East Riding Stages Rally to open new Historic Asphalt Series

Beverley & District Motor Club is proud to be hosting the opening round of the 2026 Roger Albert Clark Historic Asphalt Rally Championship.

Taking place over the weekend of Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 February, the East Riding Stages Rally will welcome historic competitors from across the UK and beyond for the first points scoring round of this new national series.

Since its debut in 2022, the East Riding Stages Rally has earned a reputation for fast and challenging stages and for the warm welcome offered by Beverley & District Motor Club and the East Riding community.

This year brings a completely new route designed to test crews and thrill spectators. Competitors will be flagged away from the ceremonial start on Saturday evening from Beverley’s historic North Bar Within. The opening leg features three demanding tests, including a new version of the iconic Westwood stage which will be run twice, alongside the all new Little Wold and Great Wold stages. With sunset at around half past five, this will be the first year the rally includes competition in the dark, with glowing brake discs and fiery exhausts to look forward to.

On Sunday morning the rally restarts in the heart of Beverley, with the lively Saturday Market FanZone providing a backdrop as crews head out for the full day’s competition. Four revised stages at Seaton, Rise, Ellerby and Swine open the loop before crews return to the new look Westwood, which again runs twice. The same four stages are then repeated to complete the route. In total, competitors will tackle 14 special stages across the weekend before returning to the FanZone for a ceremonial finish and trophy presentation, ensuring the celebrations are shared with the fans who support the rally each year.

The Roger Albert Clark Historic Asphalt Rally Championship has been created by the team behind the Roger Albert Clark Rally to give historic crews a dedicated asphalt series. The new historic rally championship is organised by the team behind the British Historic Rally Championship and brings together five well established closed road events, beginning with the East Riding Stages in February, followed by the Manx Rally and the Jim Clark Reivers Rally, then the Argyll Rally and finally the Hills Ford Stages.

Championship Manager Colin Heppenstall said: “We recognise that there are a lot of historic cars now that are being used only on asphalt rallies. We are committed to the BHRC remaining a mixed surface championship so we felt this was the ideal time to launch a parallel series purely for asphalt rallies. We are keen to talk to everyone who has a car from across the full range of historic categories and will welcome entries from Ireland and mainland Europe.”

The 2026 East Riding Stages Rally promises new stages, fresh challenges and unforgettable action, and Beverley & District Motor Club looks forward to welcoming crews and spectators to Beverley for the most exciting edition yet. 21-22 February: East Riding Stages Rally

8-9 May: Manx Rally

24 May: Jim Clark Reivers Rally

19-20 June: Argyll Rally

19-20-September: Hills Ford Stages