26th - 29th November 2010

The WRC event rotation system meant Mexico was absent from last year's calendar, but it returns in 2010 amid a year long fiesta to mark the 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution and the 200th anniversary of its independence.

With Rally Argentina sitting out the 2010 season, Mexico is the only country in the American continent to host a round of this year's championship, making it a popular destination for stateside rally fans.

The rally is a relative newcomer to the WRC calendar but has proved a popular addition since its debut in 2004, with a compact series of well-organised, high-speed gravel stages through the Sierra de Lobos and Sierra de Guanajuato mountains and the plains around the cities of Guanajuato, Leon and Silao.

The high-altitude stages make for spectacular viewing with a mixture of mountain peaks and flat open valleys. The altitude has downsides, though, as the engines struggle to breathe in the thin air and suffer a drop in power of about 20 per cent. The road surface is dry and sandy, but rocks can get on the road, so drivers have to balance high speeds with caution.
www.rallymexico.com

Three days of classic motorsport action and historic racing with appearances from motoring legends. See rare cars and meet the drivers who took them to victory. Watch the legendary drivers return to the breathtaking Live Rally Stage.
http://www.raceretro.com/

Read the Press Release here:
http://www.robinhoodforeststages.co.uk/Documents/RHFSR_2009_Sabattical.pdf

Trackrod Motor Club needs help on the lookout stages rally

The organisers are looking for marshals and radio crews to help run the event. As always without these a rally could not be run so if you can help contact:

Chief Marshal : David Thompson
Mob : 07841212562
e-mail : David

Deputy Chief Marshal : Richard Goldie
Mob : 07875060423
e-mail : Richard

Signing on starts at 6:30am and closes at 7:15am
with the gates closed at 7:30am

Championships

The Roadrunner Phoenix Awards ANEMMC Stage Rally Championship
supported by Pantry Catering and Hankook Slick Tyres
ANWCC Stage Rally Championship
The Melbourne Challenge 2010

http://www.trackrodmotorclub.co.uk/Linfo.html
 

This year sees the 50th running of the Wolverhampton & South Staffordshire Car Club's Bulldog International Rally of North Wales.  This event has its foundations very firmly planted back in 1958 when the club decided that it would run a road rally and from that point forward the event has gone from strength to strength.

Some of the forests to be used in 2010 made their first appearance in the event when the club changed the format of the rally from a road event to a stage event in 1966. The organisers promise something new and exciting each year to enthuse and delight competitors, officials and spectators of all ages.

Forty-nine previous rally winners cannot all be wrong, and these include the likes of all the McRae family, Tony Pond, Stiq Blomqvist, Henri Toivonen, Marku Allen, Malcolm Wilson, Russell Brookes, Pentti Airikkala, Michelle Mouton and last but not least Ari Vatanen.

The organisers are looking for help from:

• Start area marshals

• Main service area marshals

• Finish area marshals

• Stage start crews

• Stage finish crews

• In-Stage Radio Operators

• In-stage Marshals

• Marshals on the Shakedown (Thursday)

• Marshals on the Recce (Friday) and

• Scrutineering Marshalls

The event will again be supplying an 'event memento' to all marshals & radio crews and will as usual be having a post-event marshals draw.
(Details will be announced on the website as soon as possible http://www.bulldog-rally.co.uk)

If you can help, please contact:

Bec Hinton
bexhinton@hotmail.com
(M) 07525 445642 (O) 01543 414152

The Jordan Rally has been a round of the Middle Eastern Rally Championship since the 1980s, but it wasn't until 2008 that it made its debut on the world stage, when Jordan became the first Arab country to host a round of the WRC.

Under the guidance of His Royal Highness Prince Feisal Al Hussein, the chairman of Jordan Motorsport, the inaugural WRC rally was well run, stunning to watch and was hailed a success by teams and drivers. After a year out in 2009 the event returns this year with a few modifications but the same epic character.

This is a rally of extremes. From scorching temperatures - which can top 40 degrees Celsius - to the wild landscape the sandy gravel stages snake through. The headquarters and Service Park are located next to the Dead Sea at the lowest land point on earth, 50km away from the Kingdom’s capital city of Amman.

This year some of the 2008 stages have been modified and others replaced altogether in an effort to introduce more variety to the route, which starts in the forests north of Amman at altitudes of more than 1000 metres, then concentrates in and around the Jordan Valley at around 400 metres below sea level.
www.jordanrally.com

Lindholme Motor Sports Club is pleased to announce the return of the Danum Navigational Road Rally on 10/11 April 2010 - the new date being a month before its usual slot.A new organising team has been working hard to create an appealing and rewarding event for all crews, whatever their level of expertise. To this end, a Clubman rally will accompany the main event - which caters for crews with less experience to compete on an Lindholme Motor Sports Club membership card, rather than a competition licence. Regular road rally crews will find the route varied and stimulating to their competitive instincts. Moreover, the organisers trust that you will find the rally to be excellent value for money.

The 'plot & bash'  route has been drawn up by current competitors who appreciate "what road rallyists want". Map 105 will be used for approximately 60% of the route - an area which the Danum has not visited for many years, and which has not seen a full night event for four years. Maps 111 and 112 will be used for the early sections after the start at Finningley. The organisers will be making full use of the superb roads on offer. Further exhilaration will be provided on two sections of private land which have robust but somewhat "loose" surfaces. Plans will be provided so that competitors can enjoy the private tracks to the full. The last section will be competitive right up to the finish of the rally (i.e. "MTC4"). There are also some sections on public road "whites", but these are not extensive - just enough to be part of the challenge, but not to incur damage to cars. However, a sumpguard is, as usual, recommended for the more enthusiastic drivers.

Scrutineering and Rally Start will be at the premises of Urban Hygiene, Robin Hood Airport business park (map ref 111/661996). The Finish venue is Sherburn Aero Club, Sherburn in Elmet (map ref 105/522329). The route also uses map 112. Marshals to please sign on by 2100 hours.

The Danum is a round of 5 regional championships. Please help us to make the event a success by volunteering to marshal. Goodie bags of the familiar sort will be provided, plus...

Marshals covering 2 or more controls will be entered into a Prize Draw for a flying lesson/experience at Sherburn Aero Club.

Chief Marshal contact details are:
Adrian.Bodsworth@sky.com   1 Georgian Mews, Catcliffe, Rotherham, S60 5US
Mobile: 07948 682126

Included in the WRC for the first time in 2003, the Rally of Turkey has been based in the holiday region of Antalya in the south-west of the country until its most recent WRC appearance in 2008.

This year, however, organisers have shifted the rally's location to the other side of the country to Istanbul - the world’s fifth largest city and the only one to straddle two continents (Europe and Asia).

Because of the move, this year's Rally of Turkey represents a big step into the unknown for WRC drivers and teams, who tackle a brand new selection of stages to the north and east of the Asian side of Istanbul.

After the brutal, rocky gravel stages of Antalya, the 2010 route should be less punishing. Then new tests are generally fast, wide and smooth, with a flowing nature, but the fact that the predominantly gravel route contains almost 50km of asphalt is bound to turn up a few surprises.

This year is already a historic one for Istanbul, as it takes on the mantle of European City of Culture, and the WRC round is certain to add to that colour and atmosphere.
www.rallyofturkey.org

Pirelli International Rally- Friday & Saturday 23rd / 24th April

Over the years the Pirelli International Rally has become one of the countries classic events and the 2010 offering promises to be one of the best yet, offering competitors in the MSA British Rally Championship, and the thousands of enthusiasts who annually flock to Cumbria,  a great weekends motorsport.

The rally will again be based in Carlisle with the Rally Headquartes including start and finish at Carlisle Racecourse where the state of the art Jubilee Grandstand will provide not only operational facilities but also restaurants, bars and fast food outlets for both crews and spectators.

The weekend will also feature the Pirelli Historic Rally, which will run in tandem with the International event and will be the second round of the highly popular Dunlop/ Wonago.com MSA Historic Rally Championship. Featuring such legendary makes from yesteryear as the Ford Escort BDA's, Opel Mantas, Talbot Sunbeams and Porsches, this event is a great favourite with rally spectators and a great spectacle.

http://www.pirelliinternationalrally.co.uk/2010/

This event, which is a round in the  The Roadrunner Phoenix Awards ANEMMC Stage Rally Championship 2010; The ANCC Stage Rally Championship and The Yorkshire League, will be held on Melbourne Airfield, East Yorkshire, on Sunday 16th May 2010,

http://www.alangilbert.karoo.net/jomr.htm
 

Rally New Zealand - 6th - 9th May

Rally New Zealand is the oldest WRC event in the Southern Hemisphere and is renowned for its fast flowing gravel roads and the beautiful landscape of the country’s North Island.

Blind crests, fast jumps, flat-out kinks and huge cambers make the roads more challenging than most, but their sweeping, undulating nature means most WRC drivers love them. When it's sunny, the stages can be glorious, but when it rains, they can turn muddy and extremely slippery.

The challenging terrain rewards the drivers with the very best car control. You need to be brave to do well in New Zealand but the high speeds mean the slightest mistake is punished severely.

In its 40th anniversary year, Rally New Zealand has moved 200km north from Hamilton, its base for the past three years, to a new home in the heart of the country's biggest city, Auckland. The next three editions of the rally will be run from here.

A return to Auckland means some classic high-speed stages in the Northland region are back on the itinerary after a four year absence, as well as more familiar tests in the Franklin and north Waikato districts to the south of the city. Mixed surface stages and two Super Specials are also on the cards.

www.rallynz.org.nz

Rally Portugal - 28th - 30th May
 

Portugal is a country with a long rallying tradition. The first Portuguese round of the WRC came in 1973, and over the next 29 years it went on to become one of the most difficult and notorious rallies on earth.

In the 1980s the event earned a reputation for tricky road conditions (often a mix of gravel and asphalt) and unruly crowds of spectators, while in more recent years Portugal was a gravel-only event, based on the west coast near Porto. In 2001, however, it was dropped - replaced on the calendar by Rallye Deutschland.

In 2007, after two years of candidacy, Portugal's return to the WRC with a new base on the south coast represented a fresh start. And after a year out in 2008, the rally was one of the highlights of the 2009 season. The 'new' Rally Portugal features a base in the Algarve Stadium - which also hosts a Super Special stage - and a spectacular selection of gravel stages in the Algarve and Alentejo regions to the north.

This year's event builds on that successful theme. The Algarve Stadium plays host to the Service Park and the Super Special, while a few tweaks to the route will keep the drivers on their toes.
www.rallydeportugal.pt

The Chatsworth Rally Show - Saturday 5th & Sunday 6th June

The Rally Show is a unique motorsport experience set in the spectacular grounds of Chatsworth House.

The show incorporates part of the former RAC Rally stage and turns it into a spectator-based event complete with all the thrills of special stage rallying, without the marathon walk through the woods!  Enjoy the rallying experience with perfect views of the action. Watch historic and World Rally Cars take on Chatsworth’s famous set pieces of rallying; the jump and the water splash.
http://www.therallyshow.org/

Saturday 12th June is the confirmed date for the 51st Dukeries Rally. The event will once again be a qualifying round of the BTRDA Rally Series, the MSA English Rally Championship and 4 Regional Association Championships.

Rally HQ will be at Southwell Racecourse which will host the event scrutineering, documentation, start, finish and awards presentation

http://www.dukeries-rally.co.uk/
 

Making its debut as a round of the World Rally Championship this year is Rally Bulgaria; the oldest and most prestigious round of the country's national series.

First run in 1970, Rally Bulgaria was the sole WRC candidate rally in 2009 and will take the step up to the world stage after a successful period as a round of the FIA European Rally Championship.

Run from the Black Sea resorts of Zlantni Piasatzi and Albena between 1970 and 2001, the rally moved to south central Bulgaria in 2002 to its current base in the Balkan mountain winter resort of Borovets, 60km from the capital Sofia.

The first of four asphalt rallies in 2010, Bulgaria represents a leap into the unknown for the majority of WRC teams and drivers. But if the popularity of the European Championship rally is anything to go by, the combination of a challenging, compact route and the stunning mountain scenery will make it an exciting addition.
www.rallybulgaria.com

This event has been included in the ANCC Stage Rally Championship for the first time this year and will have spaces for 70 cars tackling a 32 mile route.

http://www.greystokestages.co.uk/

Formerly known as the 1000 Lakes, Neste Oil Rally Finland is one of the most popular events on the WRC calendar. It’s also regarded by many people as 'the spiritual home of rally'. You only have to look at a WRC start list to see why...

The rally is a fast gravel affair, with high-speed runs along tree-lined tracks peppered with fast, flying ‘yumps’ that demand absolute, balls-out commitment.

Rally Finland is based in the bustling student town of Jyvaskyla, located in the lake district area in the centre of the country. To win here, you need a savvy combination of tactical nous, smooth and efficient technique and flat-out commitment to cope with the high speeds, fast kinks and mammoth jumps that litter the smooth, loose surface stages.

Over the years, the event has been dominated by the Scandinavians. They're used to driving on roads like these since they were knee-high to a grasshopper. That local experience counts.
www.nesteoilrallyfinland.fi

The second asphalt rally of the 2010 season, Rally Deutschland is held in Germany’s wine-producing Mosel region, near to the historic city of Trier.

This may be a pure asphalt event, but it has one of the widest variety of sealed surfaces on the calendar. As such, it's a tricky rally that demands the very best from drivers.

The stage conditions are different on each day. Friday is made up of narrow and dirty vineyard access roads that feature a mix of straights and hairpins, making handbrake turn skills essential. Saturday’s stages are held on the rough concrete roads of the Baumholder military ranges, with the ever present hazard of huge concrete blocks designed to stop tanks straying from the road.

The final day features smooth, fast bitumen-coated roads and the ‘Circus Maximus’ Superspecial that runs right through the heart of Trier’s old city. All-in-all, it’s a challenging mix.

First included in the WRC in 2002, the Trier-based event has proved a happy hunting ground for Sebastien Loeb, who has won it on every occasion so far. This year the rally is back in the WRC calendar after a year out in 2009 in accordance with the FIA's event rotation system.
www.rallye-deutschland.de

At close of entries in 2009 Mablethorpe & DMC and Carlton & DMC had received only 23 confirmed entries. This low number meant that the event was financially and organisationally non-viable.  The clubs hope to be able to run the event in 2010 on this date.
 

After making its WRC debut in 2004, Rally Japan has quickly become a popular fixture in the calendar, and one which attracts a huge number of dedicated fans from the host county.

Japan and rallying are almost intrinsically linked, with Japanese manufacturers such as Toyota, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Mazda, Nissan and, perhaps most notably, Subaru all having tasted success in the sport. The Japanese rally fans, as with most sports, are loyal, knowledgeable and extremely enthusiastic.

The rally is based on Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan's islands, and from 2004 to 2007 used the twisty, narrow and soft gravel stages of the Tokachi region, close to the city of Obihiro.

For the most recent edition in 2008, however, the event moved to a new base in the city of Sapporo, Hokkaido’s main city, and a selection of brand new gravel stages in the surrounding countryside and forests. It also featured one of the most spectacular Super Specials of the year; which ran inside and outside the futuristic looking Sapporo Dome sports stadium.

Rally Japan returns to the WRC calendar this year after a year out in 2009 in accordance with the FIA's event rotation system.
www.rallyjapan.jp

This year marks a big change for the French round of the World Rally Championship, which moves from a long term home on the island of Corsica to a new base in the Alsace region, near the German border.

The Tour de Corse has been part of the World Rally Championship since the inaugural 1973 season. It quickly gained a fearsome reputation for its mountainous route, while its sinuous asphalt stages earned it the nickname 'the rally of 10,000 corners.'

The rally was absent from the series in 2009, as part of the FIA's event rotation system, but in October that year France's governing body of motorsport, the FFSA, took the decision to move the event from Corsica altogether, to a new location near Strasbourg.

France’s new WRC round will be Rallye Alsace -Vosges - formerly a French Championship round which last ran in May 2009.
www.rallyedefrance.com

Rally of Scotland - 14th - 16th October

Scotland staged the final round of the prestigious Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) over the weekend of Friday 20th and Saturday 21st November 2009, forming a centrepiece event within the Homecoming Scotland 2009 celebrations.

The event, secured by EventScotland the national events agency working in partnership with International Motor Sports together with Stirling and Perth and Kinross Councils, was first announced in October 2008 by Scotland's First Minister, the Rt Hon Alex Salmond MSP.

The route took in some of Scotland’s most iconic and historic landmarks across two of Scotland’s most picturesque constituencies: Stirling and Perth and Kinross.  The ceremonial start took place in the grounds of Scone Palace in Perth which is the former coronation site of Scotland’s kings and queens.  The event also visited the Service Parks at Blair Castle and Stirling City Centre before the ceremonial finish on the esplanade of Stirling Castle. 

Starting on Thursday November 19th, the RACMSA Rally of Scotland also covered three historic Forestry Commission Scotland pathways used for previous Motor Sport events in Scotland.
http://www.rallyscotland.tv/index.asp

This event is open to anybody who would like to have a go in the appropriate vehicle. The event runs from Friday Evening to Sunday morning in three discrete sections. The cars compete against the clock over the public roads, which the police close to the public during the event. The roads are all tarmac, but also all only single track lanes with lots of hairpins, steep hills and big drops! 150 start cars on the Friday night and as well as being "The best rally in the world", it is one of the biggest social events in Mull's calendar each year. The web site attempts to provide all the information you should need if you would like to go and compete, help to organise or just go and take part by spectating and partying!
http://www.2300club.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

For many years Spain's round of the WRC was based on the Costa Brava, north of Barcelona. But that all changed in 2005 when the event moved to the other side of the Catalan capital to a new home on the Costa Daurada, where it's remained ever since.

The event's nature hasn't changed much, however, with the wide, sweeping asphalt roads providing the fastest sealed-surface stages of the season. Racing driving techniques can pay dividends on the fast asphalt stages as drivers aim for smooth lines through the turns to maximise their speed.

The event is based in the PortAventura theme park, in the town of Salou in the Tarragona region. It's extremely popular with spectators - especially the Spanish who were weaned on years of success for double champion and 26-times rally winner Carlos Sainz.
www.rallyracc.com

First run in 1932, the Rally of Great Britain is one of the oldest rallies in the world and was known for many years as the RAC Rally. The event has been a qualifying round of the WRC every year since the series was established in 1973.

From its early beginnings as a national event that roamed around the country and included stages in the North-East, Scotland, the Lake District, the North-West and the Midlands, the action, particularly since 2000, has been focussed on Wales.

The gravel forest stages of south and mid-Wales are fast and flowing and, when wet, can become as slippery as any in the world. And in a country famed for its lush greenery, rain, and lots it, is always a possibility. As well as the forestry roads, the event features stages on exposed military land to the north of Brecon, which are prone to fog. Accurate pace notes are essential throughout.

As it has in recent years, the Welsh capital Cardiff hosts the ceremonial start and the finish, as well as the Service Park - which moved from Swansea to Cardiff Bay for the first time in 2009.
www.rallygb.org

Christmas Stages 27th December
http://www.northallerton-ac.co.uk/xmas/index.html