After several years of two-wheel/front-wheel drive “hot hatches” being the focus of our top-flight National Championship, competitors were voting with their feet. Numbers had declined to the point where the series, which should possibly be considered as “the pinnacle” of the sport in our country had lost credibility amongst rallying folk and had effectively become a turn-off for the fans.
“THE BRC IS BACK!” was the tagline for the British Rally Championship in 2016.
The covers are off, Llanwrdra (Wales) based Melvyn Evans Motorsport (MEM) will field a two-car team in the 2024 Motorsport UK Probite British Rally Championship with a pair of brand new Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 specification machines bringing the Iconic Toyota – Castrol partnership back to rallying.
The BTRDA Rally Series would return in to action at its opening round The Malcolm Wilson Rally (9th/10th March) with a new title sponsor on the sun strip for its 2024 season. The UK’s premier gravel rally championship joins its sister Asphalt Championship with welcomed backing from ProTyres this year.
Entering its 71st year, the 2024 Protyre BTRDA Gravel Rally series springs into life this coming weekend (8th/9th March) at its traditional season-opening round amongst the stunning “lakes and mountains” scenery of Keswick and Coniston in Cumbria.
A new championship season also brings a new sponsor, with Protyre extending their BTRDA Tarmac championship sponsorship of over 5 years to cover the Gravel series. With a 2-year agreement and the potential to add a further year the future of the series is secure.
The wider championship consists of 8 rounds, a choice of 6 of which are scoring in each of the main 3 categories, Gold, Silver, and Bronze Star along with Historic and Rally First awards.
This weekend, the BTRDA Rally Series is set to make its return to the national rallying calendar at the Malcolm Wilson stages in the picturesque Lake District. This will also signify the return of the BTRDA Rally Series to the pages of Xlerate.net.
The 2024 East Riding Stages, organised by the hard-working team at the Beverley & District Motor Club would kick off closed road stage rallying for the year. Conveniently hosted a little under a month before the start of both the British Rally Championship and the Protyre Asphalt series. The fast and flowing ‘Ypres-like’ stages of North East Yorkshire would offer crews a perfect opportunity to gain valuable seat time after the winter break, aiding in their preparation for the season ahead.
This year, the FUCHS Lubricants British Historic Rally Championship takes a new step forward with an expanded calendar. Although similar to previous years, notably, there is an increase in Asphalt events, adding diversity to what is primarily a loose surface playground.
On Sunday 11th February, from the North Yorkshire market town of Thirsk, The Riponian Rally once again raised the curtain on a fresh new season of British Historic Rallying and would provide a challenging event for the participating crews to contend with.
The Forests of North Yorkshire will witness the commencement of the 2024 FUCHS Lubricant, Motorsport UK, British Historic Rally Championship on February 11th. The Riponian Rally, serving as the season opener, will once again take centre stage, marking the beginning of three consecutive Gravel events that will ignite the new season. Following this Championship curtain raiser, the attention will then turn to Wales for Rally North Wales, taking place on March 16th, and the Severn Valley Stages which will follow suit on April 13th.
The Motorsport UK British Historic Rally Championship, sponsored by FUCHS Lubricants, will make an illustrious return to the Xlerate.net platform in 2024.
On a surprisingly mild morning in January, the rally season officially commenced at the Royal Welsh Showground based just outside the market town of Builth Wells. The North Road Garage Toyota Showground Stages would provide both UK rally fans & competitors with their first event of 2024. The event had been organised and reimagined by the Newton & District Automobile Club and proudly sponsored by the Pritchard family’s North Road Garage Toyota.
