Nicky Grist Stages on 8-9 July 2017 adds new national rally to its two-day mixed surface BRC spectacular

Next year’s Nicky Grist Stages (8-9 July) will host round five of the 2017 MSA British Rally Championship (BRC) – and whilst that will be a two-day mixed surface event, there will also be one-day rounds of other major championships, including the Ravenol BTRDA Rally Series, run on both the Saturday and Sunday next summer.

Organised by Quinton Motor Club, the date of the 2017 Nicky Grist Stages had been published as 15-16 July, but owing to MOD activities on the Epynt military range, the event will take place one week earlier on 8-9 July – the corresponding weekend to 2016, which saw 162 cars start from the Royal Welsh Showground.

Next year’s event will follow a similar format to 2016, with a mixed-surface two-day rally for the BRC crews. Saturday’s forestry gravel stages, run in the spectacular Carmarthenshire and Powys border region, will also host a round of the BTRDA Rally Series and include the MSA Welsh Rally Championship and the FMP Rally Challenge. Sunday’s stages will be held over the challenging asphalts road of Epynt for the BRC crews, plus at least one other National B event.

Builth Wells will play host to the ceremonial start and finish, the main service area will be in the nearby Royal Welsh Showground and there will be a new remote service area on Epynt on the Sunday.

Neil Cross, Nicky Grist Stages Clerk of the Course, said: “Whilst the popular two-day gravel on Saturday and Tarmac on Sunday format of next year’s Nicky Grist Stages will be similar to 2016, the event has acted on the excellent and positive feedback received from competitors and will have a slightly different feel to it. We’ve worked closely with Natural Resources Wales and Rally4Wales to introduce some fresh gravel stages, whilst we’re looking at extending the Tarmac stage mileage on day two and also run a National B event on the Sunday as well.

Nicky Grist said: “The gravel route of next year’s Nicky Grist Stages is pretty much all confirmed, and we are truly blessed to have some of the very best forestry stages in Wales right on our doorstep. We’ll have a different route layout for the Sunday’s asphalt stages, which will allow the event to breathe. We’ll have a later start and a later finish, and we hope to run as much as seventy stage miles on the Sunday. Cars will still start at thirty-second intervals on the Tarmac – this makes it action-packed for the spectators, and has proven to keep the roaming sheep off the road, which is an important safety consideration.

Iain Campbell, BRC Championship Manager, said: “The Nicky Grist Stages proves once and for all that rallying is a team sport. The driver and co-driver may be the stars out on the stages, but the mixed-surface challenge from this rally means that the mechanics are the stars on Saturday night when they only have 180 minutes to change the complete suspension parts, brakes and roll bars on the cars. This year there were a lot of anxious faces around the service park as the end of day service began that were exchanged for high-fives and applause all around each competitor’s area as they all completed the set up change in time. A unique challenge on an event that offers stages with the unique terrain of Eypnt – the Nicky Grist Stages is somewhere the BRC is looking forward to going back to in 2017.

 

2017 MSA British Rally Championship calendar

4-5 March: Mid-Wales Stages (Newtown)

29-30 April: Pirelli Carlisle Rally (Carlisle)

19-20 May: RSAC Scottish Rally (Dumfries)

23-24 June: Ypres Rally (Ypres, Belgium)

8-9 July: Nicky Grist Stages (Builth Wells)

18-19 August: Ulster Rally (Derry/Londonderry)

14-16 September: Rally Isle of Man (Douglas)

 

2017 Ravenol BTRDA Rally Series calendar

11 February: Cambrian Rally (Llandudno)

11 March: Malcolm Wilson Rally (Cockermouth)

8 April: Somerset Stages (Minehead)

13 May: Plains Rally (Welshpool)

10 June: Carlisle Stages Rally (Carlisle)

8 July: Nicky Grist Stages (Builth Wells)

2 September: Woodpecker Stages (Ludlow)

30 September: Trackrod Forest Stages (Pickering)

Nicky Grist Stages confirmed on 2017 BRC calendar

The Nicky Grist Stages has been confirmed as a round of the 2017 MSA British Rally Championship (BRC) and will take place over the weekend of 15-16 July next year.

The Quinton Motor Club organised event hosted a round of the BRC for the first time this year, running as a two-day rally for the first time. Based at the Royal Welsh Showground, it was the only mixed-surface round of the 2016 BRC, with 45 stage miles run on gravel roads on the Carmarthenshire and Powys border on day one, followed by 60 stage miles on Tarmac over the Epynt military ranges on day two. After the challenging format received high praise from BRC competitors, next year’s event will follow a similar layout, with improvements and adjustments introduced following feedback and data collected this year.

Neil Cross, Nicky Grist Stages Clerk of the Course, said: “Having stepped up to the challenge in 2016 and gaining valuable experience of running a round of the MSA British Rally Championship, we are delighted to be included in the 2017 calendar. The event in 2016 was very well received, and we will take on the feedback we’ve acquired and will strive to improve the event for 2017.

Nicky Grist said: “I am delighted that the BRC has incorporated the Nicky Grist Stages into its 2017 calendar. We learnt a lot after running a two-day event for the first time in 2016, and we are much better equipped and excited about running a better event in 2017.

Iain Campbell, BRC Championship Manager, said: “The feedback we had from competitors about the event’s two-day mixed-surface format, together with the brilliant support we received from event organisers and from Nicky as the sponsor, made putting the Nicky Grist Stages on the 2017 BRC calendar a very easy decision to make. It’s a very appealing event, and we’re looking forward to returning to Builth Wells next July.

 

2017 MSA British Rally Championship calendar

4-5 March: Mid-Wales Stages (Newtown)

29-30 April: Pirelli Carlisle Rally (Carlisle)

19-20 May: RSAC Scottish Rally (Dumfries)

23-24 June: Ypres Rally (Ypres, Belgium)

15-16 July: Nicky Grist Stages (Builth Wells)

18-19 August: Ulster Rally (Derry/Londonderry)

14-16 September: Rally Isle of Man (Douglas)