Huge demand for places as East Riding Stages Rally returns to Beverley

The East Riding Stages Rally has reached a full entry within days of opening, as competitors from across the UK rushed to secure a place at Beverley’s biggest motorsport weekend.

Photo: Rally Media UK

Beverley and District Motor Club would like to thank competitors for the outstanding response to this year’s East Riding Stages Rally, which has reached its maximum entry of 160 crews within days of entries opening.

With the rally now less than four weeks away from returning to Beverley and the surrounding roads, the speed and strength of the entry list once again shows how highly regarded the event has become with crews from across the UK. The full list of accepted entries can be viewed at rallies.info

For 2026, we opened entries much closer to the rally date than in previous years. This was a deliberate decision by the organising team to give competitors more time at the start of the season to prepare before committing to events. The response was immediate, with crews quickly filling every available place during the early entry window.

Matthew Atkinson, Clerk of the Course for the East Riding Stages Rally, said: “We wanted to make the entry process work better for competitors at the start of the year, and the response has been fantastic. To receive a full 160 entries within the early entry period shows just how much competitors value this event. It is a real boost for the organising team and for everyone in Beverley and the surrounding villages who help us make the rally possible.”

We allowed some flexibility around entry numbers, meaning that all early entries have been accepted. Entries do remain open, with any further applications now placed onto a reserve list.

Leading crew Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear will tackle this year's ERSR. Photo: Rally Media UK

The rally continues to attract leading crews as a round of several major championships. The East Riding Stages Rally will host the opening round of the 2026 Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt Rally Championship, bringing many of the country’s top asphalt crews to Beverley for the start of their season.

The event is also a round of the Roger Albert Clark Historic Asphalt Rally Championship, a new series created specifically for historic rally cars. This championship has quickly gained interest from historic competitors and adds a distinctive and exciting element to the entry list, with a wide variety of classic rally machinery joining the modern cars on the stages.

The event is also a round of the new Roger Albert Clark Historic Asphalt Rally Championship. Photo: Rally Media UK

In addition, the rally is a qualifying round of ANWCC, ANCC, SD34 and the North of England Tarmacadam Rally Championship, ensuring strong support from regional competitors as well as those contesting national titles.

The East Riding Stages sees strong support from regional competitors like the Constantine family, who have entered three crews on the event. Photo: Rally Media UK

The February event is the largest closed road rally in the UK, bringing competitors, support crews and visitors into Beverley for a busy and vibrant weekend.

Saturday evening will begin with the ceremonial start in Beverley town centre, before crews head to the Westwood for the SuperSpecial Stage, run in the dark and just a short walk from the centre of town. Watching rally cars at night, with glowing brake discs and headlights cutting through the darkness, offers a particularly exciting spectacle as the rally gets underway.

Crews will then head out into the Wolds to tackle two new stages in the dark, including a 13-mile test to finish off the first leg of the rally. These night time stages on closed rural roads add to the unique atmosphere of the evening and provide a challenging and memorable start to the weekend.

On Sunday morning, the rally will restart from the popular FanZone in Beverley Saturday Market, where spectators can get close to the cars, meet crews and teams, and enjoy the build up as the field heads back out onto the closed roads across the East Riding for a full day of competition, before returning to the FanZone for the awards ceremony.

Last years winners, William Creighton / Liam Regan on the podium with the Castrol MEM rally team. Photo: Rally Media UK

We are working closely with East Riding of Yorkshire Council, emergency services, volunteers and local communities to deliver a safe, professionally run and exciting rally for everyone involved.

The rally is made possible thanks to the valued support of our sponsors and partners including Visit East Yorkshire, Bishop Burton College, Sparrow Recovery, Rolec Energy, Spectrum, Greens the Signmakers, Cat Lund Web Design, Carbon Positive Motorsport, The Royal Standard and Rally Media UK.

Further information is available on our website where additional spectator information will be published from 1 February.

Spectators: bdmc.org.uk/east-riding-stages/spectators

Residents: bdmc.org.uk/east-riding-stages/residents

Media: bdmc.org.uk/east-riding-stages/media