British & Irish Rally calendars 2023

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Interesting that Stephen Petch has unveiled a Fabia for next year instead of the Festa Rally2. Did think as main Hyundai dealers that he may get an i20. Wonder if we will see any others switching from the Ford.

Hope not, the UK is the last bastion of the rallying Ford...

[Sal yet again]

Riponian Rally on the 12th February with stages linked by closed public roads again. Entry building nicely with the non-historic entry looking particularly strong:

https://www.riponmotorsportclub.co.u...ian-rally-2023

[Sal yet again]

East Riding Stages 2023 kicks off the closed roads/tarmac championship for the new year. Stellar entry with at least a couple of C3 Rally2 cars which I think is a first for a mainland tarmac rally?

https://www.bdmc.org.uk/east-riding-stages

[TomRix]

Thinking of going to the Ypres event. What is the event like for spectators?

[hutchie]

Great looking entries for both Riponian and East Riding, both events possibly boosted by being in a good slot in the calendar for less clashes. But despite problems in the UK that's really healthy entries and a good mix of cars with both having some top cars capable of winning the events.

[Sal yet again]

Thinking of going to the Ypres event. What is the event like for spectators?

Been a few years since I've been however buying an event pass is usually a must. If you can pick the brains of a local or someone on one of the other forums here it can help regards where to watch as some of the main spectator locations can be a bit sterile with more red and white tape than on a British rally! Should be quieter this year as no WRC/ERC but always a great atmosphere and having a beer and frites & mayo in the main square has to experienced. Enjoy

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Keith Cronin another struggling for budget and the 2023 BRC calendar is not ideal for him...

https://www.southernstar.ie/sport/ke...utm_medium=web

[hutchie]

I'm not certain what the solution is for the BRC. Costs seem too high but there are good arguments for all the decisions the BRC is making. I'm not sure Ypres should be included but Malcolm Wilson, Jim Clark, Ulster, Rali Ceredigion, Trackrod and Cambrian are all fantastic events that should be in the country's premier series. And the choice to have all the tarmac events in one group makes sense financially.

Meanwhile I can't think of a better car than Rally2. It's a hugely popular global class that allows you to compete elsewhere while also spectacular for spectators. There's plenty of them in the UK.

The only big issues I can see is promotion and the extended time taken to compete. Other than being the British Rally Championship the publicity you get for competing in BRC is no better than BTRDA. There's no TV coverage and it's not big on social media. It feels like the championship needs someone with marketing experience to raise the profile of the championship and UK rallying in general.

[HKSjbg]

It needs some party to take a leap of faith to give it some higher profile, otherwise nothing else will follow. I don’t know if the answer would be TV, esports or something else in order to reach a new fan base.

[HKSjbg]

The 2023 Welsh championship has been confirmed:

https://wnrc.wamc.org.uk/

2023 Motorsport UK Pirelli Ravenol Welsh Rally Championship
25 Mar - Rally North Wales
15 Apr - Rallynuts Stages Rally
20 May - Plains Rally
8 Jul - Nicky Grist Stages
9 Sep - Woodpecker Stages
14 Oct - Wyedean Rally
28 Oct - Cambrian Rally

They’ve dressed up the absence of the Red Kite Stages as “… and only one event taking place over the months of June, July and August, providing plenty of time for mid-season car refurbishments in the summer break.” which is understandable as it’s out of their control. But looking back on this thread it seems there’s a bit of a theme developing with a lack of early summer rallies left in this country. Kielder, Argyll and NG seems all there is between June and early July which leaves a big gap for a few championships

I don’t know if this is a change or whether it was always the case and the WnRC organisers had it miscommunicated but the Wyedean has a different date: 11th November

https://www.wyedeanstages.co.uk/

Personally I think a more winter-y date suits the Wyedean better than early autumn