FEATURE
The Deputy Clerk
Brian Kinghorn
Brian has been involved in rallying for 50 years as a co-driver, frontrunning driver and member of many event organising teams. He spent four decades on the Pirelli International Rally, rising from a gate-opener in a field to Chairman and Clerk of the Course. In 2019, when Pirelli ended its sponsorship, he joined the organisational team of the Roger Albert Clark Rally.
“ This event is so huge there are four Deputy Clerks and two safety delegates – an advanced delegate and a delegate on the day. There was one Deputy Clerk in car 00, checking the stages on the day; one in charge of the interim cars; one based in the main rally office and radio base in Carlisle; and me checking the stages a day before the rally came through.
“ My role was to take the advanced delegate and check each stage for any problems. You never know what you might find and the year of the big storm, for example, we had to organise timber crews on one stage to cut 60 felled trees to get the cars out the next day. In this event the cold weather made things really challenging.
“ The highlight for me was the start in Carmarthen. To see 10,000 spectators lining the streets for the mile, the atmosphere, it just gives you such a buzz. The event has only just started but it’ s the culmination of an awful lot of work to get it to that point and to see the competitors’ smiling faces and the spectators at the start, that is just incredible.”
The Stage Commander
Craig Fisher
Craig started marshalling in 2002 and built his experience in sector marshalling, radio, and timing. He has been a Stage Safety Officer and Incident Officer for Wales Rally GB and a Stage Commander and Chief Marshal on the Jim Clark Rally. This year, he is also Chief Marshal for the Border Counties Rally, Scottish Borders Hill Rally and The Grampian Rally.
“ The highlight – as always – was getting the first car in and the last car out safely. The event always provides its challenges – it’ s the nature of the beast – so it is always a relief when the job is done, but that really appeals to me. The weather and logistics always throw a spanner in the works, but I love the challenge and the teamwork and banter are great.”
Rallying in the UK
Forest rallying remains at the core of everything we do. Over the last 18 months we have worked tirelessly within the everchanging landscape to ensure the sport can continue.
We enjoy a positive working relationship with each of the forestry bodies, though we cannot hide away from the fact that there are increasing challenges. The Rallies Team is working flat out to ensure that we are addressing cost increases. The ever present challenge of accessing certain forest blocks, as well as the increasing environmental and ecological requirements.
The issues we have seen in recent weeks and months, which have resulted in the cancellation of two events, are typically regional specific concerns – in the case of the Malcolm Wilson Rally these relate to access and demand for an increase in fees.
The Rallies Team at Motorsport UK is absolutely committed to ensuring our sport has a sustainable future, but also in aiding our event organisers. Just recently we have supported the organisers of the Malcolm Wilson Rally in its negotiations with Forestry England and continue to support the organisers of the Speyside Stages with its future plans. Please, if you require any level of support, reach out to us via phone, email or WhatsApp.
We appreciate that the road is a rocky one right now, but please be assured that we are doing everything we can to ensure the sport has a healthy and successful future.
Motorsport UK Rally Team
JEP
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Revolution- February 2026
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