Le Gouffre out for 2023 rally

Monday 03 October 2022

Following complaints from a small number of people, part of the 2023 Guernsey Rally has been rerouted to ensure the event can go ahead as planned.

The rally is already in the later planning stages, with events booked in for the weekend of 24 and 25 February 2023.

There will be night stages on Friday 24 and day stages during Saturday 25.

Pictured: Plans for the 2023 Rally are at an advanced stage.

Previous rallys have included courses through the lanes of St Andrews, and the Forest.

Rumours about discontent with the plans to use similar small lanes for the 2023 event began circulating on social media last week and have been confirmed with Express by Guernsey Rally Chairman, Karl Marshall.

He said there have been discussions with the Forest Douzaine, who have had representations from some residents who wanted the parish to refuse permission for the roads where they live to be used.

"The Guernsey Rally are in the process of liaising with residents on its proposed rally stages for 2023 and sadly some residents located on our proposed Gouffre stage made complaints about the event being held there and encouraged the Forest Douzaine to refuse it,' he said.

"It is a shame and a hit for us, because we put a huge amount of work and effort into this fantastic motorsport event to make it happen and it does have a huge amount of support from the community, as well as the fact it brings in about £60k to the island during a quiet season. 

"We understand it's not everyone's choice of entertainment but it is enjoyed by a lot of our community, and we appreciate the support they give. We try to organise the rally so there's as little disruption as possible to the residents affected by the short term road closures, and their safety and the safety of livestock is our priority."

Pictured: Karl Mashall is Chair of Guernsey Rally, and he works with his committee throughout the year on planning the event.

The Comprop 2023 Guernsey Rally will be the fifth rally organised and held by Mr Marshall and his team.

He said they have been "commended on our organisation of this event" and that a number of people, including residents of the small lanes used by the drivers, have supported it.

"There were of course a number of residents on the Gouffre stage who gave there support, but this is how things go," he said.

"We shall continue to press on with our other proposed stages which hopefully will encourage lots of support and enable us to run a much wanted and successful 2023 rally.

"We have very generous and supportive sponsors to whom we're very grateful, with our main sponsor being Comprop again this year, and our aim is to provide another great rally which gives a lot of enjoyment and excitement to our rally driver participants, our volunteers, and of course our spectators in the community."

Pictured top: The Guernsey 2020 Rally.