Green light for 2021 Trackrod Rally Yorkshire

The Trackrod Rally Yorkshire has been confirmed on its planned date of 24/25 September and will run as a test event in advance of rallying’s return to the Forestry England estate.

The news is a welcome boost for forest rallying in the UK and follows continuous consultation between Forestry England and Motorsport UK. The Trackrod Rally Yorkshire will go ahead as planned in late September and will be a test event for Forestry England as it continues to carefully manage high visitor demand.

The two-day event, which is set to be the fourth round of the British Rally Championship as well as a round of the British Historic Rally Championship and the BTRDA Rally Series, will be used to test Forestry England’s capacity for re-starting large scale events. This will facilitate the preparation of supplementary insight and guidance will be produced to allow other events to be run in the forests shortly afterwards.

The highly-regarded rally in the famous North Yorkshire forests will feature a compact route taking in all single-use stages on gravel roads that will not have been rallied for nearly two years. For the crews contesting the three major rally championships, this is the only visit of the season to the classic forest stages in the Dalby and Cropton forest complexes.

As has become tradition, the event will feature two key parts. The Trackrod Cup will run over nearly 60 stage miles as a round of the British Rally Championship and British Historic Rally Championship. The route will include one long stage in the darkness of Friday evening. On Saturday, the Trackrod Forest Stages will cover a full 45 miles as the final round of the BTRDA Rally Series.  

Motorsport UK CEO, Hugh Chambers said: “We are pleased to continue the progressive dialogue with Forestry England, and we are delighted to see a return for rallying in the forests. We look forward to working with Forestry England to demonstrate how a safe and successful event can be run in the forests. Following the rally, we hope we can create a model for all future forestry events around the country.”

Jade Colston, Recreation Forester Yorkshire District, Forestry England explained: “We’ve been under intense pressure for months supporting safe visits to Dalby Forest and the surrounding woodlands during the pandemic. We’re looking forward to gradually re-starting events and I’m grateful for Motorsport UK’s understanding and co-operation that means we can host the test rally in North Yorkshire.

“It’s a great opportunity to gather insight and provide guidance for other motorsport events as lockdown restrictions start to lift. I’ve worked with the Trackrod Rally organisers before so I am confident we will host a successful event.”

Rod Parkin, Trackrod Rally Yorkshire Clerk of Course said: “We are really pleased to have early confirmation that we can run on our scheduled date. We are extremely grateful for all the help and support from Forestry England and Motorsport UK. The team can now finalise our plans as we can now prepare for an exciting weekend of rallying.”

Regulations for the event will be published in the summer.