March 16 : Britain will return to the World Rally Championship in 2027 with a new Aberdeen-based round in Scotland, organisers said on Monday.
The rally will end an eight-year absence for the championship in Britain dating to the last edition of Wales Rally GB in 2019.
The stages will be run on gravel roads in the regions of Aberdeenshire and Moray in north-east Scotland.
“This is a huge announcement for the FIA World Rally Championship, it really demonstrates the positive direction we are now taking,” said FIA deputy president for sport Malcolm Wilson in a statement.
“The United Kingdom has incredible heritage and passion for our sport, and the return of a flagship world championship event in Scotland is the start of the next chapter in this long history.”
The late Colin McRae, who became Britain’s first world rally champion in 1995, came from Scotland. Scottish co-driver Robert Reid partnered the late Richard Burns to the 2001 championship.
David Richards, chairman of Motorsport UK, was world championship-winning co-driver in 1981 while Wilson founded the British-based M-Sport company that runs Ford’s world rally championship team.
