A brand new event, called the Carlisle Stages, will be part of the 2013 RAC Rally Championship and will run on Saturday 22 June covering 45 stage miles in the Kershope and Newcastleton forest complexes.From a base in Carlisle, this exciting new one-day rally will give crews a rare chance to tackle some of the most famous gravel stages in the UK during the summer months. The Carlisle Stages will be organised by the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club and will form round five of the new championship.The development of this all-new rally will take over the slot in the championship calendar originally pencilled in for the Scottish Rally. When the organisers of the Scottish were unable to accommodate the size of the entry expected for the new championship, Colin Heppenstall brought forward existing plans to run a one-day rally in the tremendous Scottish border forests.In year one, the event will be a round of the RAC Rally Championship, but Heppenstall hopes to include rounds of regional championships for 2014 and beyond. The rally will start on Saturday morning following scrutineering and documentation on Friday afternoon and evening.This is a great opportunity to get into these forests in the summer months, said Heppenstall, championship manager. The Carlisle Stages will also give crews a chance to gain experience in these forests ahead of the Roger Albert Clark Rally in November. As was the case for the 2012 event, the Kershope and Newcastleton complexes will feature heavily in the Sunday leg of the 2013 Roger Albert Clark Rally.Im particularly grateful to both the Forestry Commission and the MSA for their prompt and professional assistance in putting this new rally together, said Heppenstall. Im also very pleased that we have been able to maintain a good geographical spread of events for the championship, with three of the seven rallies in the northern half of England.The 2013 RAC Rally Championship starts on the Red Kite Stages on Sunday 20 January and event regulations are available from www.redkitestages.co.uk