21 Feb 2024
Winners of Best Event and Chris Kelly is a Go!
NEWS FROM MANX AUTO SPORT
Wednesday 21 February 2024
Manx Rally wins ‘best event’ award!
The 2023 Manx Rally has earned the accolade of the best event of the season, as voted by competitors in the Protyre Asphalt Rally Championship. Each year registered contenders in the championship vote for the best event of the season and for 2023 the Manx Rally emerged as the winner, to the delight of the organising team from Manx Auto Sport. In addition, the Manx Rally featured prominently in the extensive broadcast coverage of the championship season. Across the year, the Special Stage TV coverage for the Protyre championship drew an incredible 2.4 million views and more than 1.1 million of those were for the coverage of the Manx Rally.
Paul Morris, coordinator of the Protyre Asphalt Rally Championship, said: “The award is voted for by our competitors and it was very close because the level of event was very high. All the events are quality rallies and it was the Manx that won the award for the 2023 season. The sun shone, there was great competition and everyone enjoyed the stages on the island.”
Event director Mark Ellison said: “This is a fabulous accolade for our event and credit for this award goes to each and every person who played a part in the rally, including all of our volunteer marshals. We're very proud to win this award against some tremendous rallies across the UK.”
The Isle of Man has a glorious special stage rallying heritage, starting more than 60 years ago in 1963. This year’s Manx winner will join a stellar list of former winners that includes Colin McRae, Richard Burns, Elfyn Evans, Herni Toivonen, Ari Vatanen and Roger Clark.
Building on the event’s history, this year's Manx Rally will run for two full days on Friday 10 May and Saturday 11 May, covering around 130 classic stage miles on the famous closed roads of the Isle of Man. Rally HQ and service will be at the TT Grandstand in Douglas. With 140 places available for competitors, the event is a round of the Protyre Asphalt Rally Championship, the Fuchs British Historic Rally Championship, the HRCR Stage Masters Challenge and the Mini Rally Challenge.
Later in the season, Manx Auto Sport will organise the Chris Kelly Memorial Rally on 12-14 September, which will feature a shakedown stage on Thursday evening and two full days of closed road rallying on Friday and Saturday. Route details are currently being finalised and the event is expected to take in around 150 stage miles. More details will be announced shortly.
Issued by Paul Lawrence (07778 547918) on behalf of Manx Auto Sport.
For more details, please visit the website at: manxautosport.org or e-mail: manxautosport@gmail.com