RALLYING BACK TO RESOLVE N AND R HE O LA AS RED KITE MOVES SOUTH
A new june date for amman and district mc event sees return of favoured forests
The Red Kite Rally will move to south Wales for 2018, taking in forest stages like Resolven and Rheola which haven’t been used since 2012 after heavy logging in the area.
The Amman and District Motor Clubrun event moves from a February to a June slot, set for June 23, and has also confirmed a tie up with the Rally 2WD campaign.
Rally 2WD allows two-wheel-drive vehicles to run at the front of the road as they are run in a separate event on the same stages and in the same format as the four-wheel-drive cars on the same event.
Clerk of the course Gareth Thomas said: “After a recce back in June and early July the route we’re proposing to use includes stages in Resolven, Rheola and Margam. These are stages that have not been used since Wales Rally GB, four or five years ago.
“The stages have been driven in a modern road car with minimal ground clearance and are all in very good condition. The primary objective of Rally 2WD is to get competitors back out and we think our event will fit that concept very well.”
The event is planning to have 15 miles of double usage with 45 miles of stages in use. The event’s base will be close to Neath town centre. Simon Wallis of Rally 2WD said: “They have embraced the R2WD concept and we are certain that the route and date will be popular with competitors in both modern and historic cars. We are delighted that the Red Kite will run to the R2WD format.”