Rally Isle of Man | |
---|---|
Country | Isle of Man |
Date | |
Type | Stage Rally/Asphalt |
Clerk of the Course | Alan Teare (National A - formerly an International event) |
Event Organiser | Rally Isle of Man Ltd |
Principal Sponsor | Microgaming Software Systems Ltd |
History | |
First Event | 1963 Manx Trophy Rally |
Number of events | 50 (2014) |
First winner | Reg McBride/Don Barrow (1963) |
Most wins | Mark Higgins 5 (1989–2009) |
Rally Isle of Man (previously the Manx International Rally and formerly the Manx Trophy Rally) is a car rally competition held in the Isle of Man. It was first held in 1963, and later became a well-known event in the British Open Rally Championship and the European Rally Championship (until 1996). In 2002, it became part of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship in addition to the British Rally Championship.[1] The most successful drivers in the history of the rally include the five-time winner Mark Higgins and the four-time winners Tony Pond and Russell Brookes.
This has been an annual event for many years, apart from cancellation in 2011. In early September 2018, it was announced that the 2018 event had been cancelled. Various allegations were made, blaming the cancellation on, inter alia, the rally organisers, the Department of Infrastructure and the Department for Enterprise. The event returned in 2022 as part of the FIA Celtic Rally Trophy.