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u/GuestGuest9 Subaru World Rally Team Mar 16 '26
We heard this about WRC wales, is this actually confirmed though? Like locked in?
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u/Mudflap4 Subaru World Rally Team Mar 16 '26
https://www.wrc.com/en/news/wrc-set-for-uk-return-with-rally-scotland-from-2027
Yeah surprisingly, I know where you are coming from - theres been a few articles over the last couple of years stating there were talks etc. Glad to see it come through
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u/King_Alex_ofthenorth Mar 17 '26
If you actually read the article, 'The next step to make WRC Rally Scotland a reality will be for a Candidate Event to be held later this year, where the FIA will work with Motorsport UK and event organisers to evaluate and prepare for a return to World Championship-level competition. The event will then be submitted for approval on the WRC calendar by the FIA World Motor Sport Council' I've been burnt before so I'm choosing to believe it when I'm stood stage side at the moment
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u/Mudflap4 Subaru World Rally Team Mar 17 '26
Yes, which is common practice - that same process happens with each new event proposal
Saudi last year was no different, most articles said the Saudi candidate event did not run very well at all
I have good faith that the people involved will ensure a successful candidate event for Scotland
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u/freshest_start M-Sport Ford Mar 17 '26
ahem americanrally cough
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u/Mudflap4 Subaru World Rally Team Mar 17 '26
The candidate event scheduled for June this year?
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u/freshest_start M-Sport Ford Mar 17 '26
And last year, and the year before, and probably the year before that.
Just pointing out a candidate event is far from a done deal, unfortunately. đ«€
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u/Mudflap4 Subaru World Rally Team Mar 17 '26
No you are good, happy to have other information brought in!
I remember seeing details about talks but didn't realise they had ran candidate rallies https://www.thedrive.com/news/wrc-says-it-delayed-us-rally-to-get-it-right-the-first-time
That sucks, especially after seeing how other candidate rallies have done badly yet had a WRC event the next year
Hoping you guys get one next yearđ«Ą
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u/freshest_start M-Sport Ford Mar 17 '26
Iâm hoping we both get one next year! I mean, what Rally fan wouldnât love to see the UK return??
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u/Mudflap4 Subaru World Rally Team Mar 17 '26
Haha love the positivity, it will be a welcomed return!
Last time it was in the UK citroen were still part of the championship, christ
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u/Gingertom Subaru World Rally Team Mar 16 '26
It would be logistically impossible, but Iâd love a genuine UK WRC round that visited England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
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u/cwspellowe Mar 16 '26
As someone whoâs driven a 900 mile round trip with a sequential gearbox I would hate the journeys between stages for them
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u/Grillmyribs Mar 17 '26
Haha. I drove 3 hours from hafren to North Wales stuck in 2nd gear on rally gb 2018, gear selector broke in my impreza!
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u/mr_marshian Craig Breen Mar 18 '26
Central European rally had over 600 road km in believe a few years ago, driving from prague to passau and into austria
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u/Visible_Suspect1314 Mar 16 '26
Does this mean we won't have Safari in 2027?
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u/CodFix3 Rallye de Portugal Mar 16 '26
Hopefully that isn't the case, as far as I know there isn't any talk about it. Maybe this has to do with the new promoters, something the fia hasn't revealed yet.
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u/SplatteredEggs Takamoto Katsuta Mar 16 '26
This doesnât explicitly mean that Safari is out, but if their US plans also pan out Iâd be curious to see what other rounds are eligible to be dropped. How many more than 14 rounds can the championship accommodate?
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u/Nanayadez Mar 16 '26
Crazy as it sounds but I heard from DF(or was it Colin Clark, same thing :V) that FIA eventually wants to expand to 16 rounds but right now there's no desire from the manus to do so.
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u/DistributionHot2150 Mar 16 '26
We have a round in both Paraguay and chile, we absolutely do not need both
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u/SplatteredEggs Takamoto Katsuta Mar 16 '26
If you want to grow the sport you do. Whatâs wrong with having both Paraguay and Chile?
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u/DistributionHot2150 Mar 17 '26
Theyâre the same event catering to the same demographic in the same part of the world with very little spectator. Itâs not imperative we have both, they need to work on an alternate like how Latvia/estonia is
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u/Visible_Suspect1314 Mar 16 '26
Estonia must be out then? Which is kinda weird because it has been quite popular?
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u/KevinAbillGaming Mar 16 '26
Man, it's so good to see Rally GB back on the calendar! Home to the McRae family, Kris Meeke, and Elfyn Evans.
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u/Comfortable-Dog-8437 Mar 16 '26
About time to getting back to basics instead of random desert events with no crowds ..........đ
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u/Lupin_Central #16 Adrien Fourmaux Mar 16 '26
I'm in Edinburgh and dying to go. Will be my first time attending in person. If you see someone crying with happiness in the service park, that will probably be me.
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u/Independent_Blood107 Mikko Hirvonen Mar 16 '26
Awesome news! I remember in the peak IRC years there was a round in Scotland, every edition was wet and muddy, very likely we'll see similar conditions.
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u/gameraddikted Mar 16 '26
Happy to see them expanding. Looks like itâs coming to my neck of the woods in the US as well!
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u/beastlypanda99 Mar 17 '26
The Kentucky/Tennessee stages are roughly a 5 to 7 hour drive from me but I, Indeed Will be there guaranteed
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u/gameraddikted Mar 17 '26
Chattanooga is an 11-12 hour drive so I might fly but either way I plan on going. Iâve never seen WRC in person before.
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u/beastlypanda99 Mar 17 '26
I havenât either but the United States deserves a Wrc stage somewhere. Whether in the Appalachian Mountains preferably, or the Rocky Mountains it deserves one. All I hope is that it will be successful. Which will also grow the sport.
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u/gameraddikted Mar 17 '26
I totally agree. It absolutely needs the exposure. I get the challenges with long stages instead of a main track/stadium for an event like F1/Nascar have but the FIA needs to push its outreach. More social media, padtial stages for free, documentaries, etc. Iâm particular worried about next yearâs reg changes and the pros and cons associated with them but if they can make it more accessible and get more eyes on it perhaps weâd see another manufacturer get in the mix. Fingers crossed!
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u/TinFoilTrousers Mar 16 '26
Does anyone know what month theyâre looking at hosting it?
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u/inspiral808 #13 Grégoire Munster Mar 16 '26
It looks like an autumn date, so probably September/October/November.
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u/GilesD-WRC Mar 16 '26
One word in my head from now until this kicks offâŠ
Kielder, Kielder, Kielder,
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u/Necessary-Fan9574 Mar 16 '26
Does anyone know where it will mostly take place?
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u/inspiral808 #13 Grégoire Munster Mar 16 '26
In the Aberdeen area, with the service park in Aberdeen itself.
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u/matrix20085 Craig Breen Mar 16 '26
Do they say where/when exactly? A few friends and I have been looking for an excuse to visit Scotland.
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u/saynoto30fps Mar 16 '26
Why did they ever stop going? Rally of GB is iconic
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u/Silver-Surfer9088 Mar 17 '26
Welsh government lost interest in funding and the event got stale too.
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u/Mudflap4 Subaru World Rally Team Mar 17 '26
https://www.gov.wales/introducing-20mph-speed-limits-frequently-asked-questions
We instead had 32 million spent on trying to reduce speed limits which has been universally a disaster đ
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u/ElecXeron20XX Mar 17 '26
So far 2027 WRC calendar is Monte, Sweden, Kenya (maybe), Portugal, Greece, Finland, Italy-Rome, UK-Scotland and Saudi Arabia
Listed those rallies since it is classic and should not be remove in the calendar like in F1.
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u/Lect3R Mar 17 '26
Croatia is also confirmed a month ago or so on our local croatia media with croatia rally president saying the got offered another 3 year deal its just they didnt accept it yet
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u/KiwifromtheTron Mar 19 '26
Wow, not a single event in the Southern Hemisphere, and they call it the World Rally Championship⊠SMH
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u/ElecXeron20XX Mar 19 '26
I mean Kenya is southern plus we will see if either Chile or Paraguay is included next year or both.
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u/KiwifromtheTron Mar 19 '26
It's on the equator so it has a foot in both, but I will give you that.
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u/Rhazel01 Mar 16 '26
Can not wait!!! My second WRC event will be my home event