The Roger Albert Clark Rally is the longest and toughest Special Stage Rally run in the UK, running for five days, alternating every November, through the forests of England, Scotland and Wales.

Event: Roger Albert Clark Rally( R. A. C. Rally) Start: Carmarthen, Wales Finish: Carlisle, England Length: 330 miles of special stages Website: www. racrmc. org

Run in memory of the great Roger Clark, the event was based on idea by the late Paul Adams and first ran in 2004, when organiser Colin Heppenstall and his team picked it up and turned it into a reality. Since then, the event has grown and evolved over 15 editions and the move to a longer, tougher biennial event has proved hugely popular with everyone involved.

This year’ s route starts in Carmarthen, west Wales, on the morning of Thursday 20th November, and begins with two full days in Wales, with an overnight halt back in Carmarthen. The event then heads north to Carlisle on Friday evening where the action restarts at midday on Saturday 22nd November, with special stages in the Kielder Forest, Scottish Borders and southern Scotland combining with overnight halts back in Carlisle, before the event concludes at Carlisle Airport on Monday afternoon.

This is a non-championship event, although the 2025 edition does include a single day event for the Mini Rally Challenge on the Saturday. It is open to all historic cars except for Category 5 four-wheel drives, as well as all non-historic twowheel drive cars, which run in the Open category.

The range of cars is wide and eclectic, from the early pre 1968 Category 1 Historics, right through to modern two-wheel drive vehicles. Inevitably, Ford Escorts dominate but the entry list is incredibly diverse, ranging from the glorious Lancia Stratos to Mini Coopers, Volvos, Datsun 240Zs and much more.

This year, the event has reached an incredible capacity of 200 entries but already people are planning an assault on the next edition, which will be in November 2027. To compete, you need a Stage Rally car compliant with the Motorsport UK National Competition Rules( NCR), two crew members, a willing support crew and a reasonable budget. Then look out for when entries open early in 2027.

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All images: Paul Lawrence

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Revolution- October 2025