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: