A well-known national rally is heading to Newtown later this year following a “radical shake-up” of one of the UK’s most popular forest stage events.

The Phil Price Memorial Woodpecker Rally will move from its traditional Ludlow rally base to Powys largest town after organisers were “forced to relocate” because stages in the English Marches which the event has historically used for decades are unavailable.

Rally fans will be able to enjoy world-famous stages in Mid Wales such as Hafren, Sweet Lamb and Ceri on Saturday, September 7, before a ceremonial finish in Newtown.

Rally manager Alan Corns said he is eager to unveil the new rally format of the rally and to reassure competitors that the event will have all the hallmarks of a traditional Woodpecker Rally.

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“It’s been a tough few months behind the scenes for the organising team and the club faced some pretty big decisions” he said.

“The English stages that we all know and love have been a staple of the Woodpecker Rally for decades so we had a choice to either run the event, or provide crews and fans with a high quality, fun, and exciting rally that has long been associated with the event.

“We are rally fans at heart so we decided to press on and look at alternatives, and we would like to thank the stakeholders in Wales and Newtown, as well as our supportive sponsors for allowing us to put together a rally that I believe we can all enjoy.

“We haven’t given up on the stages surrounding Ludlow, but for this year we are where we are and of course, we will be working hard towards 2025 in the meantime.”

The brand-new format will see cars leave Newtown on Saturday morning and centre around the Hafren and Sweet Lamb forest plantations with a trip into Ceri Forest, complete with short closed-road sections to ensure longer stage mileage for competitors.

Around 45 miles are planned, with the popular Sweet Lamb venue providing the event service area and a return to Newtown for the ceremonial finish.

The event was renamed in 2022 in memory of the highly regarded rally driver and coach Phil Price, who sadly passed away in 2021 and will once again welcome a variety of top-line championships.