The World Rally Championship hasn’t crossed the English Channel since pre-COVID, but that will change in 2027 with the addition of Rally Scotland. Motorsport UK, WRC Promoter, and the Scottish government reached a three-year agreement that was revealed on Monday.

Rally Scotland will technically make its debut later in 2026 as a candidate race for the FIA to gauge the region’s capabilities. Only once it’s approved by the World Motor Sport Council will the race be officially added to the 2027 calendar.

“The United Kingdom is famed for its motorsport heritage and passionate fans, and the return of the FIA World Rally Championship to its shores is a huge opportunity for the continued growth of our sport,” said FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. “This return reflects the growing global appeal of rallying and the FIA’s commitment to celebrating world-class motorsport culture globally.

“As we expand into new markets and reach new audiences—from the United States and South America, to Europe and the Middle East—we continue to drive the championship forward. The introduction of the new WRC27 regulatory package next year marks the beginning of a new era for rallying across the world as the championship goes from strength to strength.”

A gravel race, it will primarily be in northeastern Scotland in the regions of Aberdeenshire and Moray. The P&J Live complex in Aberdeen will serve as headquarters.

Great Britain previously hosted the RAC Rally-slash-Rally GB, which predates the WRC and was first held in 1932. The Royal Automobile Club Rally was on the inaugural WRC slate in 1973, then evolved into the Rally of Great Britain in 1998 followed by the Wales Rally GB. It remained a staple of the calendar until the 2020 race was called off due to the pandemic, and hasn’t returned since.

“Since the FIA World Rally Championship last visited the UK in 2019, Motorsport UK and WRC Promoter have worked closely together to find the right pathway for its return,” WRC Promoter senior events director Simon Larkin offered. “We have nothing but praise for the determination and hard work shown by Motorsport UK in bringing this project to life.

“We’re delighted to be working alongside the Scottish Government and local authority partners to see this exciting initiative come to fruition, something that will benefit many, and especially the passionate rally fans across the UK.”

As the name suggested, the Wales Rally GB was predominantly on Welsh lands or took place in England. Scotland last hosted it in 1995 with a brief excursion for the RAC Rally.

The 1995 RAC Rally

The 51st Network Q RAC Rally was the final race of the 1995 World Rally Championship, and the media circus revolved around two stories: the points battle between Subaru colleagues Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz, and Toyota being banned from the series.

Despite being the twice reigning manufacturers’ champion and being Juha Kankkunen’s hot pursuit of the Subarus, Toyota received a one-year suspension following the Rallye Catalunya because of an illegal restrictor plate. It had a spring-loading mechanic that caused the plate—which looked legal from the outset—to shrink while the engine was running, thereby limiting the air restriction and going faster.^[1]

Clever? Very. Illegal? Very.

On the Subaru side, things were tense. McRae and Sainz were deadlocked at 70 points apiece, meaning whoever finished ahead of the other would win the championship. Tensions were also high after Catalunya, where McRae was told by David Richards to show up late to the time control and receive a penalty in order for Sainz to win his home race.^[2]

As such, McRae made his desire clear for the RAC Rally: no team orders and let the two of them fight it out fairly. In fact, with Sainz having signed a contract for Toyota (which, was, of course, moot due to the ban), he felt Subaru was probably going to root for him just a bit more than his outgoing partner.^[2]

“I think all of this has been bad for the image of rallying,” McRae said.^[2] “Now, the RAC is going to be very interesting. I am sure there will be a bit of an atmosphere.”

Subaru assured they wouldn’t play favorites and both would be treated equally.^[3]

McRae had won the RAC Rally in 1994 as well, becoming its first British winner since Roger Clark in 1976, though even that was under controversial circumstances after Sainz said spectators left logs in his path during the final day. Sainz himself was a two-time winner in 1990 and 1992.^[2]

“It’s always an advantage for the driver competing in his own country,” Sainz commented.^[4] “He is favorite as he won last year and knows the rallye better than I. But in the RAC, anything can happen.”

In any case, a win by either would’ve also propelled Subaru past Mitsubishi for the manufacturers’ crown, where Subaru was trailing by two points.

The RAC Rally was obviously McRae’s home event as a Briton, but doubly so as a Scotsman. Most of the rally primarily took place in England whereas the second stage on November 20 brought the race up north and into Scotland. SS11 was a 14.16-kilometer stretch that crossed through Wauchope in the Borders, then SS12 ran along the Kershope Burn straddling the English–Scottish border. The day then ended with two specials in the English forest of Grizedale.

Scottish fans were rightly eager to see their hero pull it off. The Dumfries & Galloway Standard, a tabloid serving the eponymous county, pointed out that British media was oddly muted about McRae’s title quest since the UK had never produced a WRC champ. Thus, the paper urged everyone that “if you can spare the time on Monday, take your Scottish flags” to the stages.^[5]

“The fact that he is a Scot makes the prospect even more exciting,” wrote the paper.^[5] “So when the event starts from Chester this Sunday, the support he will receive from millions of spectators around the route will hopefully give him the confidence to know that he can repeat the win of this famous event, which he recorded last year.”

Besides racing, McRae contributed updates each night to The Daily Telegraph. After the first day, he wrote:

Early time advantages will mean little in Kielder stage

My attack on this year’s Network Q RAC Rally has got off to a good start but I admit it would have been better to have been leading after the first day.

The difference between my Subaru 555 and the leading Mitsubishi is only 12 seconds. which is nothing. Basically it was all down to choosing the wrong tyres for the two stages at Donington Park.

The weather had dried out quicker than we had expected and the car was sliding all over the place. We lost all our time there.

After Donington the last two stages before the overnight halt at Leeds were so short there was not really any chance of making up the difference, but overall I am happy with the times and my performance so far. We only had one wee scare during the day when I hit the water-splash at Chatsworth a bit too hard and thought I had damaged the radiator. I must have been going quickly. I set the fastest time through there.

My Subaru team-mate and World Championship rival Carlos Sainz did exactly the same thing, but I got away with it and he did not — so that leaves me 14 seconds in front. As long as I stay ahead of him the World Championship is mine.

Our third Subaru 555, driven by fellow Brit Richard Burns, was not so lucky. He hit a log in the first stage, broke the steering and then had to fix it himself by the side of the road. At least he is still in the top 10 and should score points for the team.

From today the rally is in the real forests and briefly crosses into my native Scotland, where I am sure the crowds will be out in force. The longest stage of the rally in Kielder Forest will sort the men from the boys, and I suspect the 12-second deficit from yesterday will mean very little.

My father Jim won the Historic RAC Rally yesterday, which I suppose proves that, though he may be getting on a bit, he is still pretty quick. Let us hope it is only the first McRae victory this week.

After Day 2:

Delayed by a rock while on a roll

What a day. It was not just physically tiring, but mentally exhausting too. I led the rally, saw my lead slip away and now I’m fighting back.

At the end of it all, less than 40 seconds separate myself and 555 Subaru team rival Carlos Sainz. I’m going flat out. Now I have to judge whether he can go any quicker for the final two days in Wales.

I attacked on the first stage of the day, Hamsterley. I had decided a few days ago this was the place to put the pressure on. The stage suits the car and is one of the few places where it’s possible to make up a lot of time. Also, a fast time early in the day gives the opposition something to think about.

The plan worked fine and I was ready for the long test in Pundershaw. There has been a lot of hype about this stage because of its length. Drivers don’t really worry about that as long as they can get into a rhythm and it was going great until we had the puncture.

There was no question that we would have to stop and change the tyre. Sometimes you just drive on. but this was too early in the rally to risk damaging the car. We only lost a couple of minutes — enough to drop us back to second.

I attacked again on the next two stages — perhaps I was taking a few too many risks. When I clipped a rock in the Kershope stage it didn’t feel too bad, but when we stopped it was obvious the suspension was bent. The damaged wheel wouldn’t come off and we couldn’t drive on.

I had to resort to the big hammer to beat the bodywork off the tyre, then make running repairs before we could meet up with the service crew.

I came back at Carlos on the final two stages in the Lake District and now he knows the pressure is on.

For Day 3:

Balancing speed and risk to make the breakthrough

I have led this RAC Rally twice before so I am determined not to let the lead slip away this time. In the seven stages in South Wales I managed to turn a 39-second deficit into a 17-second lead. There is just today to get through.

Driving this fast, especially against somebody as experienced as Carlos Sainz, means getting the balance between speed and risk just right. Going faster means taking more risks, and I reckon this is what Carlos would have liked me to do. I know he was relying on me making a mistake.

The conditions in Wales were bad all day. With heavy overnight rain the top surface of the stages becomes very, very slippery. So I was being cautious to start with — yet I still took 10 seconds from Carlos on the first stage and eight more on the second. It seemed to be only a matter of time before I had him.

There was only one worry in the day when the transmission of my Subaru started to play up. Unfortunately it was on a stage with thick fog. Because I couldn’t be certain about braking for the unseen corners it unnerved me a little and Carlos pulled two seconds back. But the mechanics made a couple of adjustments and it has been fine since then. Just to make sure I will have a new gearbox fitted for this final day.

I kept the pressure on through the afternoon and by the last stage was only five seconds adrift. That was the point at which Carlos had to accept that he was beaten. He relaxed over the final 18 miles in Hafren and I gained 22 seconds on him.

I must say that despite our previous problems the atmosphere between us on this event has been good. We don’t exactly have breakfast together but we do compare notes and help each other out when necessary. We both understand the risks.

My tactics will be to put in a couple of quick times early in the day then ease back and keep it all together for the finish. Nothing is ever certain in rallying, but it should be quite a party.

In the end, McRae came out on top with a time of 5:09:19. Sainz was 36 seconds back, and Richard Burns completed the Subaru podium sweep six-and-a-half minutes behind the winner.

At the age of 27, he became the youngest driver to win the WRC title.

McRae’s concluding piece went as follows:

The fruit of 10 years’ labour

The reality has yet to sink in. After four days of hard work, I am world champion. Not just that, but also an RAC Rally winner for the second time in succession and part of an incredible 1-2-3 result for the 555 Subaru team.

The last day of any rally is always difficult, but when you are leading it is more difficult than ever. This is real heart-in-the-mouth stuff. You are listening to every noise, every rattle, every squeak. We get so used to the feel and the sound of the cars that it is almost instinctive. You know if something is going wrong.

In fact, I was very relaxed at the start of the day. I knew that Carlos Sainz would have one final go at my lead and I would have to fight that off, so I couldn’t afford to relax. I took more time back on the first three stages and at that point Carlos admitted that he had had enough. Although you never know in rallying when a problem may strike, the team could begin to relax and I was able to enjoy the final few miles through Wales. There were so many supporters in the forests that if I had had a problem, they would probably have carried the car to the finish.

In my own mind, the rally was won at the start of the second day on the first true forest stage. I really went for it there and proved to myself that I could step up a gear if I needed to. That was a tremendous confidence boost and even through all the troubles with punctures, I felt that I had speed in hand. There was no time when I wasn’t quietly sure that victory was possible.

One of the things rally drivers have to teach themselves to do is to get motivated again after a setback. That’s what I told myself halfway through the event. Although two minutes is a lifetime in world championship rallying, I truly knew it could be done.

It is very easy to say that this was a team effort but I believe that more than anything. My co-driver Derek Ringer and I have worked for this moment since we started rallying together more than 10 years ago. And, of course, a win like this is an immense tribute to the engineers at Subaru and Prodrive who have prepared my car.

The team have been working for 10 years for a moment like this. Of course, I feel sorry for Carlos because it is always hard when you have to accept defeat. On the other hand, Richard Burns drove his heart out after the first day and truly deserved his third place.

The only question now is: who’s going to buy the drinks?

References

[1] “Motorsport Moments – Toyota banned from WRC for cheating; impresses the FIA” by Girardo & Co., October 16, 2024

[2] “McRae on course for tilt at first world title” by Timothy Collings, The Daily Telegraph, November 18, 1995

[3] “The great spectacle on wheels” from The Northern Echo, November 18, 1995

[4] “McRae: Let the best man win” from the Eastern Daily Press, November 18, 1995

[5] “Local rally fans have chance to cheer Scot to world title” from the Dumfries & Galloway Standard, November 17, 1995

Featured image credit: EMPICS