NEWS: Wales Rally GB 'Road To Wales' Initiative Offers Eight FOC WRC Entries

Wales Rally GB’s 'Road to Wales' initiative is all go – offering eight prize drives to national competitors for the epic only-UK WRC round, 14-17 November.
There are two deciding rounds left of the 2013 British Rally Championship and BTRDA Rally Series and the top three finishers in the overall MSA British Rally Championship as well as class winners in both British Junior and RallyTwo Rally categories will all be offered free entries into the concluding round of the 2013 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). Additionally, the winner of the NGK Spark Plugs BRC Challenge will be awarded a free entry into the three-day National Rally that runs alongside the WRC event in the legendary Welsh Forests.
Currently, Jukka Korhonen from Finland leads the BRC ahead of Tom Cave (from Gwynedd), with Alastair Fisher (based in County Tyrone) and Jonny Greer (from Belfast) tied in third place in the championship standings. Daniel McKenna (County Monaghan, Ireland) heads the RallyTwo Championship table, as Benjamyn McKay (Oswestry, Shropshire) leads the charge in the British Junior category and Russ Thompson (from near Clitheroe in Lancashire) has collected the most points so far in the BRC Challenge.
Wales Rally GB also has a similar partnership with the British Trial and Rally Drivers Association (BTRDA). The REIS-Get Connected BTRDA Rally Series is the most popular Championship in the UK with over 260 registered contenders this year, and incorporates selected rounds of the MSA English Rally Championship and Pirelli MSA Welsh Forest Rally Championship within its nine round Series.
The crew that captures the premier Gold Star Championship will be rewarded with a free entry into the three-day National Rally (15-17 November) being run alongside Wales Rally GB. What's more the winners of the BTRDA Rally First Championship - a class for lower cost two-wheel-drive production cars - will receive a free entry into the two-day version of the National Rally (16-17 November) once again running on exactly the same classic Welsh forest stages as Wales Rally GB.
Charlie Payne (Harrogate, North Yorkshire) is the leading Gold Star Driver in the championship standings after the seventh round, and James West (London) is currently in the running for winning the Rally First series.
“I’m watching the BRC and BTRDA leader boards in anticipation, as we edge closer and closer to Wales Rally GB, which is now just 10 weeks away! With the two national series nearing their end of season, it’s exciting to see which names will be potentially lining up on the same forest stages as the leading WRC competitors,” said Andrew Coe, Chief Executive of IMS.
BRC Managing Director, Mark Taylor, commented: “It’s a pleasure to be working with the Wales Rally GB organisers in an even closer capacity this year, to promote rallying in the UK. Providing incentives to our drivers to compete at a higher level on the WRC stage is the best way to open up the sport and encourage more people to participate, whether it be competing or spectating. The competition is very close in this year’s BRC, and our drivers will be fighting it out to try and make sure they get one of the valuable starts in Wales in November.”
BTRDA Championship Coordinator, Steve Gregg, said: “We are looking forward to seeing two of our BTRDA competitors taking up this superb opportunity to compete within a world-class event, at the pinnacle of rallying. As our Championship is now heading towards its penultimate round, we wish our drivers in contention for the Wales Rally GB drives all the best and I personally can’t wait for what will be a truly classic WRC event in North Wales.”

Wales Rally GB Tickets

For general admittance, Wales Rally GB adult tickets to individual forest stages on the day have been reduced to £15* (from £20 in 2012) while Day Passes have been re-introduced providing multiple stage access for just £33* including the Qualifying Stage at Llandegla on Thursday morning. Moreover all adult tickets include a free programme priced at £7.50. The popular ‘Kids for a Quid’ scheme has been extended providing those aged between 9-15 years old with a four-day ticket giving access to all 22 stages for just £1*. Those aged eight and under are admitted free. Though included in Day Passes, individual tickets for RallyFest Stages are also available priced at £25* with significant discounts available for families. The price for two adults and two children, for example, is £42* with an extra £1* for each additional child. The World Rally Pass is available for just £99 (down from £130 in 2012). Full details can be found on the officialwww.walesrallygb.com websites, now with a dedicated version optimised for mobile phones via www.walesrallygb.com/mobile/home.php.

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