Five rounds of the Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship will be covered on terrestrial television in 2009 following confirmation of an exciting new broadcasting deal for the championship.
It had originally been planned to have the BHRC action shown on satellite stations, but recent changes in the motorsport television market place opened up a superb opportunity for historic rallying to be shown on Channel 5, within the successful Race and Rally UK series.
Thanks to Dunlop's increased backing for the championship, an agreement is now in place with AMG TV to film the five gravel events and broadcast them in a series of five hour-long programmes on Channel 5. The programmes will also be broadcast on the Motors TV channel.
The coverage will start with the Bulldog Historic Rally (28 March) and transmission times will be confirmed in due course.
This major development for the BHRC comes at a time when historic rallying is booming and becoming ever more popular among rally fans, both out on the stages and at home in front of TV screens. It underlines the BHRC's place at the pinnacle of UK historic rallying and sets the scene for a tremendous season in 2009.
"This is fantastic news for the championship and is one of the key enhancements made possible by Dunlop's increased support for the BHRC," said championship co-ordinator Simon Marks. "Getting historic rallying onto terrestrial TV is a massive boost for everyone involved in this branch of the sport and will bring the BHRC to a major new audience. We are very grateful to Steven Smith, the reigning BHRC champion, for all his time and work in pulling this huge advance together."
By Paul Lawrence
Image by Songasport
