sheard | 145 | MINI Cooper S | 31:01.427 | 02:59.362 |
| 11 | SCO | Sam Hill | 0 | Lancia Fulvia HF | 31:21.112 | 03:19.047 |
| 12 | SCO | Campbell Wallis | 64 | Lancia Fulvia HF | 31:33.360 | 03:31.295 |
| 13 | AUS | Matthew Wheeler | 31 | DS 21 | 31:39.286 | 03:37.221 |
| 14 | BEL | Jean-Pierre Xhonneaux | 555 | Lancia Fulvia HF | 31:42.961 | 03:40.896 |
| 15 | GBR | Chris Groves | 18 | MINI Cooper S | 32:05.813 | 04:03.748 |
| 16 | DEU | Bjorn Golda | 10 | MINI Cooper S | 32:23.773 | 04:21.708 |
| 17 | GBR | Mike Bell | 32 | MINI Cooper S | 33:25.368 | 05:23.303 |
| 18 | GBR | Fraser Harley | 56 | MINI Cooper S | 34:21.745 | 06:19.680 |
| 19 | GBR | Ryan Eastham | 12 | MINI Cooper S | 34:27.793 | 06:25.728 |
| 20 | GBR | Chris Williamson | 166 | MINI Cooper S | 35:42.152 | 07:40.087 |
| 21 | WAL | Arwyn Brock | 99 | Lancia Fulvia HF | 37:12.852 | 09:10.787 |
| 22 | GBR | Andy Martin | 874 | Lancia Fulvia HF | 37:34.696 | 09:32.631 |
| NC | POL | Artur Borowski | 74 | Lancia Fulvia HF | DNF | DNF |
| NC | NOR | Scott Sovik | 55 | DS 21 | DNF | DNF |
| NC | GBR | James Price-Harper | 78 | DS 21 | DNF | DNF |
| NC | GBR | Joshua Anderson | 2 | DS 21 | DNF | DNF |
Full stage results are available here.
| H1 | H3 | Group B | Group A | ||||||||
| Pos | Driver | No | ARG | GRC | SCO | USA | DEU | POL | AUS | NZL | Pts |
| 1 | Mark Gormley | 4 | 1 | 15 | |||||||
| 2 | Nic Redhead | 42 | 2 | 12 | |||||||
| 3 | Nigel Croese | 16 | 3 | 10 | |||||||
| 4 | Mark Singleton | 36 | 4 | 8 | |||||||
| 5 | Lazaros Filippakos | 14 | 5 | 6 | |||||||
| 6 | PJ Tierney | 450 | 6 | 5 | |||||||
| 7 | Philip Morby | 41 | 7 | 4 | |||||||
| 8 | Pete Walker | 71 | 8 | 3 | |||||||
| 9 | Allie Ferrie | 35 | 9 | 2 | |||||||
| 10 | Neil Sheard | 145 | 10 | 1 | |||||||
| 11 | Sam Hill | 0 | 11 | 0 | |||||||
| 12 | Campbell Wallis | 64 | 12 | 0 | |||||||
| 13 | Matthew Wheeler | 31 | 13 | 0 | |||||||
| 14 | Jean-Pierre Xhonneaux | 555 | 14 | 0 | |||||||
| 15 | Chris Groves | 18 | 15 | 0 | |||||||
| 16 | Bjorn Golda | 10 | 16 | 0 | |||||||
| 17 | Mike Bell | 32 | 17 | 0 | |||||||
| 18 | Fraser Harley | 56 | 18 | 0 | |||||||
| 19 | Ryan Eastham | 12 | 19 | 0 | |||||||
| 20 | Chris Williamson | 166 | 20 | 0 | |||||||
| 21 | Arwyn Brock | 99 | 21 | 0 | |||||||
| 22 | Andy Martin | 874 | 22 | 0 | |||||||
| NC | Artur Borowski | 74 | DNF | 0 | |||||||
| NC | Scott Sovik | 55 | DNF | 0 | |||||||
| NC | James Price-Harper | 78 | DNF | 0 | |||||||
| NC | Joshua Anderson | 2 | DNF | 0 | |||||||