Sir Jackie Stewart joins Rally of Scotland launch

JYS2 Sir Jackie Stewart joins Rally of Scotland launch

The inaugural RACMSA Rally of Scotland was launched in style yesterday when the great and the good of the sport gathered in the majestic former home of the Royal Scottish Automobile Club in Blythswood Square, Glasgow to herald the newest international rally in Britain – and celebrate its ancestry.

While the event has been newly-created as the grand finale of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge season, many of the stages have been revived after more than 20 years. Reviving these classic forest stages gives the RACMSA Rally of Scotland a direct link to the traditional round-Britain tour of the RAC Rally. Bringing together the heritage of rallying in Scotland and excitement for this dynamic new event at the launch was an all-star cast headed by Scotland’s three-time Formula One world champion, Sir Jackie Stewart.

“Scotland has an amazing heritage when it comes to motor sport – and rallying in particular,” said Sir Jackie. “The RAC Rally went through England and Wales but it was Scotland that was the largest part, with probably the best special stages anywhere in the world. This rally is a tremendous opportunity for Scotland to project itself through sport, to highlight its natural beauty and create new opportunities.”

IRC series coordinator Xavier Gavory was full of enthusiasm for the event, which will be the third event in 2009 to feature extensive live TV coverage. “From the moment we first came to Scotland to look at putting together this event with the organising team, the challenging nature of the stages and the beauty of the landscape meant that this event was going to be very special,” he said.

“It is a great privilege for us, in only our third full season, to start out in Monte Carlo back in January and to end the year on these legendary Scottish stages. This is the ideal event for our premier TV package, with four stages being broadcast live in their entirety in a prime time slot reaching 115 million households worldwide.”

Andrew Coe, chief executive of event organiser International Motor Sports Ltd., added: “The level of cooperation from the Scottish people, the parliament and our hosts in Perth and Stirling has been phenomenal, and we’re looking forward to delivering an amazing event.

“The entries are still open but we have 33 international crews registered and expect more than 60 in total – it will be a very full service park and when the starting list is published it will be very impressive.”

The RACMSA Rally of Scotland takes place on November 19-21.

Source: IRC Series