06/02/2012 BRC - Two wheel drive is back!

The 2012 MSA British Rally Championship held its media day at Curborough Sprint Circuit in Staffordshire on Thursday (2nd February), where some of the registered drivers and teams taking part turned out in the dry, bright and freezing conditions to celebrate the start of a new era for the UK’s premier rally championship.

The day began with interviews with the TV, radio and press, followed by a photo-call and then a chance for media and guests to take a ride around the venue’s one-mile asphalt circuit to experience a brief taste of what it’s like inside a rally car at near-competitive speeds.

The day marked the introduction of a revised format BRC, as 2012 sees the championship adopt a two-wheel-drive only format and excludes four-wheel-drive cars. Although prevalent in the championship for over a decade, organisers have decided the future of the series should be two-wheel-drive cars in order to create an environment which is attractive to manufacturers, stop the upward spiral of costs and make a more competitive and exciting formula, as Championship Manager Mark Taylor explained during an interview on the day:

“Four-wheel-drive cars were becoming expensive and therefore, we ran the risk of cheque-books dictating the results. Whilst there’s a difficult economic climate out there, the two-wheel-drive format will bring the costs back down and, at the same time, appeal to manufacturers who have rally cars that are akin to the models being sold in the showroom. We aim to engage with manufacturers as stakeholders in the BRC, which still carries a high profile worldwide.  As testament to that, Renault UK signed up this week for the British Manufacturers Rally Championship, which is fantastic news for us and great news for rallying in the UK as a whole.”



Despite no title sponsor currently in place, British Rally Championship organisers are forging ahead with new innovations and the introduction of media products to speed access to results and other ‘live’ information for fans and spectators. In addition, increased television coverage for this season - which will be filmed in high definition - is soon to be announced.

“We have also introduced new partners and signed new deals with existing ones and, whilst I can’t deny rallying is a tough arena to be in right now, the BRC is currently in very good shape.”

“The sport has to price itself back into the market place. Therefore, we have looked longer-term to make the series sustainable and I believe we’ve set the criteria for the right environment for the future. Two-wheel-drive cars proved great to watch last year and are a fantastic way for up-and-coming drivers to learn their craft. Therefore, I am confident that we have a spectacular season ahead of us and I’m really looking forward it.”

Registered drivers attending the launch event were:

Jukka Korhonen- Pirelli Star Driver - Å koda Fabia
Callum Black - Millers Oils 586  - Suzuki Swift
Gethin Jones - AVS Motorsport - Ford Fiesta
Matt Cotton - AVS Motorsport - Ford Fiesta
Arron Newby - Å koda Fabia
Jack Rowe - Ford Fiesta
Nick Allen - Renault Twingo
Tony Simpson - Ford Fiesta

ENDS