PROBITE British Rally Championship promoters have told Irish News Sport they remain committed to returning to Northern Ireland – but have stopped short of indicating when this might actually happen.
In spite of the series having a strong Irish contingent, and Moira’s William Creighton finishing as runner-up in this season’s title battle to Mancunian Chris Ingram, no closed-road meeting on this side of the Irish Sea has made the cut for 2025 – the second year running it has happened.
Prior to 2023, the Ulster Rally was almost guaranteed a spot on the roster, but a renewed emphasis by Championship Manager Reece Tarren to cut back costs and simplify logistics has seen it being pushed to the margins even though it has been crowned the standout BRC round several times.
The Circuit of Ireland has also briefly flirted with the dual surface competition, with the name of one of the world’s oldest motoring events being reinstated for the 2016 campaign following a 26-year hiatus.
Tarren insists he is well aware of the need to incorporate a points-scoring fixture on these shores. “There are some great events in Northern Ireland and we are keen to return to the island,” he said.
“Whilst we are not visiting Northern Ireland in 2025, that does not rule out the possibility of holding a round in Northern Ireland beyond next year if we can get everything sorted for the future.
“I have had some positive conversations with several events there over the past few months and we will have to see if we can make them work. What I can say right now is that nothing is off the table.
“There are, however, a number of events that have approached us and we would like to fit them into the calendar, but balancing the factors associated with putting a calendar together – the right status event, logistics, commercials and timing with other events – means it hasn’t been possible.”
For 2025, the six events that make up the BRC calendar are dotted across England, Scotland and Wales respectively, with standout closed-road meetings including the Jim Clark Rally, Rali Ceredigion, and the East Riding Stages Rally – a new entry that means an early start date of Sunday, February 23.
Tarren added: “It is right to say that about 15 per cent of all our crews compete from Ireland, and of course a local round for them makes a lot of sense, however, there is an added complication if that event is also a round of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship (ITRC).
“If it is, we stand to lose those local competitors if they are doing better in the ITRC than the BRC as you cannot run in both.
“Given the numbers we saw out competing in British Rally Championship in the past couple of years, 2024 was always about rebuilding the Championship back to where it deserved to be.
“We made a number of changes to attract competitors back, including the more compact mainland calendar and return of the BRC to free to air television on ITV4.
“It seems to have worked and the BRC’s seen a strong 2024 campaign with good competitor support and we want to build on that.”
