Storming back to the BRC calendar in 2021, Trackrod Rally Yorkshire has it all. Classic stages in the Yorkshire forests provide a formidable challenge for crews which is kicked off with a now-traditional blast through the super-fast Dalby Forest under the cover of darkness on Friday night.
After a run of four events on a sealed surface, Rally Yorkshire marks the switch back to gravel for the final two rounds and the super-fast English tests could well witness the crowning of the British Rally Champion and National Rally Title Champion on Filey seafront on Saturday evening.
Lifting the coveted trophy in that exact spot last year was Welshman Osian Pryce who went head-to-head with a fifth-BRC-title chasing Keith Cronin. But Pryce was unstoppable and along with co-driver Noel O Sullivan, held the trophy aloft after a blistering year behind the wheel.
Now, the oversubscribed event is destined to witness yet another champion being crowned, but only if they survive the 57-mile blast through the trees; and not all of it in daylight either.
Crews will be heading out into the night on Friday to tackle a spectacular 12-mile blast in the Dalby complex to kick things off before Saturday’s five stages are in line to seal the season with a round to spare.
Aiming to rubber-stamp the honours and join a list of rallying royalty including Colin McRae, Richard Burns, Ari Vatanen and Elfyn Evans, are FIA World Rally Championship challengers Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria.
The M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2 crew have been almost unstoppable in the BRC as they dovetail a WRC2 campaign alongside their British hopes.
Having contested four from the five rounds in the BRC so far, the French pairing has won every round in a tour-de-force season which has seen them fend off the likes of James Williams, Stephane Lefebvre and Keith Cronin for the top spot.
Throwing his hat into the ring for the first time this season is Tom Williams who is set to tackle Rally Yorkshire in a Ford Fiesta Rally2.
Kyle White leads the Junior BRC contenders heading into the weekend, but he has elected to skip the Yorkshire round, leaving Kyle McBride as the sole contender.
After stepping up to BRC1 for Rali Ceredigion, Alan Carmichael and Claire Williams return to the chase for the National Rally Title honours and in a carbon copy of 2022, the Northern Irishman can secure the title in Yorkshire.
