Rally cancelled to 'protect marshals from midges'

The Kielder Forest Rally, which attracts about 1,000 people, will return in 2026

A popular motorsport event has been called off next year to protect volunteer marshals from midges.

The Kielder Forest Rally in Northumberland saw several officials in need of medical treatment after being bitten by the insects in June, which were said to be "worse than ever".

Organisers at the Cumberland Sporting Car Club had hoped to move the 2025 event, but a date could not be agreed and they decided to "rest" the rally and return in 2026.

Steve Waggett, the rally's clerk of the course, said he was "as disappointed as anyone" but remained confident it would return.

The news comes after the nearby Galloway Hills rally in southern Scotland was cancelled in July due to rising forestry costs.

'Gap needed'

More than 1,000 people take part or spectate in the Kielder Forest event.

Mr Waggett said: "We have 150 marshals who stand in the forest all day with a hi-vis vest on. That attracts the midges so they end up being covered in them, and we have to look after our volunteers.

"There's a heavy calendar of events across the country throughout the year and we need to attract as many entries as we can, so we need a decent gap with other events, particularly local ones."

Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear (pictured) won the 2024 Kielder Forest Rally

A plan to run the rally as a double-header alongside the Jedburgh-based Border Counties Rally in May failed to take off.

Mr Waggett said he believed April was the "optimum time" in the future to hold the event, with "the weather being too unpredictable in February and March".

On rallying's wider issues, Joe Hutchinson, who is part of the organising committee, said the motorsport was in "an interesting transition period".

"The Jim Clark and other closed road rallies are doing well but forest stage rallies, which have been the mainstay since the 1970s are struggling," he said.

"We all love images of Colin McRae driving sideways through the trees, but if we want that to continue then we need more support from the governing bodies."