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.
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.
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.
The 2023 Roger Albert Clark Rally marked the fifteenth edition of the event that set out to recreate the essence of the golden era of British Rallying. In the late seventies and eighties, the RAC Rally of Great Britain, as it was known back then, presented a distinctive challenge for the world’s top rally drivers. Spanning across England, Scotland, and Wales over multiple days, the rally encompassed visits to various stately homes, motorsport venues, and forestry roads. The RAC Rally has therefore always been renowned as one of the most demanding and iconic events in the world of rallying.