Volvo may no longer be synonymous with rally sport but, once upon a time, that was far from the case. Indeed, a rugged Volvo PV544 driven by Swedish legend Tom Trana won back-to-back Rally GBs in 1963 and 1964. and two years later Trana returned to the podium, this time finishing third in one of Volvo’s more modern Amazon saloons – an achievement which will be heralded on this month’s Wales … [Read more...]
Change to WRGB for 2018
WRC Promoter has announced the 2018 FIA World Rally Championship calendar. The 13-round calendar marks the return of Turkey after a seven-year absence. It replaces Poland in the fixture list, which was approved by the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris. The championship begins with the traditional season-opening Rallye Monte-Carlo in January and features a mix of gravel, asphalt, snow … [Read more...]
Legends come home to Wales next month
Top Welsh rally legends will be honoured during next month’s Wales Rally GB 26-29 October, Britain’s round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Tribute will be paid to a number of high-achieving sporting luminaries including both drivers and co-drivers. The impressive roster features World and British Champions as well as much-admired national heroes and multiple Rally GB winners. All will … [Read more...]
Flying start to WRGB next month
Next month’s Wales Rally GB 26-29 October will get off to a spectacular flying start. As a dramatic curtain-raiser to four days of thrilling against-the-clock action in the legendary Welsh forests, this autumn’s FIA World Championship event blasts off on thursday evening 26 October with a new speed test, staged under the floodlights at Tir Prince Raceway in the seaside resort of Towyn. And, … [Read more...]
Welshman’s dream is realised 300-times over
When the Prodrive-run Aston Martin Racing team took victory in Texas in the latest round of the FIA World Endurance Championship last weekend, it was the 300th time a Prodrive team had won a race or rally since the company was formed in 1984. The Aston Martin Vantage GTE sealed the 300th win 33 years after Prodrive’s first victory at the Qatar rally on 27 January 1984, when the Porsche 911 SC … [Read more...]
Wrap a rally car of your own
Wales Rally GB has launched a competition giving students in the region a brilliant opportunity to see their own livery design applied to the GT86. The winning entry will be unveiled and displayed in the event’s Rally Village right at the heart of the four-day spectacle in October. The competition is being jointly coordinated by the rally organisers and the Engineering Education … [Read more...]
Classic rally cars to take on WRC elite
Competitors wanting to pit their skills against the sport’s elite have never had such an exciting, varied and affordable way to enter the UK’s round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Organisers of Wales Rally GB 26-29 October have announced that nationally-registered cars will be eligible for the main WRC event. Thanks to a new FIA regulation, owners of cars with a national MSA … [Read more...]
Wales Rally GB route changes
Organisers of Wales Rally GB have a revised four-day route following the discovery of tree disease in mid-Wales by Natural Resources Wales. The original itinerary announced in May with two runs through the full Myherin Special Stage on Friday has been shortened to allow contractors to remove infected larch trees. The spread of fungus-like Phytophthora ramorum can only be detected with the … [Read more...]
Ravenol Welsh Challenge boost for grass-roots sport
Hard-charging clubmen will be better rewarded in this year's Ravenol Welsh Challenge, writes Peter Hughes. The series will run once again this season in conjunction with the Pirelli MSA Welsh Forest Rally Championship but distribution of the £3,000 prize fund has been changed. In a further move to support grass-roots rallying, the Championship organisers have announced that a free entry on the … [Read more...]
Rallylines 19 January
Specialist providers Dayinsure will continue to back Wales Rally GB for this year and next. The British round of the FIA World Rally Championship will be based in North Wales 26-29 October. The British Rally Championship 2017 has secured backing from Prestone. It supplies high performance coolant and anti-freeze as well as screenwash. … [Read more...]