The Probite Motorsport UK British Rally Championship roars back into life next weekend with a bumper entry list for the Legend Fires North West Stages, marking a thrilling return for the reinvigorated series.
The opening round of the season has attracted a sensational lineup of top-flight crews, with former British champions, battling European and World title holders for glory at the first of seven action-packed rounds in 2024. Each bidding to add their name to a prestigious roll of honour that includes legends of the sport such as Ari Vatanen, Roger Clark, Hannu Mikkola, Colin McRae and Richard Burns.
A recently announced enhanced media package for the UK’s premier rally championship will include a dedicated one-hour highlights show on ITV4 and availability on the accompanying online catch-up service ITVX during the season, giving unrivalled visibility across the UK and Republic of Ireland to drivers, events, and partners.
The revitalised championship has seen an unprecedented level of registrations for the season ahead with the series top category featuring a host of BRC1 rivals in Rally2 four-wheel-drive machinery set to do battle at the front of the field. They are joined by the Junior BRC category which will showcase the talents of progressive youngsters in Rally4 specification two-wheel-drive cars. Support classes are also bolstered this year, with BRC4 and BRC3 well received, each vying for a British title marker.
Meanwhile, the Open Title and National Rally Title offer the challenge of longer top-drawer rallies, plus recce for non-homologated vehicles, each battling it out for a title of their own.
The Legend Fires North West Stages is a new event on the BRC roster and offers a largely unknown prospect for contenders to bag a confidence-boosting start to the season. Its ten stages on the closed roads surrounding its Garstang rally base offer a dynamic mix of tight country lanes and fast and flowing moorland roads. Bravery and commitment will need to be deployed to eke out an early advantage as crews lock horns for almost sixty competitive miles across Lancashire roads.
2024 Probite British Rally Championship calendar
Round 1 – Legend Fires North West Stages – Garstang – 22/23 March
Round 2 – Rallynuts Severn Valley Stages – Builth Wells – 13 April
Round 3 – Beatson’s Building Supplies Jim Clark Rally – Duns – 24/25 May
Round 4 – Voyonic Grampian Forest Rally – Banchory – 9/10 August
Round 5 – JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion – Aberystwyth – 30 August/1 September
Round 6 – Visit Conwy Cambrian Rally – Llandudno – 26 October
The series will also be the debut of a new partnership between Melvyn Evans Motorsport (MEM) UK and one of the iconic names in motor sport, Castrol.
The team will showcase their talent with a pair of Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 cars adorned in the iconic Castrol rally livery.
Meirion Evans, along with co-driver Jonathan Jackson (above), will pilot the first car in the UK’s premier rally series – beginning with the North West Stages this weekend (22/23 March). After strong performances in Ireland on asphalt in recent years, Meirion tried his hand at the Wyedean Stages Rally in the Forest of Dean last year and showed equally good speed on gravel. This has resulted in the Welshman stepping up to concentrate on the BRC in 2024.
The second car is slated for delivery ahead of the third round and will be driven by the 2019 FIA European rally champion Chris Ingram and co-driven by the American ace Alex Kihurani. The cars have been built by Toyota Gazoo Racing in Finland and will be maintained and run in the UK by Melvyn Evans Motorsport – a two-time BRC Teams champion.
The new Castrol MEM Rally Team paid tribute to Castrol’s rich rallying history with Toyota, displaying the ex-Carlos Sainz Castrol Toyota GT-Four ST185 owned by Nicky Grist at their launch event held at the Rolls of Monmouth country estate.
Meirion Evans added, “This opportunity is the most exciting one I’ve had in my career to date. For us as a team to be trusted by Toyota Gazoo Racing to bring the first Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 into the UK means a lot to us and to re-establish the iconic Castrol Toyota link and livery is phenomenal, not only for us but for rallying in this country.
“To have Chris as part of the team is fantastic. We have been friends since we were both very young, so to get the opportunity to finally work together and represent a brand like Castrol is something we are both excited for. It will be a bit of a change for me having driven a Polo for the last few years, but we will try to adapt as quickly as possible to the Yaris so that we can chase results from the outset in what is undoubtedly the strongest field the BRC has seen in over ten years.”
Osian Pryce says that he’s looking forward to a fresh start as the 2022 British rally champion returns to the series for a part-programme with a new car (a Ford Fiesta Rally2), a new team (Dom Buckley Motorsport) and with his best friend Rhodri Evans co-driving.
Since winning the British Rally Championship title, the 31-year old Machynlleth born driver became 2023 Tour European Rally champion, contested selected rounds of the FIA European Rally Championship in a Škoda Fabia R5, won the JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion (for a second time) in a Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 and led the Roger Albert Clark Rally driving a Group 4 Ford Escort Mk2.
A return to the BRC has always been on the cards for Osian, and the announcement that the Probite-backed series will be broadcast on ITV4 this year has provided the platform for him to engage with old and new partners. Whilst he won’t enter all the events, Osian will contest enough rounds to offer him a chance of once again challenging for the title.