Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club

Roger Albert Clark Rally 2025

Route for northern legs of Roger Albert Clark Rally unveiled 

The organisers of the 2025 Roger Albert Clark Rally have confirmed the detailed route for the three northern legs of the five-day epic, which runs from November 20-24. 

Organised by the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club, the longest and toughest special stage rally in the UK has drawn a capacity entry of 200 cars plus reserves.

The first two days of the rally will be in Wales from a base at Carmarthen, and work is now well underway to finalise the route for the two Welsh legs on Thursday and Friday. This work was delayed by the aftermath of Storm Darragh but is due to be completed shortly and more details of the Welsh legs will be announced in due course. 

On Friday evening November 21 the whole rally moves north to a new base at Carlisle Airport, which will also be the central service area for both Saturday and Sunday's action. 

On Saturday, four special stages will run in Ash Park, Riccarton, Hyndlee and Kershope before service back at Carlisle. That loop will then be repeated to deliver 68 stage miles. Meanwhile the first loop of Saturday stages will also include competitors in a round of the MINI Rally Challenge. 

On Sunday, the action focuses on southern Scotland with stages in Ae, Twiglees, Castle O’er, Craik and Newcastleton. After service at Carlisle Airport, those five stages will be repeated to give a total of 67 stage miles for the day. 

Monday traditionally deliver the real sting in the tail of the five-day marathon with 82 stage miles. The action starts with stages in Shepherdshield, Pundershaw, Roughside and Hope House before service in the centre of the Kielder complex. Then, the Pundershaw, Roughside and Hope House stages will be joined together for what is being called the ‘Bigger One’ at a whopping 40.3 stage miles, which is even longer than the 2023 concluding ‘Big One’. The survivors will then head back to Carlisle Airport for the end of the rally. 

Rally manager Colin Heppenstall said: “I’m very pleased to confirm details of the stages for Saturday, Sunday and Monday. We will shortly finalise the stages in Wales and will have a full route confirmed as soon as possible. We'll be running nearly 220 stage miles in the three northern legs from our new base at Carlisle Airport. I'm delighted that we will finish with the longest stage in British rallying since the 1983 Lombard RAC Rally, which featured a 40.5-mile stage in the Dalby complex.”

Roger Albert Clark Rally confirms new Carlisle base

The 2025 Roger Albert Clark Rally will have a new base when it moves north to Carlisle for the Saturday, Sunday and Monday legs of the November 20-24 event.

The northern base for this year's rally will be the superb facility at Carlisle Airport, just five miles out of the town. The whole rally will be based at the airport from when competitors arrive on Friday evening or Saturday morning, right through until the end of the event on Monday.

As well as serving as rally base for three days, the airport will be the location of central servicing on both the Saturday and Sunday legs of the rally. It will also be the location for the event finish late on Monday afternoon.

The outstanding facilities are based around the airport’s modern departure lounge, which offers warm rooms, a cafe, toilets and showers for all visitors. There are 450 parking spaces to the front of the building for support vehicles, spectators, officials and media, and a huge area for service on quality hard standing on the airport apron.

Rally manager Colin Heppenstall said: “I am delighted to confirm that the northern base for this year's rally will be at Carlisle Airport, where we have outstanding facilities. There is extensive good quality hard standing for servicing and we have all the facilities that we need for competitors, spectators and officials.

“The airport is only five miles from the centre of Carlisle so those who have already booked accommodation will find the airport a very convenient location. This is another step in the work to continue building the profile of the event and we look forward to welcoming competitors to Carlisle airport when they travel north after the first two days of competition in Wales.”

Entries for Roger Albert Clark Rally to open on March 7 

Entries for the Roger Albert Clark Rally will open on Friday March 7 and the event organisers are expecting unrivalled demand for a place on the entry list for the five-day marathon.

The 16th running of the Roger Albert Clark Rally will be from November 20 to November 24 and cover up to 360 stage miles. The rally will start in Carmarthen in Wales and finish at Carlisle. Competitor interest in the event has been running at record levels and the regulations will be available on the event website from Saturday March 1. Entries will open at 1800hrs on Friday March 7, via the rallies.info website.

A total of 180 places will be available and to secure a place competitors must lodge a deposit of £1000 towards the full entry fee, which is £5250 if paid before July 31.

The allocation of places will include 25 entries for drivers entering the rally for the first time and 15 entries will be allocated at the organisers’ discretion. A further 20 places will be reserved for overseas crews and 15 entries will be for registered contenders in the Bowler Owners’ Rally Championship. The next 80 places will be determined by giving preference to competitors who have previously helped organise the rally or started the event the greatest number of times. The final 25 entries will be determined by random ballot. The final 25 entries will be determined by random ballot. The list of accepted entries who have paid the deposit will be published on Monday March 24.

The opening day, Thursday November 20, will be a shorter day covering around 40 stage miles. Day two, also in Wales, on Friday November 21 will feature 90 stage miles before the event moves north to Carlisle. Each of the three northern legs covering Kielder, the Scottish Borders and southern Scotland will feature between 75 and 85 stage miles per day. There are plans to finish the event with a very long stage in the central block of Kielder on Monday afternoon.

Rally manager Colin Heppenstall said: “We're very pleased to publish the event regulations and open entries for this year's Roger Albert Clark Rally. Judging by the number of enquiries we have taken so far, there is likely to be a high demand for places so we urge every intending competitor to get an entry in and a deposit paid as soon as practical.”

Running alongside the main event will be the MINI Challenge Kielder Rally, which will cover 43 stage miles on Saturday November 22. This will be a round of the 2025 MINI Challenge.