Rally - FIA WRC for Scotland?

FIA World Rally – Coming to Scotland? …. The Winter issue of the ‘International Rally Driver’s Club’ quarterly magazine is due out shortly and contains an article written by one of their most un-celebrated members and which I thought might be  of interest to a wider public up here:-

“ It’s five years since Wales hosted the last British round of the FIA World Rally Championship and despite spirited attempts by Northern Ireland to mount a bid for inclusion in the world series, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has been devoid of the sight, sound and spectacle of World Rally Cars.

However, there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon. Motor Sport UK has admitted they are half way through a three month feasibility study to bring the World Championship back to Britain with a round based in the north east of Scotland.

That’s not as daft as one might think, as we certainly have the forests up here, and the roads! In fact trees outnumber Scottish people by around 333 to 1! Fifteen years ago, Scotland hosted a round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge based in central Scotland and the central Highlands for the three years 2009-2011. Although received very well by competitors, teams and fans, while EventScotland was pleased with the world-wide exposure, the Scottish Government moved on to other ‘priorities’. However, the exercise proved what can be achieved.

Now there seems to be a bit of an appetite for an actual FIA World Championship counter and the added kudos that such an event could bring. Earlier this year, MS UK met with representatives of the Scottish Government and SportScotland, and the outcome was the commission of a feasibility study. In August, Hugh Chambers, MS UK CEO, attended the Voyonic Grampian Forest Rally and also took the opportunity to visit possible sites and locations in and around Aberdeen.

The P&J Live Arena and Conference Centre would provide an ideal Rally HQ and Service Park with easy access to the forests north and south of the River Dee. If more mileage was needed, Inverness and the Great Glen are just a hop and a skip away. The North East itself hosts some of the most evocative names in British rallying including the likes of Clashindarroch, Gartly, Drumtochty, Durris and Fetteresso and then there’s Ordiequish, Teindland and Monaughty to name but a few. The resultant route could offer a much more compact event than some others in the series and would be representative of the way the FIA sees the championship event format progressing.

Accommodation is plentiful and there is much for tourists to see before and after the event provided distilleries feature high on their lists of sightseeing and sampling!

It would appear that a late October date would fit the proposed new schedule although 2026 is the earliest such an inclusion could be made.

Motorsport UK provided the following Statement: " Since the last edition of the WRC in Wales in 2019, Motorsport UK has continued to explore new options for the return of the championship to the UK. At the current time, the focus of efforts is developing a feasibility study to explore the viability and financial affordability of a prospective round of the World Rally Championship being hosted in Scotland. There are positive steps being taken to explore collaboration with relevant stakeholders. "

A Statement was also sought from Maree Todd MSP, the Scottish Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport, but by the time her office had asked who I was and what the International Rally Drivers Club was, their membership and public reach, and the reasons for the request, we missed the IRDC magazine deadline! So I didn’t get a Statement from our government. Of course I understand government ministers have to be careful who they converse with and what they say, but it was pity that couldn’t have been accomplished rather more promptly.

However, the biggest hurdle is finance, but if the UK wants to compete with Europe and the rest of the world for business, commerce and tourism then they can’t just sit back and wait for folk to come, visitors have to be attracted, and attracted with big scale events. “

Fingers crossed, eh?

The accompanying photos show:

Rally Scotland provided a wide variety of gravel roads in the Trossachs, Carron Valley, Stirlingshire and Perthshire and all with easy access to the main centres of population. Competitors and fans liked it but there was insufficient commercial and government support to ensure its continuation.

The world renowned Gleneagles Hotel provided the setting for the announcement of this ambitious project.

Even Miss Scotland got carried away with the pre-event hype!