WATCH RALLYING ON CLOSED PUBLIC ROADS

Last year saw the first-ever closed-road stage rally in England and the Corbeau Seats Tendring and Clacton Rally, organised by Chelmsford Motor Club, will run again in 2019. It’s a great way to watch some thrilling motorsport for free.

But what exactly is a closed-road stage rally? Until last year, the Road Traffic Act 1988 made it illegal to take part in a race or speed trial on a ‘public way’. So competitive rally stages could only take place on private land like a country estate or Forestry Commission sites. Thanks to an amendment, organisers can apply to Motorsport UK (the motorsport governing body in the UK) to hold a competitive event on closed public roads. So far, doing so has only been legal in Ireland, the Isle of Mull, the Scottish Borders and the Isle of Man.

In June, Coventry Motofest took advantage of the same amendment to hold a sprint (classified as a ‘speed event’) on closed roads during the event. The same permission has also been extended to Wales and, in October 2018, there were closed road stages on Wales Rally GB.

There’s something about rally cars being driven flat-out on the roads we use every day that makes it even more exciting.