| Wales Rally GB | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Status | Defunct |
| Genre | Motor sporting event |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Location(s) | Wales |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Inaugurated | 1932 |
| Most recent | 2019 |
| Website | https://www.rallyuk.org/ |
Wales Rally GB was the most recent iteration of the United Kingdom's premier international motor rally, which ran under various names since the first event held in 1932.[1] It was consistently a round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) calendar from the inaugural 1973 season until the rally's final running in 2019, and was also frequently included in the British Rally Championship.[2][3]
The first rallies in the 1930s were simply known as Royal Automobile Club (RAC) Rallies and did not necessarily require leaving England.[4][5] In 1951 the club organised the first annual RAC International Rally of Great Britain to tour the island, and until the 53rd event in 1997 this was still commonly known as the RAC Rally.[6][7] In 1998, amidst a restructuring of the club and its commercial activities, the event lost its RAC identity and became known as the Rally of Great Britain or Rally GB,[1] with title sponsorship from the Government of Wales since 2003.
The last planned Wales Rally GB was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Welsh Government withdrew sponsorship support.[8] Attempts were made to replace it with a Rally UK or Rally Northern Ireland, held entirely in Northern Ireland, however no such event has run as of April 2024[update].[9]
- ^ a b "History of the Rally – Rally UK". Retrieved 2022-09-03.
- ^ "Wales Rally GB - Motorsport UK - The beating heart of UK motorsport". Motorsport UK. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
- ^ Shacki. "Rally of Great Britain - eWRC-results". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
- ^ "18 Dec 1931, 6 - The Daily Telegraph at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
- ^ "1 Jan 1932, 8 - The Kensington News and West London Times at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
- ^ ROBSON, GRAHAM (2020). GREAT BRITISH RALLY : rac to rally gb - thecomplete story. [S.l.]: VELOCE PUBLISHING. ISBN 978-1-78711-736-5. OCLC 1198556633.
- ^ Gardiner, Tony (2005). RAC rally action!. Dorchester: Veloce. ISBN 978-1-903706-97-8. OCLC 163614703.
- ^ "Why inevitable Rally GB decision is still a hammer blow". DirtFish. 2020-06-09. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
- ^ "WRC reveals 13-round 2024 calendar". www.autosport.com. 2023-10-19. Retrieved 2023-10-23.