The Hunt Is On For Next British World Rally Champion - News

• It has been more than 20 years since a British world rally champion
• Richard Burns was the last British driver to win the ultimate rally accolade in 2001
• TrackDays is hoping to discover next world champion by launching three new rally driving experiences

Here at TrackDays, we are hoping to play a part in unearthing the next British world rally champion following the launch of three new Rally Driving Experiences.

It's been more than 20 years since homegrown talent took the world rally champion crown – Richard Burns in 2001 – but we are starting the campaign now in hopes this will soon change.

To encourage more people to discover the extreme sport, we have launched three new rally driving experiences, starting with an introduction package for those completely new to rallying, through to a full day experience for those wanting an in-depth insight.

In recent years, the world rallying scene has been dominated by France, with the two Sébastiens – Loeb and Ogier – winning the title an incredible 17 times between them. While in the last two years Finnish driver Kalle Rovanperä has taken top spot.

Dan Jones, operations manager at TrackDays.co.uk, says: "It would be great to see a driver from Britain standing on top of the podium wearing the world rally champion crown."

"It's been a long wait, 23 years and counting, so we're hoping our new rally driving experiences will spark a passion in someone new to the sport and, possibly, discover a future world champion."

The new rally driving experiences, hosted at Langley Park Rally School near Saffron Walden in Essex, start with an introduction package, allowing participants to learn the basics of rally driving in a front or rear wheel drive, full spec historic rally car from a fleet including Ford Escort Mk IIs, Suzuki Swift Cup Cars and Ford Sierras on a loose gravel stage, all under the guidance of an expert rally instructor.

Going up a gear is a half day experience. The three hour session gives greater insight and there's three driving sessions of approximately 15 minutes, which are up against the clock.

The ultimate package is the full day experience which allows participants to test their metal in two historic full spec rally cars. As well as more time behind the wheel, the package includes camera recordings of the drives on an SD card.