Entries have opened for the 2020 Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt Rally Championship – with the Sporting and Technical Regulations available to download at asphaltrallying.com.
Organised by the BTRDA, the Asphalt Rally Championship will consist of seven top quality events – four of which are new for 2020. With one double-header, there are eight points scoring opportunities and the best six scores will to count towards the overall and class titles.
The new-look Championship starts with the Motorsport North West-organised Legend Fires North West Stages Rally in Lancashire on Saturday 21 March, with its popular Garstang Town Centre ceremonial start taking place the evening before. Port Talbot Motor Club will organise the series’ only visit to Epynt this year, with the Rallynuts National Tour of Epynt hosting round two on Saturday 11 April. The Manx Auto Sport-organised Manx National Rally has been retained as a double points-scoring event (rounds three and four), with full Championship points awarded after day one on Friday 15 May (which will feature night time stages) and after a full daytime second leg on Saturday 16 May.
The Championship travels to Scotland for round five, for the Jim Clark Memorial Motor Club-organised and Duns-based Jim Clark Rally, which takes place over the weekend of 30/31May. The Championship then heads over to Northern Ireland on Saturday 18 July for the Tyrone Stages Rally. Organised by Cookstown Motor Club, round six will feature a compact 100% closed road route in the Stewartstown area of East Tyrone, with the start and finish in Cookstown. Another new addition to the Championship follows, with the Hills Ford Three Shires Stages Rally hosting the seventh and penultimate round of the series on Sunday 6 September. The Cheltenham Motor Club-organised event was the third closed road stage rally to run in England last year, and has stages located, as its title suggests, in three counties – Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
The eighth and final round of the 2020 Championship will be the Ford Parts Cheviot Stages Rally on Sunday 27 September. Organised by Whickham & District Motor Club and Hadrian Motor Sports Club, the last two Championship titles have been decided on an exciting shootout over the Otterburn Military Range in Northumberland, and the venue will once again provide a challenging and fitting end to a hard fought season.
In addition to the class categories (see below) there will be a brand new class called the Ford Escort Challenge. This is open to all Mk1, Mk2 and Mk3 rear-wheel drive Ford Escorts already entered in the Championship and scored on a class index of performance basis.
There are a large number of classes to cater for all types of car, driver, ability and budget, to ensure that Britain’s premier asphalt rally championship appeals to the widest number of competitors. Every registered driver in every class will benefit from the Championship’s dedicated press, photographic and live-streaming service. The classes are:
Class N2: over 1400cc up to and including 1600cc
Class N3: over 1600cc up to and including 2000cc
Class N4: over 2000cc
Class B9: up to 1400cc two-wheel drive cars
Class B10: over 1400 cc up to and including 1600cc two-wheel drive cars, including R1
Class B11: over 1600cc up to and including 2000cc two-wheel drive cars
Class B12: over 1600cc up to and including 2000cc 4-cylinder 8 valve (normally aspirated)
Class B13: over 2000cc two-wheel drive cars
Class B14: over 2000cc four-wheel drive non-WRC cars (including R4, and any four-wheel drive car not complying with Class B15 or Class R5)
Class B15: Homologated or non-homologated current or former WRC cars, a derivative of WRC or R5 – not following FIA app J Art 261 (R5+)
Class R3: As per FIA App J Art 260
Class R5: Homologated and non-homologated cars built to FIA Appendix J Article 261 including S2000 and RRC (homologated specification)
Class H1: All Historic Category 1 cars, Category 2 and 3 cars up to 1600cc, and Category 4 cars up to 1400cc
Class H2: Historic Category 2 and 3 cars with single-cam engines over 1600cc, and Category 4 cars up to 1600cc.
Class H3: Historic Category 2 and 3 cars with multi-cam engines over 1600cc, and Category 4 over 1600cc
Overall points will be awarded to the highest placed registered drivers and co-drivers on each event as follows:
1st – 30 points
2nd – 28 points
3rd – 27 points
….and so on down to 2 points to the 28th placed registered driver and co-driver overall, and every subsequent driver and co-driver who finishes the event. One point will be awarded to every non-finisher.
Class Points will be awarded to the highest placed registered driver and co-driver in each class on each qualifying round as follows:
1st – 15 points
2nd – 12 points
3rd – 10 points
4th – 9 points
….and so on down to 12th place – 1 point
Protyre Motorsport will once again offer a lucrative incentive and bonus rewards scheme in the overall and class sections (the details of which can be found in the Regulations).
There will also be rewards from a number of commercial and trade partners, including:
Hendy Ford Performance Trophy: A trophy plus a voucher for £100 redeemable at Hendy Ford Motorsport, will be presented to the driver of the highest placed registered two-wheel drive naturally aspirated Ford, in the overall points table at the end of the season.
Melvyn Evans Motorsport Junior Award: A test drive to include driving tuition with Melvyn Evans to the highest placed driver in the overall points’ table aged Under 25 (on 1 January 2020).
Tony Davies Memorial Award: To be presented the individual who has done something special in relation to the Championship at the discretion of the Championship Co-ordinator.
Mintex Junior Award: Draw at the end of the season for £500 to registered Under 25 drivers (on 1 January 2020).
Mintex Award: To the best improvement on seeding – awarded on each round to the registered competitor who finished the most places up from their start order position; the award offers one axle set FOC of Mintex brake pads to suit the calliper used on the winning car.
Nicky Grist Motorsports 1400 Award: Nicky Grist will give the winning registered driver and co-driver of the B9 class a £100 voucher each, to be spent on anything they wish in the Nicky Grist Motorsports range.
Fairfield Motorsport Award: Trophies awarded to the first registered overall driver and co-driver who travelled to events with Fairfield Motorsport. All registered Championship Fairfield Motorsport customers will also be entered into an end of season prize draw to win £100.
Jane Evans, Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt Rally Championship Co-ordinator, said: “We welcome all competitors, old and new, to the 2020 Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt Rally Championship. With continued support from our title sponsor Protyre, we have re-established the series as the best sealed-surface championship in the UK – and we will continue to work hard to make it better and better each year. For 2020, we are able to offer seven top quality events with eight scoring opportunities, with the best six scores to count, which will test the skills of both driver and co-driver. Live Streaming with Special Stage, and commentary from Howard Davies and guests, has proved to be a good and effective addition to the Championship, and we will continue to deliver live action to reach a worldwide audience, incorporating some exciting new innovation for 2020. We look forward to another season of top class competition, with the best asphalt drivers, in the best cars competing on the best all-asphalt events.”
Shaun Chetwyn, Protyre Motorsport Manager, said: “Protyre is delighted to confirm that it will continue as title sponsor of the Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt Rally Championship series in 2020. Protyre is the largest supplier of Pirelli, Michelin and Hoosier Motorsport tyres throughout the UK, and already support many drivers and teams within motorsport to deliver cost effective tyres in an increasingly demanding environment. It is not only Pirelli, Michelin and Hoosier tyres that can be supplied, but any brand of tyre that competitors wish to use; it’s only a ‘phone call away and we will be able to supply these tyres to competitors and deliver on-event support. We are also able to offer quality incentives to drivers as part of the Asphalt Rally Championship sponsorship package and would urge all competitors to make Protyre their company of choice for the 2020 series We look forward to meeting old friends and making new ones throughout the 2020 season and we will be attending every event within the Championship.”
The 2020 Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt Rally Championship is open to all fully paid-up members of the BTRDA who are registered in the Championship and have a Competition Licence of a grade appropriate to each event issued by Motorsport UK, or by Motorsport Ireland. Also, any professional competitors and drivers holding a licence issued by any EU country showing an EU flag, being fully paid-up members of the BTRDA and registered in the Championship, shall be entitled to take part and score points in the Championship. BTRDA membership is available on-line at btrdamembership.com.
2020 Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt Rally Championship
20/21 March….Legend Fires North West Stages
11 April….Rallynuts National Tour of Epynt
15/16 May…. Manx National Rally
30/31May….Jim Clark Rally
18 July….Tyrone Stages Rally
6 September….Hills Ford Three Shires Stages Rally
27 September….Ford Parts Cheviot Stages Rally
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