The Royal Scottish Automobile Club (RSAC) Scottish Rally is the highlight of the

Scottish Rally Championship The Scottish Rally Championship is a rallying series run throughout Scotland over the course of a year, that comprises both gravel and closed surface rallies.http://www.scottishrallychampionship.co.uk/ SRC Homepage Points are awarded to the top ...

and the longest-standing rally event in Scotland, having been first contested in 1932. The event takes place in May or June of every year and the organisation claims that the warm weather and unique forest stages draw competitors from around the world. The rally has previously hosted a round of the

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the oldest FIA world championship after Formula One. E ...

, enjoying the status of being a round of the Rally Championship for Drivers in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

, and it also spent 26 years on the calendar of the

European Rally Championship The European Rally Championship (officially FIA European Rally Championship) is an rallying, automobile rally competition held annually on the European continent and organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The champion ...

but in recent years it has been limited to being a round of the

History

The first Scottish rally took place from 4 to 9 July 1932 on a route of approximately through Scotland and England and consisted of six days of competition with participants beginning the rally at one of six start points in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

and Droitwich. The first day involved competitors travelling from their chosen starting point before all rendezvousing in Scotland later in the event and finally ending in Edinburgh. Unlike in modern rallies where the object is to complete the course in as short a time as possible, competitors were set an average speed that they were expected to maintain on each stage. Points were awarded for meeting this target, the condition of the car at the end of the stage, and even for the number of occupants of each vehicle. There were also tests of driver and vehicle such as accelerating and braking challenges and "kerb driving" (driving as close as possible to the kerb without touching it). There were even dances organised in the evenings to allow drivers to socialise. There was no single overall winner of the rally but G.F. Dennison (driving a

Riley Riley may refer to: Businesses * Riley (brand), British sporting goods brand founded in 1878 * Riley Motor, British motorcar and bicycle manufacturera 1890–1969 * Riley Technologies, American auto racing constructor and team, founded by Bob ...

) was crowned champion of the small car category, while the large car category was won by J.S. Couldrey in a

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson Rodrigues dos Santos, Brazilian f ...

. There were also control prizes awarded for the best performer from each of the six starting points. It was not until 1961 that a driver was awarded the overall winner's title, John Melvin being the first driver to receive that honour. The event used to enjoy International status, however since 1988, as the

moved to include only one event per country, it has been reduced to a National event in favour of the

RAC Rally Wales Rally GB was the most recent iteration of the United Kingdom's premier international motor rally, which ran under various names since the first event held in 1932. It was consistently a round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) cal ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. Over the years, the event has been based in towns and cities throughout

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

including

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

and

Dunoon Dunoon (; ) is the main town on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located on the western shore of the upper Firth of Clyde, to the south of the Holy Loch and to the north of Innellan. As well as forming part of the cou ...

. However, since 1997 it has been centered in

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

in South West Scotland. The Scottish Rally formed part of the

from 1970 until 1996, but arguably its biggest moment came in 1978 when it formed part of the Cup for Rally Drivers. There was no World Championship title for rally drivers at this point, but the title was the precursor to today's

drivers' champion. Notable winners of the Scottish Rally include

Roger Clark Roger Clark may refer to: * Roger Clark (rally driver) (1939–1998), British rally driver * Roger Clark (actor, born 1978), Irish-American actor * Roger Clark (actor, born 1908) (1908–1978), American actor See also * Roger Clarke (disambigu ...

Hannu Mikkola Hannu Olavi Mikkola (24 May 1942 − 25 February 2021) was a Finns, Finnish champion world rallying, rally driver. He was a seven-time winner of the 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland and won the RAC Rally in Great Britain four times. Career Mikkola ...

, Stig Blomqvist,

Ari Vatanen Ari Pieti Uolevi Vatanen (; born 27 April 1952) is a Finns, Finnish rally (sports), rally driver turned politician and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1999 to 2009. He won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in 1981 and t ...

, Tony Pond, Malcolm Wilson, Richard Burns and

Colin McRae Colin Steele McRae, (5 August 1968 – 15 September 2007), was a British rally driver. He was the 1991 and 1992 British Rally Champion, and in 1995 became the first British driver to win the World Rally Championship Drivers' title. At 27, ...

. The most successful drivers in the event's history are Roger Clark and David Bogie, who tied Clark's record of six wins in 2019.

List of winners

A full list of rally winners from the first time a single overall winner was recognised in 1961 until the present day is shown in the table below, along with their co-drivers and the car being driven.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official Rally Website

RSAC Official Website
1932 establishments in Scotland Scottish Rally Championship Rally competitions in the United Kingdom Motorsport in Scotland Sports competitions in Scotland Motorsport competitions in the United Kingdom European Rally Championship rallies