The opening round of the MAXXIS Motorsport UK 2019 English Rally Championship is once again the Malcolm Wilson Rally set in the beautiful Lake District.  Last year this event was a victim of ‘the Beast from the East’  but normal service has resumed that year with sunshine and just a few showers forecast.

The Motorsport UK 2019 English Rally Championship includes a selection of the best one-day forest stage rallies, plus two special English asphalt events. Following the Malcolm Wilson Rally, the action moves to the Tendring Clacton Rally in April before a return to the forests on the Plains Rally which is this year based at Oswestry.  After a summer break the action restarts with the Tyneside Stages on Otterburn. Then it is the annual visit to the Woodpecker Stages for some of the famous Marches special stages. The North Yorkshire forests play host to the penultimate round, the Trackrod Forest Rally, at the end of September before the finale, a welcome return to the Wyedean Stages, in the picturesque Forest of Dean.

The final points table will be based on competitors best 5 scores which gives competitors some flexibility to fit the events around family or business commitments, or to recover from an expensive car problem.

CALENDAR (Best 5 scores to count)

Malcolm Wilson Rally     9th March           Lake District

Tendring Clacton Rally    28th April            Clacton, Essex

Plains Rally                     11th May             Oswestry

Tyneside Stages              4th August          Otterburn

Woodpecker Stages        31st August        Shropshire

Trackrod Forest Rally      28th Sept            North Yorkshire

Wyedean Stages Rally    9^th November    Forest of Dean

Note that the Motorsport UK 2019 English Rally Championship registration is all part of the BTRDA Rally Series and BTRDA membership package.  So, this could also be a second bite at the cherry so to speak, especially for those that had a ‘difficult’ start to the JORDAN Road Surfacing BTRDA Rally Series.

The Motorsport UK 2019 English Rally Championship open to all types of rally car that comply with the 2019 Motorsport UK Safety and Technical Regulations for Special Stage Rallies.  It is split into 7 competition classes with the scoring system reflecting achievement against other registered competitors in the same class and the level of Championship competition in that class.  This has proven by the eclectic mix of past English Rally champions who have all been outstanding in their respective class during the year.

CLASSES

Class E7                All WRC with a sequential gearbox, RRC, R5 and S2000 cars & all derivatives

Class E6                Over 2000cc 4WD cars not eligible for class E7

Class E5                Over 2000cc 2WD cars including all FIA R3T cars

Class E4                Over 1600cc up to 2000cc plus Historic category 3 cars with multi cam engines over 1600cc, category 4a cars over 1600cc and 4b cars up to 1600cc

Class E3                Cars over 1400cc up to 1600cc plus current & former FIA Group N3 cars and all FIA R2 cars.

Class E2                Cars up to 1400cc not eligible for Class E1, plus Historic category 1 & 2, category 3 with single cam engines and category 4a up to 1600cc

Class E1                All BTRDA Rally First cars.

The Championship Regulations are published in the Competitor section of this website.  Championship Regulations

The main photo is of Ian Joel / Graeme Wood (Ford Escort WRC)  the 2018 English Rally Champions.   (Images courtesy of Kevin Money / Malcolm Almond)

The MAXXIS MSA English Rally Championship doesn’t reach the end of the road in Yorkshire. Contenders still have the Wyedean Stages, in early November to look forward to before 2017 victors Stephen Petch/Michael Wilkinson’s successors are known. In the meantime, competition is extremely tight with the top 6 drivers in the Championship covered by just 5 points. A graphic illustration of the Championship’s strength and depth would focus on Ian Joel who arrived at the start of the Woodpecker as series leader but, following his retirement on the event, actually dropped ten places in the points table! There’s still time to make amends but from now on there is no margin for error!…

With both Matt Edwards and George Lepley not contesting the Trackrod Forest Rally because of Wales Rally GB the following weekend, it would appear that Tommi Meadows (Class 2), Ernie Graham (Class 4), Dave Brick (Class 2) and Matthew Hirst (Class 7) are in the best position to take a big step towards the title with a good result in Yorkshire.

A full list of all the MAXXIS MSA English Championship points can be viewed at dev.englishrally.co.uk/english-championship-points and this just shows the many permutations that can still occur depending on success on the Trackrod and the Wyedean.

For further information on the Trackrod Forest Stages visit: www.rallyyorkshire.co.uk

Photo is Tommi Meadows / Emma Morrison (Ford KA) on the ATL Stages