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RALLY: 2001 British Rally Championship News

16 January 2001

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
The first important entries for the 2001 British Rally Championship were announced at last week's Autosport International Show in Birmingham.

The British Rally Championship remains the only national rally series in the UK with confirmed terrestrial television coverage of each individual round, with seven 30-minute prime-time programmes on Channel 4, a further seven 60-minute programmes on Sky and additional British coverage still to be announced.

Figures released by the MSA's production company show that last year's Channel 4 coverage was watched by over 2.1 million viewers in the UK alone. Regular programmes were also seen in Europe, the Middle East, the Far East, South Africa and the USA and Canada.

Ford confirmed at the Autosport Show that Mark Higgins will drive a Focus RS World Rally Car on all seven rounds, prepared and run by M-Sport, the same operation which campaigns the official Ford Martini Focus RS WRCs in the World Rally Championship.

In the British Super 1600 Rally Championship, which runs alongside the outright title at all seven events, the first entrant is a factory-specification Peugeot 206 Super 1600 car run by the Ryton Employee Rally Team.

For the opening round (Rally of Wales on 10/11 March), the Peugeot workers will take advantage of flexible vehicle rules created for the British Super 1600 Rally Championship: the series admits not only FIA-homologated Super 1600 cars, but also any car whose homologation has been applied for but not yet approved. All other FIA-homologated rally cars up to 1600cc are also eligible, although last year's highly-modified Kit Cars will face engine and weight restrictions to equalise performance.

Motor Sports Association also revealed that the championship co-ordinator for 2001 will be Catherine Higgins at RSAC Motorsport. All championship enquiries - including competitors, sponsors and media - should be directed to the BRC office at 11 Blythswood Square, Glasgow G2 4AG (tel 0141 204 4999, fax 0141 204 4949, email rsac_motorsport@compuserve.com).

MSA Chief Executive John Quenby expressed his thanks to outgoing championship manager John Horton: "The British Rally Championship has become the most important national series in the world largely thanks to John's efforts and I look forward to building on his foundations. Indeed, I am sure that John will still have a role in the 2001 Championship, details of which will be announced at a later date."

Text Provided By Colin Wilson

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