More than 130 classic stage miles for more than 150 competitors is the plan for this year’s Manx National Rally, which will run on Friday/Saturday 8/9.
The annual Isle of Man closed-road rally from Manx Auto Sport is set to be one of the biggest and best yet, with five championships on board and competitor interest running at record levels.
The Manx National will be the second round of the Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt Rally Championship, which will ensure a strong entry of some of the leading asphalt competitors from across the United Kingdom.
In 2025, for the third year in a row, the event was named the ‘Rally of the Year’ by the competitors in the Protyre Championship.
The route for the 2026 event will have a refresh as the rally will be based from a brand new Andreas Rally Village on the Andreas Airfield to the north of the island.
The move will allow far more space for service crews, competitors, officials and spectators and the village will have catering, toilets, showers and on-site camping. Each competing car will have a generous 9m x 9m allocation on hard standing. Tyre trucks and re-fuelling will be on-site and there will be easy access in and out of the site.
The change has allowed the organisers to rework some classic stages and on Saturday morning the first stage will start within half a mile of the Rally Village. The traditional shakedown stage will move to Thursday evening from 2000hrs, starting and finishing very close to the new Rally Village.
There is set to be a large contingent of competitors from Ireland and a new ferry service from Larne will make it easier for them to reach the island. With a Larne-Isle of Man ferry on Wednesday and a return ferry to Larne on Sunday morning, getting to and from the event will be easier for Irish crews.
“It’s all looking very, very good and we’re planning a route of 134 stage miles using some of the finest closed roads you’ll find anywhere,” said Manx Auto Sport’s Mark Ellison.
“We’re expecting to run at least 150 cars and we’re delighted to have the Protyre Asphalt Championship return.
“In addition, we’ve got big interest from Ireland and the new ferry service will make it much quicker and easier for Irish crews to come and sample the Manx National Rally.”
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