September 14th, 2018

Galloway Hills Rally joins the British Rally Championship in 2019

The Armstrong Galloway Hills Rally will become the final round of the Prestone MSA British Rally Championship (BRC) in 2019 thanks to an agreement that see’s Britain’s premier series join the Castle Douglas event for its 46th year.

Just days after a successful 2018 rally in which Dumfries driver David Bogie took victory in his Skoda Fabia R5, the Armstrong Group backed event will step-up to become the sixth round of the championship and is set to see some of the best drivers in Europe head to the region on 14th September 2019.

The Galloway Hills Rally is also delighted to announce that it will welcome the return of the popular ARR Craib MSA Scottish Rally Championship, once again becoming the series final round of the season.

Organised by Solway, Machars and East Ayrshire Car Clubs, the Galloway Hills Rally has traditionally been a popular end of season blast through the Dumfries and Galloway forests, with the event using classic tests such as Cairn Edward, Black Loch and Glentrool in recent years.

The rally is steeped in history and has a wealth of top-class names on the winner’s trophy such as Ford World Rally Championship boss Malcolm Wilson, son Matthew and former Citroen factory driver Kris Meeke.

Crews from all over the UK and Ireland have traditionally made the annual pilgrimage to the rally, thanks to the Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Major Festivals and Events Strategy 2018-2021 grant which sees once hundred per-cent of the fund being used to attract crews to the event. In the past, this has included free ferry crossings from Ireland and entry fee rebate competitions to encourage crews to enter.

Clerk of the Course Michael Riddick is delighted to welcome the British Rally Championship to the Galloway Hills in 2019: “We were approached a few months ago by British Rally Championship Manager Iain Campbell who asked if we would join the series in 2019 and we have given it a lot of thought since then,” says Riddick.

“As an organising committee, we couldn’t take that kind of decision lightly and we knew we had a great event already and of course we’re proud to be the deciding round of the Scottish Championship too. But our small but dedicated team are up for the challenge and we think it will be a great boost for the region. It’s a real honour to be a round of the BRC and will be working very hard to ensure the event meets the needs of our existing customer base, as well as our joining competitors.”

“Considering our 2018 event was just three days ago, our plans for 2019 are at a very early stage” he continues. “It will be an honour to be the only BRC round in Scotland and we have to thank the continued support of The Armstrong Group and the Dumfries and Galloway Council which has made this possible. However, our existing loyal competitor base remains our top priority, and we will ensure everyone has an enjoyable 2019 Galloway Hills Rally.”