Motorsport News

MANX AUTOSPORT REVEALS 2023 CLOSED-ROAD RALLIES ROSTER

Irish sea island adventures beckon for entrants in the season ahead

- By Paul Lawrence

Manx Autosport has unveiled details of the two major closedroad asphalt rallies on the Isle of Man this season.

In the face of competitio­n from the growing number of closedroad­s events on the mainland,

Manx Autosport has put together a very attractive package to encourage competitor­s to travel to the Isle of Man.

The Manx Rally (May 12-13) will be a double-header round of the Protyre Asphalt Rally Championsh­ip and will cover nearly 140 competitiv­e miles starting at midday on Friday and running through until Saturday afternoon. The route will take in a number of famous Manx stages, including Balladoole, Injebreck,

The Curraghs and Druidale. The event will open with a shakedown stage on Friday morning, which will be free to all entrants.

Mark Ellison of Manx Autosport told MN: “We’re hoping for a full entry of 125 crews in May. We’ve got a new impetus and new people involved this year and we want to encourage competitor­s to come to the island. We had a tremendous response from visitors to our stand at Autosport Internatio­nal.”

In the autumn, the Chris Kelly Memorial Rally (September 29-30) will run to a similar format, though largely on different stages, with a total of 150 competitiv­e miles as well as a free shakedown stage. The route will include classic stages like Glen Roy, Tholt-y-Will, Round Table and Little London.

In both cases, the entry fee will be £755, which compares very favourably with other closed-roads events. The first mainland closedroad rally of the year, the East Riding Stages Rally at the end of February, offers 45 competitiv­e miles for £715.

 ?? Photos: Ben Lawrence ?? Manx road will host two top-line events
Photos: Ben Lawrence Manx road will host two top-line events

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