Motorsport UK is preparing to host a round of the World Rally Championship next year even though the WRC Promoter won’t be able to offer a calendar slot until 2027
The UK hasn’t featured on the WRC calendar since 2019 when it was based in Wales, but the nation’s governing body has been preparing a bid to bring the sport’s elite back with a new base in Aberdeen, Scotland.
Motorsport UK chairman Hugh Chambers is cautiously optimistic that the event will receive the necessary funding to come to fruition, labelling it a “very, very comprehensive proposal” that has “got as much momentum behind it as you would hope for at this stage in the game”.
The UK is prepared to work towards a 2027 calendar re-entry, but Chambers believes the organizing team could be ready next year.
He told DirtFish: “It’s disappointing not to do it this year, the sooner the better! But I think we would have enough time to organize an event in 2026. We haven’t put on an event since 2019, but I think there’s quite a lot of muscle memory in the volunteer workforce.
The WRC last visited the UK in 2019, but won't return to Wales if it does come back
“I’ve got no doubt whatsoever that we could turn this around very, very quickly – there’s an appetite and there’s a hunger to get it going as fast as possible. But if we have to wait 18 months, then we have to wait 18 months.
“WRC Promoter has been quite open and quite candid about ’26 for a number of months, about the shrinking possibility of that being able to happen,” Chambers added.
“But as I said, I’ve got no doubt whatsoever that given our experience in the community, given the knowledge in the community, and the pre-preparation work that’s already been done around the event planning, that we can turn this on in 12 months without any problem at all.”
WRC event director Simon Larkin said the WRC’s priority is America for 2026, meaning other interested parties like the UK, Ireland and Indonesia would be looking at 2027 for a calendar berth.
“We’re working with all of them for 2027, for sure,” Larkin said. “Until everything is done, we still have a small number of contracts to get done. That’s our priority at the moment.
“But we have to be realistic. It’s the end of April now [sic start of May], with the calendar to be done in July. There would have to be something pretty groundbreaking from either of those [to earn a place in 2026].
“Whether it’s the US, whether it’s Indonesia, whether it’s Ireland, whether it’s Scotland, we want to go there and make sure that there’s an event worth going there for. Not just to tick a box because it’s a particular country,” Larkin added.
“We need to have sustainable events. We want to have events that are going to grow that have the resourcing, have the budgets.”
The WRC wants events that add value, but Chambers is confident Scoltand and the UK would
The next few weeks will be key for Rally UK’s bid as it looks to drum up the required funding from government and commercial partners.
Chambers said June’s meeting of FIA World Motor Sport Council would be a target to present an event for 2026, but cautioned: “The last thing we’re in a position to do is to dictate to them [government] how quickly they do their analysis.
“It’s their process,” Chambers added. “But all the feedback we’re getting is very, very positive. I don’t think at any point we have had any feedback which I would say is contrary to people wanting to support it.”
Chambers feels the teams and drivers will “absolutely love” the planned event, and is also confident of drawing fans Scandinavia and northern Europe due to its proximity to Scotland.
“I think it’ll be a really, really, really big festival, particularly, you know, the first year getting the rally back in the UK,” said Chambers. “It’s one of the most popular rallies on the international calendar, always. Even if it wasn’t the season closer, it was always at the back end of the season, things were beginning to get sharp and pointy and everyone was starting to get very excited about the points.
The proposed stages are in the region of a current British championship round, the Grampian
“And of course this year is 30 years since Colin [McRae] and Derek [Ringer]’s world championship and I was there in Chester organizing, putting Richard [Burns] and Carlos [Sainz] and Colin on the bonnet of the car, so it’s very personal for me.”
Despite that personal aspect, Chambers is not allowing himself to get too excited yet.
“We’re all keeping calm because like I said before, nothing’s ever done until it’s done,” Chambers concluded.
“All I can say is that there’s good momentum. I think we’ve got a fantastic proposition, a very, very good product. There’s a great team of people involved in it. I think all the people we’ve spoken to in Scotland really understand the opportunity, they understand what this can do.
“And we’ve got a very, very good economic story to tell off the back of the studies that were done last year by WRC Promoter. It’s a very compelling proposition.
“Win or lose, I’ll be able to sleep well at night knowing we’ve put absolutely everything we can into this to make it happen.”
