Rali Ceredigion Continues Climate Leadership
- 7 days ago
- 3 min read
JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion will continue its ambitious environmental programme in 2026, with Carbon Positive Motorsport once again supporting the event, marking the fifth year of their partnership.
A record 149-car field from 18 nations will descend on West Wales this week as the JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion returns for its sixth edition.
Taking place from 4-6 September, the Aberystwyth-based rally brings together the FIA European Rally Championship and Motorsport UK British Rally Championship, while the FIA European Historic Rally Championship joins the event for the first time in 2026.
Three separate rallies will accommodate the packed International, Historic and National entry, with 16 special stages and more than 191 competitive kilometres across some of the most spectacular closed roads in Ceredigion.
Five-time World Rally Championship event winner Kris Meeke joins a formidable international entry which includes European Championship frontrunners Teemu Suninen, Andrea Mabellini, Mikołaj Marczyk and Jakub Matulka.
Welsh interest is equally strong, with Osian Pryce, Meirion Evans and Max McRae among the British Championship contenders, while the Historic rally brings cars including the Lancia Stratos, Ford Escort Mk2, BMW M3, Triumph TR7 V8 and Porsche 911 to the Ceredigion stages.
The rally begins with activities on Aberystwyth seafront and the Ceremonial Start on Thursday evening, before competition gets underway on Friday. Two runs through the Aberystwyth street stage are followed by the night-time Elerch and Blaenmelindwr stages, before eight stages to the east of Aberystwyth on Saturday and Sunday’s final tests through Gorsgoch and Ty Glyn.
Alongside the sporting challenge, Rali Ceredigion has continued to develop an environmental programme which combines practical measures to reduce emissions with credible carbon mitigation.
Carbon Positive Motorsport has helped Rali Ceredigion mitigate its carbon footprint since 2022, beginning with 33 tCO2e in the first year and increasing to 125 tCO2e in 2023.
For 2026, the rally will mitigate 100 tCO2e through independently verified Carbon Reduction Units, while the rally will also support a further 100 tCO2e of future carbon capture through the Abergavenny Sequoia Project in Wales.
Through Carbon Positive Motorsport, Rali Ceredigion has helped to support the Abergavenny Sequoia Project, contributing towards the planting of around 1,500 Giant Sequoias and 6,000 native broadleaf trees.
Managed by The Great Reserve, the Abergavenny project is creating a climate-safe haven for Giant Sequoias, which are listed as endangered in their native habitat, while also establishing native woodland and supporting greater biodiversity
Reduction remains an equally important part of the event’s approach. New for 2026, Vauxhall is supplying ten electrified Astra and Grandland models for use by Rali Ceredigion’s organising and safety teams, reducing emissions associated with travel between rally headquarters, service areas, stages and other key locations compared with conventional combustion-engined vehicles.
Steve Smith, Director of Carbon Positive Motorsport, said: “Rali Ceredigion has kept developing its environmental programme as the rally has grown, with carbon offsetting alongside practical action to reduce emissions, and that is what makes this partnership so important to us.
“The Sequoia project helps to establish a long-term home for an endangered species, create new native woodland and improve biodiversity.
“To be entering a fifth year with Rali Ceredigion, as the event welcomes its biggest and most international field yet, is something we are extremely proud of.”
Rali Ceredigion was the first motorsport event in the UK to achieve FIA Environmental Accreditation and has continued to use its growing international profile to demonstrate how high-level rallying can be combined with meaningful and measurable environmental action.
The 2026 JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion takes place from 4-6 September, with the Ceremonial Start in Aberystwyth on Thursday 3 September.
For more information visit www.raliceredigion.co.uk
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