The Probite British Rally Championship (BRC) will visit the daunting Kielder Forest for the first time since 2019 next weekend [12 April], as the Carlisle Stages hosts the second round of the season.
After a breathtaking start to the 2025 campaign at the East Riding Stages where the closed public roads of Yorkshire provided a tricky curtain raiser on the asphalt, the world-famous Kielder Forest picks up the mantle for the first of three gravel rounds.
The car-swallowing ditches lining the forest are complimented by the super-fast and often unpredictable landscape, making the Scotland/England border complex one of the toughest to master in the UK. Classics stages such as Kershope and Chirdonhead are on the billing and have tested the world’s best rally drivers over the decades.
With an impressive rollcall of Britain’s elite competitors set to vie for victory, and many returning to these stages after a long hiatus, fans are in for an exhilarating day of rallying action.
The Categories: BRC1 – 4
Last year’s BRC runners-up William Creighton and Liam Regan stormed to an early advantage with a season-opening victory in their Michelin-shod Castrol MEM Rally Team Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. But it’s a new dawn for the 2023 Junior WRC titleholder as he steps onto gravel for the first time in the Yaris.
“It’s nice to be coming in as championship leader but it’s very early days and the rest of the guys will be trying as hard as usual” says Creighton.
“It’s our first gravel rally in the car so we will just approach and prepare in the same way as we did for East Riding”.
Like Creighton, four-time British champion Keith Cronin will sample the gravel for the first time, as he continues to bed into his Race & Rally Citroen Racing C3 Rally2. He and Mikie Galvin took second in round one and will be hoping to push for the top spot. Cronin has arguably the most experience of Kielder but hasn’t been in the complex since 2018.
Team MRF Tyres front-runners James Williams and Ross Whittock will be box fresh, after contesting the opening round of the FIA European Rally Championship the weekend before – albeit on asphalt. The Hyundai i20 N Rally2 crew will hope to capitalise on their third place in Yorkshire.
Callum Black and Jack Morton secured fifth place in round one driving their Fiesta Rally2, becoming the top scorer for the UCRC China Rally Team. After focusing on asphalt for several years, the stages present a challenging return to gravel, but equally a good leveller thanks to its absence from the BRC calendar.
Pirelli-backed Elliot Payne will feel much more at home on the loose stuff and along with Patrick Walsh, have the most recent experience of Kielder in their Fiesta Rally2, having contested a non-championship event in the forest last season.
Outside of the top five, other contenders include Meirion Evans driving the Yaris Rally2, and Romet Jurgenson from the FIA Rally Star programme, seeking additional experience and development in the M-Sport Ford Rally Team Fiesta Rally2.
Citroen C3 Rally2 drivers James Ford and Max McRae will both be aiming to put their round one non-finishes behind them, whilst Matthew Hirst gets back onto his preferred surface in his Skoda Fabia Rally2.
Running second for most of the East Riding morning loop, M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2 ace Garry Pearson could well be out front, whilst Alexander Vassallo continues to adapt his Fiesta on the gravel. BRC3 contender Robert Proudlock takes his Ford Fiesta Rally3 onto gravel for the first time after the Scot steps up from the Rally4 category following his Junior BRC title in 2024.
Leading the BRC Teams battle, the yourbrandhere.org/Ignition Motorsport Rally Team fields an impressive line-up for the weekend, including none other than 2004 British Rally Champion and multiple American Rally Champion, David Higgins. The Manxman claimed the BRC crown in a Hyundai Accent WRC some 20 years ago but now returns purely ‘for some fun’ with Keith Jones on the notes.
BRC4 winners Meghan O’Kane and Nikki Addison dominated the timesheets on round one in their Ford Fiesta R2 and will be hoping for a repeat run, whilst fellow team members Colin Minton and Jordan Joines also head for the forests in their Fiesta. Charlie Wright and Adam Westerby didn’t make the start of East Riding, so get their season underway in their Fiesta R2T.
Junior British Rally Championship
The Junior BRC contest was, as expected, as close as ever at round one and that is set to continue in the woods. With the Stellantis Motorsport Rally Cup joining for this round, the French manufacturer dominates proceedings with Kyle McBride and Darragh Mullen heading the way after their round one win in their Peugeot 208 Rally4 whilst also scoring points for the Race & Rally4 team.
Kalum Graffin looks for his maiden Junior BRC gravel win after a strong round one, with Sam Mason heading onto the loose – subsequently feeling much more at home. Making his Junior BRC debut, Jack Brennan has high hopes in his 208 Rally4 after taking second place in the Stellantis Cup at the West Cork Rally whilst Joseph Kelly makes a welcome BRC comeback.
Open Title
For Rally2 and R5 cars running outside of their homologation, the Open Rally Title has once again attracted a stellar lineup, including former National Rally Title champion Alan Carmichael [Hyundai i20 N Rally2] who makes a return to the series, and Scottish Rally Championship front-runner Scott MacBeth [Skoda Fabia] who makes his BRC debut. John Morrison [Fiesta R5] heads for his first appearance of the season and Darren Martin [Fiesta R5] could well lead the series after Kielder if he can add to his second place in Yorkshire.
National Rally Title
The National Rally Title is a home for all other machinery and after a sensational season opener, Rob Cotton [Subaru Impreza] leads the way. Chris Richmond Hand debuts his Toyota Starlet in the forests and hopes to bolster his third place on round one. Ernie Graham brings his Mitsubishi EVO X back to the series after an early round-one retirement.
Five stages and 50 competitive miles are on offer in a compact day in the unforgiving forests, before the ceremonial finish celebrations under the gaze of Kielder Castle later that afternoon.
-Ends
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