Until 2018 Rally GB was one of the few rounds to have featured in every round of the World Rally Championship since its inaugural year in 1973. The 2020 round was cancelled due to Covid and was due to be the end of the contract with Wales to run the round. In 2021 the Welsh Government withdrew sponsorship support for the Rally GB round and in there is still no sign of Great Britain being re-instated to the WRC Calendar. The most likely return of a GB round seems to be Northern Ireland, with excellent closed road rallies already run there and positive support, but the soonest that will come would be the 2026 round of the Calendar.
The UK round of the WRC has been known as Wales Rally GB since 2000, since when it was held solely in Wales, except for occasional super ceremonial and special stages, such as Chester and Oulton Park respectively. The Welsh Forests along with the Brecon Beacons military ranges host many stages, a lot of them classics of Rally GB and the World Rally Championship. Stages such as Epynt, Halfway, Crychan, Dyfi, Gartheiniog and Dyfnant have been used for decades in varying formats as part of the World Rally Championship.
Since 2000 the rally service park and base has been hosted in Cardiff, Deeside and LLandudno. The Cardiff Millenium Stadium hosted the first ever indoor stadium super special stage from 2005 to 2008
It is often held towards the end of the year, when changing weather conditions can make things difficult for the drivers.
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Prior 2013 the event was based in Cardiff with the stages being in South and Mid Wales. Stages have included a Super Special around Cardif Bay and even the Millenium Stadium, then going as far north as Sweet Lamb with a remote service in Builth Wells
More recently, it has been based in north Wales, with the service park in either Llandudno or Deeside. The rally is run in north and mid wales with a spectator stage being run down the sea front in Colwyn Bay and the iconic Great Orme stage around the peninsula of the same name. The rally then goes as far south as Sweet Lamb and Myherin.
Unfortunately the The British Isles are still without a rally in the 2023 WRC Calendar. After the Welsh government withdrew sponsorship of the event, Ireland has been in talks to hold an ashpalt event. Time ran out to get a firm commitment to 2023, but talks are still in progress about the possibility of an event in 2024.
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