Two of the biggest rally series’ in the country will descend on the Scottish Borders in March as the Prestone MSA British Rally Championship (BRC) and ARR Craib MSA Scottish Rally Championship (SRC) join together to contest the Brick & Steel Border Counties Rally.

The Jedburgh based two day event will play host to around 100 crews from across the world on the March 17^th and 18^th who will tackle stages in Wauchope, Craik and the Tweed Valley forest complex.

The event, sponsored by Glasgow based Brick & Steel Construction will, for the first time, be the opening round of the highly anticipated 2017 British Rally Championship and rally organisers Hawick and Border Car Club with Whickham and District Motor Club have devised a format which is worthy of its prestigious status.

The BRC crews will kick off the event under the gaze of Jedburgh Abbey at 6pm on Friday 17^th March with an autograph and meet and greet session on Abbey Place in the town. With entertainment for all the family planned, it’s sure to provide a fitting atmosphere as crews cross the start ramp at 7pm to head for two stages under the cover of darkness in the Craik forest.

After an exciting opening round in Inverness earlier this month, the hotly contested Scottish Rally Championship heads south for round two and around 70 series contenders from the championship will join forces with the BRC on Saturday 18^th.

After an action packed day in the Scottish Borders forests, the field will return to the finish ceremony in Jedburgh at around 4PM where the victors from both the British and Scottish championships will spray the champagne, once again watched over by the historic Jedburgh Abbey.

Fans will also be well catered for during the event, with opportunities to watch the action in Craik forest on Friday night, then Wauchope on Saturday morning and two stages at Elibank later in the day.

Entries for the two day event have already surpassed the levels seen at this time in 2016 and the list is bolstered by a raft of British and Scottish Championship hopefuls.  At the time of writing (28th February) organisers had received almost 70 entries, with more being received daily.

Event Clerk of the Course Clayton Lackenby is excited by this year’s event and believes it could be one of the best yet.

“It’s an honour to welcome the British Rally championship to the event for the first time and of course the Scottish Rally Championship too” he says.

“Having two of our greatest championships together in Jedburgh and the Scottish Borders is a fantastic prospect and there is a real buzz about the rally in the area.  We have devised a challenging yet enjoyable format for the crews and the feedback we have so far is all positive.”

But it’s Friday 17^th March which really has been the talking point.

“I don’t think anyone can deny that rallying in the Borders at night time will be a truly unique experience and will certainly keep the British Championship contenders on their toes. We are working hard to put together an event which both fans and competitors will enjoy, we can’t wait!”

Spectator information will be released closer to the event and more information can be found on the Brick & Steel Border Counties Rally website at www.bordercountiesrally.co.uk alongside the event’s social media feeds below:

www.facebook.com/bordercountiesrally

www.twitter.com/borderrally