The excitement over next year's British Rally Championship continues to rumble, and so I thought it was about time I ran you through the latest news that has circulated over the last month or so. Alongside the news that has emerged, there have been a lot of rumours floating around and lots of hard work going on behind the scenes too. For example, there is definitely a TV package in the pipelines, but the championship's team are trying to explore all the best options. Excited doesn't quite cover how I am feeling! Revised CalendarIt's been known for a while now, but news to have broken since my blog piece including insight from 2011 BRC Champion David Bogie amongst others is there have been a couple of changes to the 2016 calendar. Out has gone the Jim Clark Rally and Granite City in favour of the Nicky Grist Stages and Rally Isle of Man, which will be the final double pointer event of the new look British Rally Championship season. Both the Jim Clark and Granite City rallies were included in the provisional calendar that was released back in the Summer, but have been dropped for differing reasons. The Jim Clark was hoped to be run on the closed public roads of Berwickshire after being run in Kielder Forest in 2015, but investigations are still continuing from the 2014 tragedy, so it will only form part of the Scottish Championship once again. The Granite, renamed the Grampian, is included in the Scottish calendar too. It has been dropped by the BRC as with a new organising team it wasn't feasible for them to get an event sorted for BRC standard so quickly. In their place comes the Nicky Grist Stages in July (round 5) and the Rally Isle of Man in September that will conclude the season. The Nicky Grist Stages is unique as it is the only mixed surface event of the year, using some classic Wales Rally GB forest tracks and the tarmac roads of the Eypnt Military Ranges. The event has never been part of the BRC before, and will be the first mixed surface event included in the championship since 1987. The Rally Isle of Man is the other event, and makes a welcome return. It is one of the classic British events, and has often been the curtain closer for the championship, meaning deciding titles runs through its veins. It is a tough challenge for the crews, stretching over 2 and a half days of tricky, narrow lanes and wide open sections alike. At 160 competitive miles, it is also the longest event of the season, but it has the lure of double points at the end of the ordeal. It is likely the 2016 Champion will be crowned on the island. DMACK back Junior BRCThe Junior BRC has just got a lot more exciting for the onlooker and appealing for the competitor as tyre supplier DMACK has offered a mouth watering prize for the winner of the Junior BRC, which will see all competitors run with the firm's tyres. The winner of the Junior BRC will be offered a fully paid 5 event programme in the Drive DMACK Trophy in the WRC 2017 in a Ford Fiesta R2. The winner of the Drive DMACK Trophy gets full DMACK backing for the following WRC2 season in a Ford Fiesta R5. However, the Junior Champion is not obliged to take this prize, and can choose to take a total of £20,000 to go towards the following season's campaign. The Junior BRC contests all 7 BRC rounds, but the drivers only carry their best 6 finishes towards the championship table, meaning they each need to take a joker if you like. Open to anybody under the age of 26, the Junior BRC is a great way for any young rally driver to progress their way right up to the sport's top level, and thanks to the opportunity to get a free pass in effect to the Drive DMACK Trophy run on World Championship events, the series just got even better! DMACK are increasing their involvement in rallying. They have formed a new WRC team for 2016, signing Estonian Ott Tanak to drive an up to date Ford Fiesta RS WRC. They also already have a strong link with the BRC, with the squad backing the son of 1980 British and 1981 World Champion Ari Vatanen Max Vatanen for the season in a Fiesta R5. It is also worth remembering that Vauxhall Motorsport are to run a Vauxhall Adam R2 for one lucky driver for the season, meaning if you are a young rally driver, the DMACK Junior BRC is most definitely worth taking a serious look at! That concludes the major news headlines regarding the championship, but there is plenty more to come before the season gets underway in March!
Personally, I just cannot wait for it all to get going. We've got great drivers, great cars, great rallies, great prizes and even some manufacturer backing! Wouldn't it be great to see at least 1 of each R5 competing at the front, and even better a one off drive for Kevin Abbring in the developing Hyundai i20 R5!? After a disappointing few years, it looks as if the British Rally Championship is set to come back with an almighty bang!
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BRITISH RALLYINGArticles covering rally in Britain, looking at the MSA BRC Archives
September 2017
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