Manfred Stohl driving a Citroën Xsara WRC at the 2007 Rally GB.

Wales Rally GB is the largest and most high profile motor rally in the United Kingdom. It is a round of the FIA World Rally Championship and was formerly a round of the MSA British Rally Championship and is based in and around the city of Cardiff in Wales. From its first running in 1932 until the 53rd event in 1997, it was known as the RAC Rally until adopting its current name in 2003 except in 2009 when it was Rally of Great Britain.

History[link]

1932 Royal Automobile Club Rally and Coachwork Competition[link]

The inaugural event was the 1932 Royal Automobile Club Rally, which was the first major rally of the modern era in Great Britain. Of the 367 crews entered, 341 competitors in unmodified cars started from nine different towns and cities (London, Bath, Norwich, Leamington, Buxton, Harrogate, Liverpool, Newcastle upon Tyne and Edinburgh.)

The Official Programme explained, "Different routes are followed from the nine starting points, each approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 km) long, but all finishing at Torquay. On every route there are four controls in addition to the starting and finishing controls, and these are open for periods varying from seven to four hours. Competitors may report at these controls at any time during the hours of opening.......At the final control they must check in as near their fixed finishing time as possible, and any considerable deviation from this time results in loss of marks."

As well as completing the route to a time schedule the competitors were required to perform a special test involving slow running, acceleration and braking. Additionally a Concours d'Elegance was held at the finish in Torquay. There was no official winner, although Colonel A H Loughborough in a Lanchester 15/18 was recorded as having the fewest penalty points in the decisive test at the finish.^[1]

Pre- & post-World War II years[link]

The following year's RAC Rally followed a similar format, but with Hastings as the chosen finish. Over three hundred competitors entered, and this time Miss Kitty Brunel, driving an AC Ace, was the driver with the fewest penalties.

The rally was run annually until 1939, after which the outbreak of the Second World War forced its suspension. However, it resumed in 1951, and has been contested every year since with only two exceptions, 1957 (Suez Crisis) and 1967 (Foot and Mouth Disease). This latter incident was on the eve of the event, so competitors staged a mock rally at the Bagshot proving ground as consolation for the press and television (ATV had been persuaded to provide major coverage with in-car cameras for the first time).

Forest stages[link]

In 1960, organising secretary Jack Kemsley negotiated with the Forestry Commission to allow a two mile (3 km) section of forest road in Argyll, Scotland to be used as a competitive section. It proved enormously successful, and the following year forest roads all over the country were opened up to the drivers. This, combined with the introduction of special timing clocks and seeding of entries, secured the rally's future, and cemented its reputation as one of the most gruelling and unpredictable fixtures on the calendar.^[2]

Mickey Mouse stages[link]

In 1971, 'Spectator Stages' were introduced and, by 1975 had become an important part of the event, usually at stately homes and other public venues like Sutton Park. The first day was, by then, devoted to these stages. Drivers did not enjoy them, and referred to them disparagingly as "Mickey Mouse stages" because of the lack of challenge they offered,^[3][4] but nonetheless they contributed to the results. More recently, they have given way to the 'Super Special Stages', which are equally maligned by the drivers, but just as popular with spectators.

Group B[link]

Michèle Mouton at the 1984 rally with an Audi Sport Quattro

The 1986 RAC Rally was the last European event for Group B vehicles. These highly-tuned turbocharged cars were to be banned as they were deemed too powerful and dangerous, in light of the various accidents in which they were involved. In the end, the Peugeot 205 T16 Evo. 2s of Timo Salonen, Juha Kankkunen and Mikael Sundström took three of the top four places, with only Markku Alen's second position in the Lancia Delta S4 preventing a monopoly of the podium.

There were 83 finishers out of 150 starters in 1986, compared to year of worst attrition in 1981 when only 54 of the 151 starters reached the end. This was in stark contrast to the early years: in 1938, there were only 6 retirements from 237 starters.

Scandinavian successes[link]

Scandinavian drivers have enjoyed rich pickings in the RAC Rally. Home drivers won the first six runnings of the race from 1953, when an outright winner was first declared. However, in 1960 Erik Carlsson of Sweden drove his Saab 96 to a hat-trick of victories in 1960–62, and of the six drivers to have won three or more titles since then, all but three - Colin McRae (1994, '95, '97), Richard Burns (1998–2000), and Sébastien Loeb (2008–10) - have been Swedes, Finns or Norwegians. The record for most victories is four, shared by Hannu Mikkola (1978–79, '81–82) and Petter Solberg (2002–05), whose consecutive streak is unique.

Title sponsors[link]

Until 1970, there was no overt sponsorship, but in that year advertising decals appeared on cars and the Daily Mirror newspaper sponsored the event. This deal lasted four years before finance company Lombard North Central took over in 1974. The event became known as the Lombard RAC Rally, and Lombard's name became synonymous with the event.

Following Lombard's withdrawal of sponsorship after nineteen years, the rally became known as the Network Q RAC Rally and later, the Network Q Rally of Great Britain. The rally has moved its operational base to Cardiff and competitive stage mileage is concentrated in Wales. With sponsorship from the Welsh Government, the event is now known as Wales Rally GB.

However, with such an extensive history covering the whole country, there were demands for the "glory days" of the old RAC Rally. In this spirit, two events have recently been established, and cover the same classic stages which are no longer part of the WRC itinerary. The RAC Revival Rally uses modern, but less powerful cars, while the Roger Albert Clark Rally is a historic event using only pre-1972 machinery, and named after the first home winner of the race as a World Championship event.

2005[link]

This is a memorial on the tree for Michael Park where he lost his life.

The 2005 rally was the twelfth event on the WRC schedule for 2005, held on September 16–18, 2005. It included the first indoor super special stage at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

On stage fifteen, Peugeot driver Markko Märtin crashed heavily into a tree, and while he was unharmed his co-driver Michael Park sustained fatal injuries. It was the first death in the WRC in over a decade. The final two stages were cancelled and Sébastien Loeb, who would have won the event, voluntarily incurred a two minute time penalty in order not to win under such circumstances, leaving Petter Solberg to be declared the victor.

A memorial for Park was unveiled in Märtin's homeland of Estonia and the damaged tree on the Margam Park stage of the rally where he died bears a plaque in memorial of him.

2008[link]

Wales Rally GB was the final round of the 2008 FIA World Rally Championship and took place on 4–7 December 2008. World champion Sébastien Loeb crowned his season with victory in the rally.^[5]

Cardiff was both the start and finish point for the rally, while the service area returned to central Swansea. For the first time since 2000 the rally featured stages in Mid-Wales and there were special evening stages inside the Millennium Stadium.

Results[link]

Year	Event	Finish	Winner(s)	Vehicle
1932	RAC Rally	Torquay	Col. Loughborough	Lanchester
1933	RAC Rally	Hastings	Miss Kitty Brunell	AC Ace
1934	RAC Rally	Bournemouth	F R G Spikins	Singer Le Mans
1935	RAC Rally	Eastbourne	Results unknown
1936	RAC Rally	Torquay	C E A Westcott	Austin 7
1937	RAC Rally	Hastings	Jack Harrop	Jaguar SS100
1938	RAC Rally	Blackpool	Jack Harrop	Jaguar SS100
1939	RAC Rally	Brighton	Abiegeg Fane	BMW 328
1940–50		No Rally held
1951	1st RAC Rally	Bournemouth	Ian Appleyard Mrs. Pat Appleyard	Jaguar XK120
1952	2nd RAC Rally	Scarborough	Godfrey Imhof Mrs. Barbara Frayling	Allard-Cadillac J2
1953	3rd RAC Rally	Hastings	Ian Appleyard Mrs. Pat Appleyard	Jaguar XK120
1954	4th RAC Rally	Blackpool	John Wallwork Harold Brooks	Triumph TR2
1955	5th RAC Rally	Hastings	Jimmy Ray Brian Horrocks	Standard Ten
1956	6th RAC Rally	Blackpool	Lyndon Sims Rupert Jones Tony Ambrose	Aston Martin DB2
1957		No Rally held
1958	7th RAC Rally	Hastings	Peter Harper Dr Bill Deane	Sunbeam Rapier
1959	8th RAC Rally	London	Gerald Burgess Sam Croft-Pearson	Ford Zephyr Six
1960	9th RAC Rally	Brands Hatch	Erik Carlsson Stuart Turner	Saab 96
1961	10th RAC Rally	Brighton	Erik Carlsson John Brown	Saab 96
1962	11th RAC Rally	Bournemouth	Erik Carlsson David Stone	Saab 96
1963	12th RAC Rally	Bournemouth	Tom Trana Sune Lundström	Volvo PV544
1964	13th RAC Rally	London	Tom Trana Gunnar Thermanius	Volvo PV544
1965	14th RAC Rally	London	Rauno Aaltonen Tony Ambrose	BMC Mini Cooper S 1275
1966	15th RAC Rally	London	Bengt Söderström Gunnar Palm	Lotus Cortina
1967	16th RAC Rally	Cancelled due to outbreak of Foot-and-mouth
1968	17th RAC Rally	London	Simo Lampinen John Davenport	Saab 96 V4
1969	18th RAC Rally	London	Harry Kallström Gunnar Haggbom	Lancia Fulvia 1.6 Coupé HF
1970	19th Daily Mirror RAC Rally	London	Harry Kallström Gunnar Haggbom	Lancia Fulvia 1.6 Coupé HF
1971	20th Daily Mirror RAC Rally	Harrogate	Stig Blomqvist Arne Hertz	Saab 96 V4
1972	21st Daily Mirror RAC Rally	York	Roger Clark Tony Mason	Ford Escort RS1600
1973	22nd Daily Mirror RAC Rally	York	Timo Mäkinen Henry Liddon	Ford Escort RS1600
1974	23rd Lombard RAC Rally	York	Timo Mäkinen Henry Liddon	Ford Escort RS1600
1975	24th Lombard RAC Rally	York	Timo Mäkinen Henry Liddon	Ford Escort RS1800
1976	25th Lombard RAC Rally	Bath	Roger Clark Stuart Pegg	Ford Escort RS1800
1977	26th Lombard RAC Rally	York	Björn Waldegård Hans Thorszelius	Ford Escort RS1800
1978	27th Lombard RAC Rally	Birmingham	Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz	Ford Escort RS1800
1979	28th Lombard RAC Rally	Chester	Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz	Ford Escort RS1800
1980	29th Lombard RAC Rally	Bath	Henri Toivonen Paul White	Talbot Sunbeam Lotus
1981	30th Lombard RAC Rally	Chester	Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz	Audi Quattro
1982	31st Lombard RAC Rally	York	Hannu Mikkola Arne Hertz	Audi Quattro
1983	32nd Lombard RAC Rally	Bath	Stig Blomqvist Björn Cederberg	Audi Quattro A2
1984	33rd Lombard RAC Rally	Chester	Ari Vatanen Terry Harryman	Peugeot 205 Turbo 16
1985	34th Lombard RAC Rally	Nottingham	Henri Toivonen Neil Wilson	Lancia Delta S4
1986	35th Lombard RAC Rally	Bath	Timo Salonen Seppo Harjanne	Peugeot 205 Turbo 16
1987	36th Lombard RAC Rally	Chester	Juha Kankkunen Juha Piironen	Lancia Delta HF 4WD
1988	37th Lombard RAC Rally	Harrogate	Markku Alen Ilkka Kivimäki	Lancia Delta Integrale
1989	38th Lombard RAC Rally	Nottingham	Pentti Airikkala Ronan McNamee	Mitsubishi Galant VR-4
1990	46th Lombard RAC Rally	Harrogate	Carlos Sainz Luis Moya	Toyota Celica GT-Four ST165
1991	47th Lombard RAC Rally	Harrogate	Juha Kankkunen Juha Piironen	Lancia Delta Integrale 16V
1992	48th Lombard RAC Rally	Chester	Carlos Sainz Luis Moya	Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD
1993	49th Network Q RAC Rally	Birmingham	Juha Kankkunen Nicky Grist	Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD
1994	50th Network Q RAC Rally	Chester	Colin McRae Derek Ringer	Subaru Impreza 555
1995	51st Network Q RAC Rally	Chester	Colin McRae Derek Ringer	Subaru Impreza 555
1996	52nd Network Q RAC Rally	Chester	Armin Schwarz Denis Giraudet	Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205
1997	53rd Network Q RAC Rally	Cheltenham	Colin McRae Nicky Grist	Subaru Impreza WRC 97
1998	54th Network Q Rally of Great Britain	Cheltenham	Richard Burns Robert Reid	Mitsubishi Carisma GT Evo 5
1999	55th Network Q Rally of Great Britain	Cheltenham	Richard Burns Robert Reid	Subaru Impreza WRC 99
2000	56th Network Q Rally of Great Britain	Cardiff	Richard Burns Robert Reid	Subaru Impreza WRC 00
2001	57th Network Q Rally of Great Britain	Cardiff	Marcus Grönholm Timo Rautiainen	Peugeot 206 WRC
2002	58th Network Q Rally of Great Britain	Cardiff	Petter Solberg Phil Mills	Subaru Impreza WRC 02
2003	59th Wales Rally of Great Britain	Cardiff	Petter Solberg Phil Mills	Subaru Impreza WRC 03
2004	60th Wales Rally of Great Britain	Cardiff	Petter Solberg Phil Mills	Subaru Impreza WRC 04
2005	61st Wales Rally of Great Britain	Cardiff	Petter Solberg Phil Mills	Subaru Impreza WRC 05
2006	62nd Wales Rally of Great Britain	Cardiff	Marcus Grönholm Timo Rautiainen	Ford Focus RS WRC 06
2007	63rd Wales Rally of Great Britain	Cardiff	Mikko Hirvonen Jarmo Lehtinen	Ford Focus RS WRC 07
2008	64th Wales Rally of Great Britain	Cardiff	Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena	Citroën C4 WRC
2009	65th Rally of Great Britain	Cardiff	Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena	Citroën C4 WRC
2010	66th Wales Rally of Great Britain	Cardiff	Sébastien Loeb Daniel Elena	Citroën C4 WRC
2011	67th Wales Rally of Great Britain	Cardiff	Jari-Matti Latvala Miikka Antilla	Ford Fiesta RS WRC

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wales Rally GB

• Wales Rally GB official site
• World Rally Championship official site - watch Wales Rally GB online
• British Rally Championship official site
• Endurance Rally Association, organisers of the RAC Revival Rally
• Roger Albert Clark Rally, official site