Monday, February 3, 2025
CARLISLE STAGES TO OPEN PIRELLI WELSH RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
A revised calendar for the 2025 Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship has been announced following the cancellation of the opening two events of the season in the aftermath of Storm Darragh.
The season will now open with an away event in the mighty Kielder forest as the Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship joins the British and British Historic Rally Championships on the Carlisle Stages on Saturday April 12.
The new event, put together in record time by the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club, will offer 50 miles in the spectacular Kielder complex and will form the opening round of the Welsh championship, running on the date originally planned for the Severn Valley Stages.
With both Rally North Wales and the Severn Valley Stages cancelled for 2025 due to the damage inflicted by Storm Darragh, the Carlisle Stages will offer an ideal season opener before the planned start of the Welsh forest rallying season with the Plains Rally on Saturday May 17.
Although it is very rare for the Welsh Rally Championship to venture far outside Wales, the chance to tackle Kielder offers an ideal event during an enforced gap in in the proposed calendar.
On behalf of the Welsh Association of Motor Clubs, championship co-ordinator Bryn Pierce said: "We'd like to thank Colin Heppenstall and everyone at the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club for putting on this new event at very short notice. While it is a little different as a Welsh championship round, we're sure it will be an amazing new challenge for many of our crews who've never competed in Kielder before and I look forward to seeing them in Carlisle."
The new event will run from a base at H&H Auctions just off junction 44 of the M6 which offers easy access for competitors. The 50 stage miles will run on mostly single-use stages before the mid-afternoon finish in front of the spectacular Kielder Castle.
Event clerk of the course Heppenstall said: "It gives me great pleasure to be able to offer this replacement event to the Welsh Association of Motor Clubs for the Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship and we look forward to welcoming contenders to Carlisle."
To ensure that Welsh championship contenders are able to secure an entry for the Carlisle Stages, 30 places will be reserved for the Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship until the end of February.
Regulations for the event are due to be available from today (Monday February 3) and entries will open at 6pm on Monday February 10.
The Carlisle Stages will be round one of six on the revised Welsh Championship schedule and will be followed by the remaining events as planned, continuing with the Plains Rally in May, the Nicky Grist Stages in July, the Woodpecker Stages in August, the Cambrian Rally in October and the final round, the Wyedean Rally in early November.
Awards within the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship include the David Stokes Historic Challenge award for drivers and the Guy Weaver award for co-drivers, Hockly Motorsport awards for 2WD and 1400cc and the 57 Tyres Welsh Challenge for drivers and co-drivers who have not finished in the top 10 overall on any round of the Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship or any equivalent status championship event. The Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship remains dedicated to helping develop young rally talent and with the support of OnThePaceNote and Restruct, the under-25 category continues to grow.
The full schedule for the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship is:
1 April 12 Carlisle Stages
2 May 17 Plains Rally
3 Jul 12 Nicky Grist Stages
4 Aug 30 Woodpecker Stages
5 Oct 25 Cambrian Rally
6 Nov 8 Wyedean Rally
Championship registration is now open and is available via: https://wnrc.wamc.org.uk
Issued by Paul Lawrence on behalf of the Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship. Tel 07778 547918. For enquiries about the championship, please contact Bryn Pierce via e-mail:
https://www.motorsportuk.org/motorsport-uk-response-to-natural-resources-wales/
As a championship we'd like to offer our thanks and commiserations to the organisers of Rally North Wales and The Severn Valley Stages at this time.
We remain committed to giving our loyal competitors and valued Sponsors a championship in 2025 and will await news after the 30th January before commenting further.
For championship queries please contact our co-ordinator Bryn Pierce on
Many of the world's greatest gravel forest stages will come together to form the 2025 Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship, with an exciting seven round calendar planned for next year.
The Welsh Association of Motor Clubs organised series will contain four events in mid-Wales, two in the north and one in the south, giving it an excellent geographical spread.
With the first round taking place at the end of March, the final round in mid-November and no two events in the same month there is also a very good date spread of events.
Each event will have an ultra-compact cost-efficient one-day format, with around 45 stage miles - and in some cases approaching 60 stage miles - and minimal road mileage.
The Welsh stages are always in excellent condition, thanks to the outstanding work by Rally4Wales and its great relationship with landowners. These super-smooth road conditions have seen the Historics (with the added incentive of the David Stokes Historic Challenge award for drivers and the Guy Weaver award for co-drivers), Hockly Motorsport 2WD and 1400 and 57 Tyres Welsh Challenge (for drivers and co-drivers who have not finished in the top 10 overall on any round of a Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship, or any equivalent status championship event) categories grow significantly - with competitors coming from Ireland, Scotland, England, the Isle of Man and of course the home nation of Wales.
The Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship remains dedicated to helping develop young rally talent, and with the support of OnThePaceNote and Restruct the Under 25 section continues to grow.
The inclusive Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship class structure welcomes a huge variety of cars and caters for drivers and co-drivers of differing experience and ability. And in 2025 there might be even more classes to widen that appeal.
There is also ample opportunity for each competitor to get onto the leaderboard. Overall points are awarded to the top 22 drivers and co-drivers, and the best five scores from seven rounds count towards the overall and class titles.
The 2025 season will start with the Get Jerky Rally North Wales on Saturday 29 March. Organised by Wolverhampton & South Staffs Car Club, the event is based in Welshpool and contains stages in Gartheiniog, Dyfi and Dyfnant forests.
Round 2 is the Rallynuts Severn Valley Stages on Saturday 12 April. Organised by Midland Manor Motor Club, the event starts and finishes in Llandrindod Wells and features stages in Sarnau, Tarennig, Myherin and Sweet Lamb.
Round 3 is the Plains Rally on Saturday 17 May. Organised by Knutsford & DMC, the event is based in the picturesque Eryri National Park town of Bala with stages in forests such as Aberhirnant and Alwen.
Round 4 is the Nicky Grist Stages on Saturday 12 July. Based in the centre of Builth Wells, the Quinton Motor Club event contains stages in the classic mid-Wales forests in and around the Epynt military range, including Crychan and Halfway.
Round 5 is the Phil Price Memorial Woodpecker Stages on Saturday 30 August. Organised by Sixty and Worcestershire Motor Club, the event is based in Newtown with stages in Ceri and Hafren forests.
The sixth and penultimate round is the Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally, on Saturday 25 October. The North Wales Car Club organised event is based in Llandudno with stages in Elsi, Clocaenog, Brenig and Alwen forests.
The seventh and final round is the Wyedean Rally on Saturday 15 November. Organised by Forest of Dean Motor Club, the event is run in the stunning Wales/England border region and offers a fitting finale to a challenging series.
Further details on the 2025 Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship can be found online at: wnrc.wamc.org.uk.
2025 Motorsport UK Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship calendar
Saturday 29 March.......Get Jerky Rally North Wales
Saturday 12 April.......Rallynuts Severn Valley Stages
Saturday 17 May.......Plains Rally
Saturday 12 July.......Nicky Grist Stages
Saturday 30 August.......Phil Price Memorial Woodpecker Stages
Saturday 25 October.......Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally
Saturday 15 November.......Wyedean Rally
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