Imagine Formula 1 without the British Grand Prix, it’s unthinkable isn’t it? Well, the World Rally Championship without Rally GB is a similar scenario to many.
The WRC without Great Britain just didn’t sit right, so news that Scotland will bring top-tier rallying back to British shores in 2027 has, as you can imagine, been well received and will provide a real shot in the arm for British rallying. The impact on the sport’s profile and ability to unearth new talent cannot be underestimated.
Read Also:
Great Britain is a rallying heartland, dating back to the first RAC Rally in 1932 that would go on to lay the groundwork in establishing rallying as a popular form of motorsport. Over the years the RAC Rally and then Wales Rally GB became a cornerstone event for the WRC and British Motorsport.
“There’s no question that Rally GB, the RAC Rally, was always voted by the drivers as one of the best events in the World Championship,” said former driver and M-Sport-Ford team owner and now FIA deputy president for sport Malcolm Wilson at yesterday’s Rally Scotland launch in Aberdeen. “To now come to Scotland, with some of the best stages in the UK, is fantastic. Not only that, but this is a great platform and a brilliant place to build a base for the future.”
At its peak, Rally GB was regarded as one of Britain’s most attended sporting events. Who can forget the hundreds of thousands of spectators that ventured out into the Welsh forests to witness Colin McRae wrestle a navy blue Subaru to glory and lift that famous gold trophy as Britain’s first world rally champion in 1995.
The mere sight of that famous gold trophy McRae held aloft more than 30 years ago again at the Rally Scotland launch rekindled so many happy memories for me personally and I’m sure I’m not the only one. That is sport in a nutshell. It has a real power over emotions and the ability to inspire. For example, ‘McRae Mania’ further cemented my love for the sport and it’s fair to say it’s one of the reasons I pursued a career as a motorsport journalist.
But I digress. Back in 1995, McRae and Derek Ringer becoming world champions by winning in Great Britain was front and back page news which only turbocharged rallying’s popularity. Certainly, McRae and Richard Burns’ emergence at the top level of the WRC provided a lot of the heavy lifting in building rallying’s profile in Britain. In 2001, when the two went head-to-head for the title, with Burns ultimately coming out on top, creating box office motorsport. It was enough to warrant live television coverage on the BBC no less.
Robert Reid, Luis Moya, Derek Ringer, Colin McRae, Richard Burns and Carlos Sainz, Subaru
Photo by: Sutton Images
Granted, that was when rallying was at its peak of popularity in the UK, but it is an example of how the rally created a fanbase that has since been starved of Rally GB action since the loss of government funding resulted in Wales Rally GB dropping off the calendar after 2019.
The WRC’s absence from the UK has been felt hard. British rally fans have been desperate for its return and there has been little to fill the void when it comes to inspire the next generation of British rally drivers and fans.
Those intervening years without Rally GB have been bleak but there have been glimmers of hope. In Wales Rally GB’s absence the Roger Albert Clark Rally has become the UK’s biggest rally and arguably most well attended. This event for historic machinery has rekindled that RAC Rally magic, utilising many of the old stages, and fans have come out in their droves to watch, proving the fanbase is still there.
“There’s no question that Rally GB, the RAC Rally, was always voted by the drivers as one of the best events in the World Championship”
Malcolm Wilson
Then, in 2024, top-level international rallying returned, with Wales represented on the European Rally Championship calendar through the excellently organised Rali Ceredigion. This rally has certainly helped put GB back on the international rally map again, proving it is possible to generate the funding required to host an international rally, and that the appetite for contemporary rallying still exists.
But Monday 16 March, 2026 will be a day British rally fans will treasure. The WRC is finally coming back to the UK next year with an all-new gravel rally in Scotland, based out of Aberdeen. Thanks to the efforts of Motorsport UK and the funding provided by the Scottish Government, Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council, a three-year deal to host a round of the WRC has been agreed, utilising stunning gravel stages.
A huge congratulations is in order for those who have contributed to bringing this event to fruition. These days, securing government funding is critical to host major motorsport events. For example, in Australia, the Formula 1 and MotoGP Australian Grand Prix, and the former WRC Rally Australia simply don’t happen without millions of dollars of government money.
In the UK, the F1 British Grand Prix is privately funded and doesn’t receive any financial help from the government, even though the motorsport industry is worth billions of pounds to the economy. So, for the Scottish government to back WRC Rally Scotland is a significant moment. They have invested because they have bought into the benefits the WRC can provide.
WRC Rally Scotland launch
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
It is fair to say that the WRC’s current popularity is not at the heights it reached in the 1990s and 2000s, but it remains one of global motorsport’s key players, and is a sleeping giant just waiting to realise its potential again. With the WRC set to welcome new ownership and investment this year, there are plenty of reasons to suggest this giant will rise again.
Experts predict Rally Scotland will generate approximately £80 million to the local economy but its impact will be far more reaching than boosting a local region that has kindly invested in rallying and the WRC. This event has the potential to bring new eyeballs to rallying, be that new fans, future drivers, marshals team bosses, and in general grow the profile of the sport in the UK. From a personal point of view this is worth its weight in gold and way more important than the obvious joy at seeing the world’s best drivers tackling Scotland’s beautiful gravel stages. For British rallying, this could be a real turning point.
There is that old saying; ‘if you can see it, you can be it’, and the light that Rally Scotland can shine on rallying has real potential to unearth new talent and invigorate the grassroots and national scene.
Harking back to the ‘power of sport’ point made earlier, rally fans are created, and future drivers are inspired by moments. In the past, Rally GB produced many moments, such as Carlos Sainz’s agony breaking down a matter of metres from claiming a third world title in 1998, Petter Solberg’s uncontrollable joy at winning the 2003 crown, and more recently, current star Elfyn Evans claiming his first WRC win on home soil in Wales in 2017.
Evans has since led Britain’s hopes on the WRC stage, finishing runner-up on five times in the title race. For many British drivers he is now the icon that is inspiring the next wave of talent.
“It is very exciting news that a round of the World Rally Championship is coming back to the UK,” said Evans.
“Having a rally based around Aberdeen is very exciting not only for the sport but definitely for the UK motorsport community. I think it is very important to inspire the next generation. I’m very thankful for everyone involved in the project to make it happen and I’m very excited to be a part of it.”
Elfyn Evans, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Photo by: Metin Aktas / Anadolu via Getty Images
These unforgettable Rally GB moments from the past capture the imagination of fans and have the power to inspire. And now Rally Scotland can pick up the mantle.
“You do need these halo events. It’s fair to say that the national level and everything is, it’s gone on very solidly during this period of time, but you can’t underestimate the influence that bringing a world championship event as to the country in developing our marshals, our officials, our competitors as well, and giving that ambition,” Motorsport UK chairman David Richards told Autosport.
“Who knows, and we might see another, another Scott come from, in the footsteps of Colin McRae out of Scotland as a result of this.”
Rally Scotland is so much more than just Great Britain hosting a round of the WRC.
We want to hear from you!
Let us know what you would like to see from us in the future.
– The Autosport.com Team