New BRC Kielder rally organised in record time

A new rally to fill the gap in the British Rally Championship calendar will be organised and run in a record-breaking 12 weeks with the Carlisle Stages confirmed for April.

Originally, the second round of the BRC was due to be the Severn Valley Stages in mid-Wales, but the aftermath of Storm Darragh in early December forced Natural Resources Wales to withdraw permission for the event due to the damage to the forests in the region and the number of fallen trees to be cleared.

Instead, Colin Heppenstall – the man behind the popular Roger Albert Clark Rally historic marathon – stepped in and offered to organise the Carlisle Stages in the infamous Kielder forest, running on the same 12 April day and to a similar format.

As well as forming round two of the BRC, the Carlisle event will also be the second fixture of the British Historic Rally Championship and will cover 50 stage miles in the notoriously challenging Kielder complex from a base in Carlisle.

Though the Carlisle Stages has run before, it was not intended to be held this year as Heppenstall and his team at the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club are busy organising the R.A.C. Rally for November, which will use similar stages.

However, seeing the effect of the Welsh cancellation on both the championships and the UK rallying industry, Heppenstall stepped forward and offered to turn an event from an idea to a reality in a record-breaking 12 weeks.

With huge support from the Forestry Commission in the Kielder region, Motorsport UK and his team of volunteer organisers and officials, Heppenstall has put the event together and the BRC crews will now tackle the Kielder stages for the first time since the 2019 Pirelli Rally.

Heppenstall said: “It’s been a tough few weeks for forest rallying in Wales. Both the BRC and the BHRC are in a similar position, and we have the resources available to launch the Carlisle Stages in April.”

BRC championship manager Reece Tarren added: “We’re very thankful to Colin and the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club for stepping up to fill the gap left by the cancellation of the Severn Valley Stages.

“The rally’s itinerary has been designed to align with the other gravel events on the calendar, providing a smooth transition for teams and drivers.”

Meanwhile, in a further blow for the discipline, the Galway Rally scheduled for this weekend has been postponed due to the impact of Storm Eowyn.

After record-high winds raged across the region, the Galway Motor Club has confirmed that the event will not go ahead as planned.

In a statement, the club said: “The storm caused significant infrastructure damage along the rally route. It was clear that a large number of residents will still be without power and water when the rally was due to run. Priority has to be given to workers bringing back crucial surfaces.”

Further damage to mobile phone networks in the region would have hindered the safe running of the rally.

Organisers hope to find a revised date for the event later in the year to keep the high-profile Irish Tarmac Rally Championship as a seven-round schedule as planned.