The 2018 Prestone MSA British Rally Championship is one of the most eagerly anticipated in the series’ 60-year history.
Britain’s premier rallying series will burst into life for yet another thrilling campaign, getting underway in Carlisle, Cumbria with the Pirelli International Rally, 28 April staging the opening round and the final at Wales Rally GB this autumn. The WRGB route will be confirmed at a launch on monday in North Wales after it was postponed due concerns over schedules for a new closed public road section.
The action-packed BRC features six rounds across the British Isles with a whistle-stop tour taking in challenging stages across England, Isle of Man and Northern Ireland with the final act taking place on Britain’s round of the FIA World Rally Championship – Wales Rally GB. The legendary Ypres Rally in Belgium will once again host the championship’s popular overseas outing.
This weekend the intrepid British championship crews face a one-day shoot out over 80 fast and furious gravel miles in the infamous Kielder Forest complex. The Ceremonial Start will take place at the Pirelli factory on the outskirts of Carlisle before eight timed stages on the fast and flowing gravel roads before a family-friendly finish in the centre of Brampton where fans will be able to get up close to the stars and cars.
The Championship maintains its partnership with mainstream terrestrial broadcaster Channel 4 for the forthcoming season. Britain’s premier rallying series will also be available on sports channel BT Sport throughout 2018.
Building upon the successful past two seasons, Channel 4 will show a 30-minute highlights programme on the weekend after every round this season. The action will also be available to view on Channel 4’s online catch-up service, All 4, shortly afterwards. BT Sport will transmit a longer 60-minute format that will ensure valuable additional coverage for competitors.
Channel 4’s coverage reached over half a million viewers during the 2017 season with Keith Cronin capturing a nail-biting finale win by one tenth of a second to secure his fourth BRC title. Dramatic on-board shots, picturesque aerial footage and heat-of-the-moment interviews are woven into the stage-side action across the gravel and Tarmac tests – all set to captivate rally fans old and new.
Producing the coverage for the 2018 season will be Greenlight Television, who are no strangers to the BRC, as the Isle of Man-based firm filmed the series for many years until 2014. Two new faces will also join the line-up with Kevin Harris presenting each episode, while Richard Nichols will narrate the fast and furious action.