Friday December 20th
The organisers of the AM Phillip Trucktech Snowman Rally issued the following statement earlier today:
Highland Car Club would like to announce that there will be no Snowman Rally in 2025.
Traditionally the opening round of the Scottish Rally Championship and one of the biggest and best attended sporting events in the Highlands has been scuppered yet again. The rally relies on gaining access to forest roads from Forestry & Land Scotland which act as the special stages that form the main competitive element of the event. For next year it has not been possible to secure enough suitable mileage to be able to proceed with the organisation.
This comes as a huge disappointment to the volunteer organising team and will be a massive blow to the competitors, marshals and rally fans near and far that descend on the Highlands at the start of the year. For the second year in a row the event has had to cancel its traditional winter date and whilst it was able to run on a rescheduled date in October this year, this is not a sustainable proposition for the future.
We are grateful to our recent sponsors, AM Phillip Trucktech, for their support, to all our other stage sponsors and to all the local business that help make the Snowman Rally the success it has been. We will now enjoy a rare Christmas break and see what can be done for 2026. Sad news indeed.
Traditionally the opening round of the Scottish Rally Championship and one of the biggest and best attended sporting events in the Highlands has been scuppered yet again. The rally relies on gaining access to forest roads from Forestry & Land Scotland which act as the special stages that form the main competitive element of the event. For next year it has not been possible to secure enough suitable mileage to be able to proceed with the organisation.
This comes as a huge disappointment to the volunteer organising team and will be a massive blow to the competitors, marshals and rally fans near and far that descend on the Highlands at the start of the year. For the second year in a row the event has had to cancel its traditional winter date and whilst it was able to run on a rescheduled date in October this year, this is not a sustainable proposition for the future.
We are grateful to our recent sponsors, AM Phillip Trucktech, for their support, to all our other stage sponsors and to all the local business that help make the Snowman Rally the success it has been. We will now enjoy a rare Christmas break and see what can be done for 2026. Sad news indeed.
The SRC recognise the challenges currently faced by the organisers of the Snowman Rally and stand fully behind their decision. Given the current challenges with access to the forests it was, unfortunately, the only realistic option left open to them so close to the date.
We look forward to a satisfactory resolution of the ongoing issues and hope to welcome the Snowman Rally back bigger and even better in 2026.
In the meantime, the cancellation of Round 1 means the reserve event will now form part of this year’s 7 round series. The reserve event is the Coppermines Grizedale Stages scheduled for Saturday 6th December.
