The Armstrong Galloway Hills Rally has launched the 46th edition of the popular South-West of Scotland event today (14th August) with further details on the British Rally Championship and KNC Groundworks Scottish Rally Championship qualifier which will take place on Saturday 14th September.
Sponsored for the 20th year by The Armstrong Group, the event will for the first time since 1999 move away from its traditional rally base of Castle Douglas to the iconic town of Dalbeattie, a name synonymous with the sport across the decades.
The move just a couple of miles down the Urr Valley to Dalbeattie will see all pre-event checks, Rally Headquarters and ceremonial start being based at Jas P Wilson’s newly extended campus, ensuring a compact format to the weekend’s proceedings. The shift also opens the classic Dalbeattie stage to the event, which will be tackled by crews for the first time in five years.
Organised as a collaboration between Solway, Machars and East Ayrshire Car Clubs the now traditional final round of the Scottish Rally Championship has, for the first time, been joined by the prestigious British Rally Championship which has led to a brand-new format for the event in 2019.
Leaving the ceremonial start at around 9.30am, crews in the Scottish Rally Championship, Border Challenge and HRCR Motoscope Northern Historic Gravel Rally Championship will tackle five classic stages, kicking off with the adjacent Dalbeattie test, totalling 44 miles in the Dumfries and Galloway Forests. After a tough day in the forests, the finish celebrations will take place at around 15:30 with the winners getting the chance to spray the champagne.
British Rally Championship crews will have a tougher challenge ahead, after a chance to make their own notes in the forests during the pre-event recce on Friday 13th September, a total of nine stages and 75 miles form their route on Saturday. Also utilising classic forest tests in the region, they will have an early wake up with an 8.00am start in Dalbeattie before they get the chance to celebrate a finish, which will see the crowning of the new British Champion, from around 18:00.
Traditionally the rally has
brought a large contingent of crews across the Irish Sea and Europe, all eager
to sample classic Scottish rallying tests in the region, which has been
possible thanks to the Galloway Hills Rally being the proud recipient of a
grant from Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Major Festivals and Events Strategy
2018-2021. This valuable contribution is used to encourage competitors to enter
with 2019 offering a wide range of incentives for crews.
Since 2014, the rally has awarded over £30,000 in Competitor Incentives, thanks
to a travel subsidy and Entry Refund Draws, both of which continue this year
thanks to the ongoing support of Dumfries and Galloway Council. The offering is
unique and is the only UK rally to provide such an incentive, reinforcing the
Galloway Hills Rally’s commitment to being 100% competitor focused.
Crews in the National B event which houses Scottish Rally Championship crews
can take advantage of free ferry crossings from Belfast with event partners
Stena Line. This will be limited to the first eight crews who apply for the
travel bursary.
For competitors in both the National A and B events, the ‘#InItToWinIt’
competition returns, meaning for every ten entries received, one crew will be
drawn at random to receive an entry fee discount of £250, up to the total value
of £2,000. Those entering early, therefore, have the greatest opportunity to
win.
The Galloway Hills Rally was the winner of SRC Chairman’s Cup for Best Event in
2017, and Clerk of the Course of the rally Michael Riddick believes this year
is one of the most exciting opportunities for the event and the region.
“It really is an honour to be hosting the final round of the British Rally
Championship for the first time and bringing some of the best drivers in the
business to the region is exciting for motorsport fans in Scotland,” he says.
“But it really wouldn’t be the Galloway Hills Rally without the Scottish Rally
Championship and our other series along too and having both side by side is
superb for us. We have been working very hard to offer an event that crews in
all championship will want to do, but also those who want to visit the region
and sample our unrivalled stages too. The format we have devised allows both
the 45 and 75 mile events to get priority, whilst creating a compact route for
both events.
We are very proud of the rally and our small but experienced team every year,
and we are sure that 2019 will offer competitors and fans a fantastic day
rallying in Dumfries and Galloway” he says.
“We are indebted to the support of our sponsors the Armstrong Group and of
course to Dumfries and Galloway Council for their invaluable grant which helps
us attract competitors from all corners of the country and Ireland. There is
sure to be some great action on the stages for everyone to enjoy, and we are
looking forward to welcoming you all to our new rally base at Jas P Wilson in
Dalbeattie”.
The Armstrong Galloway Hills Rally event regulations are now available to
download and entries are now open on the event website. This also
includes route information and details on this year’s competitor
incentives.
Spectator information, including times for access to Jas P Wilson in Dalbeattie
on Friday and Saturday, will be available in the coming weeks at http://gallowayhillsrally.co.uk/spectators/where-to-watch/