THE popular Grooms Garage Mid Wales Stages return to the Welsh rallying calendar next year.

The rally will be held on March 4, 2018, run by Newtown and District Automobile Club (NDAC) having not been held this year due to financial concerns.

The event formed a round of the MSA British Rally Championship in 2016, won World Rally Championship (WRC) ace Elfyn Evan in his Ford Fiesta R5.

However the event was erased from the calendar this year with organisers unable to ensure the financial stability of the rally due to changes in the way roads were repaired after use.

However thanks to the commitment of Rally 4 Wales and dedication of the organising team, a single day gravel rally based from the Hafren in Newtown will be held next year.

The event will contain 45 stage miles of classic forest tests, mixed with new variants of familiar stages and five tests.

With entries limited to 110 crews, organisers of the event are looking forward to welcoming competitors back to the Mid Wales Stages once again in 2018.

“It was a very hard decision not to run this year but there was much uncertainty surrounding the costs of the repair of roads in Wales and financial sustainability at the time,” said clerk of the course Wayne Jones.

“Coupled with a lower than usual number of entries at the start of the year, we simply had no choice not to run but always said we would return again in 2018.

“We would like to extend our thanks to our sponsors Grooms Garage for their support and enthusiasm towards the event.”