Armstrong Galloway Hills Rally 2017 Set To Be ‘Best Yet’

The ever popular Armstrong Galloway Hills Rally enters its 44^th year in 2017 and organisers of the Castle Douglas based rally are anticipating one of the ‘best events ever’ on Saturday 9^th September.

Sponsored by local construction and waste management solutions firm The Armstrong Group, the event is once again the final round of the ARR Craib MSA Scottish Rally Championship and competitors from across the UK and Ireland will descend on the town to contest over 40 miles of classic stages in the Galloway forests.  Thanks to a host of incentives for competitors on both sides of the Irish Sea, rally organisers are hoping for a bumper entry for the now traditional end of season bash.

Organised by Solway, Machars and East Ayrshire Car Clubs, the highly regarded one-day gravel event has once again been awarded a prestigious  grant from Dumfries and Galloway Council Major Events Strategic Fund, allowing organisers to encourage more people to travel to the region by offering free subsidised ferry crossings from Ireland for a vehicle, car trailer and three people with event partners Stena Line.

Since its inception in 2014, this successful incentive has brought a significant number of competitors across the Irish Sea. Organisers are anticipating another quality entry from both Northern and Southern Ireland, all eager to sample the high quality stages on offer in the region.

To further bolster entries from across the UK, there will be a prize draw for competitors with the chance to win a substantial £250 refund on their entry fee. With a draw taking place with every 10 entries received, early entries will be rewarded with a greater opportunity to win almost half the entry fee back.

Rally HQ, pre-event checks and documentation will take place at locations around Castle Douglas on Friday 8th September. The event proper kicks off on Saturday 9^th with the ceremonial start just outside Castle Douglas from 9.00am.

Crews will then head west out into the forests, with Kirroughtree in Wigtownshire playing host to the event service halt around midday. After 44 miles of action in the stages, leading crews will arrive at the finish at around 2.30pm in Castle Douglas.

Alongside the Scottish Rally Championship, the event forms the final and deciding round of the RSAC Ecosse Challenge, a single-make series for the popular Citroen C2, as well as a counting round of The Border Challenge and HRCR Motoscope Northern Historic Rally Championship.

Michael Riddick, Clerk of the Course is confident 2017 could see one of the best events ever for the Galloway Hills Rally.

“The team have worked really hard to pull together a fantastic event and one that we hope will appeal to competitors across the country and the water” says Riddick.

“The incentives on offer are pretty substantial and I don’t know any other event that offers free ferries, or the chance of huge entry fee refunds, like the Galloway Hills. We have always tried to put the competitors first, and that is why our whole Council grant goes into our incentives, to entice people to our rally and into Dumfries and Galloway, and none of it is used for general expenditure.

Of course, it’s disappointing that Euan Thorburn and Paul Beaton have already been crowned overall Scottish Rally Champions and it hasn’t gone down to the wire on event, but there are still many overall positions and class battles to be decided on the final round, and I believe we will have a fantastic spectacle for rally fans and crews alike in September. We look forward to welcoming spectators, competitors, and hopefully even the 2017 Scottish Champions to Castle Douglas and the surrounding area for the rally”.

For more information on the event, to enter online or to download the event regulations, Click HERE