ERC 2024 event guide: JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion

With sustainability a core focus, Rali Ceredigion was the first event in the UK to fully offset the carbon emissions of all competitors, becoming the first UK rally to achieve the coveted FIA Environmental Accreditation as a result.  

What? JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion, 2024 FIA European Rally Championship Round 7 of 8, 2024 FIA Junior ERC Championship Round 5 of 6  

When? 30 August - 1 September  

Where? Aberystwyth, Wales, United Kingdom

What’s new? A reworked itinerary has been prepared for 2024 with the event visiting new areas and stages to “ensure it meets the ERC’s high standards and provides an exhilarating challenge for domestic and international crews”, according to the event clerk of the course, Andy Gilmore.  

What’s in store? Made up of rapid but narrow Welsh country lanes close to the famous forests where the principality once staged Britain’s FIA World Rally Championship round, Rali Ceredigion first took place in 2019 and celebrated its third running last September. Also a round of the British championship, Rali Ceredigion is based Aberystwyth, a university town in mid-Wales surrounded by the Irish Sea to the west and Cambrian Mountains to the east.

What the organisers have said? Andy Gilmore, JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion clerk of the course:“Our focus is on offering an event which benefits from a high level of organisation, provides an unforgettable experience for competitors, teams and spectators and showcases classic Welsh scenery and local hospitality – all underpinned by our commitment to sustainable motorsport and ensuring a positive lasting legacy in the communities we visit.”  

What the drivers have said? Osian Pryce, 2019 and 2023 winner (above): “Having done a couple of European rounds and seen what they are like and drawing on my experience of Rali Ceredigion, everyone will be in for an absolute treat because it is just so well thought out and so well put together. The roads are amazing and it will be a unique challenge, which will also add a lot to the ERC too. It deserves its place [on the calendar] and it will be fabulous.”  

More information: https://www.raliceredigion.co.uk  

Rali Ceredigion is one of the most important motorsport events in Wales, in a territory steeped in British and world rallying history. This year’s rally, which is again based in Aberystwyth and supported by Ceredigion County Council and title sponsor, JDS Machinery, is a round of the FIA European Rally Championship for the first time. The inaugural edition of Rali Ceredigion, held on 8 September 2019, was the first special stage rally to take place entirely on closed public roads in Wales. The 2023 running generated significant economic benefits to the region.