The British Rallycross Championship is inseparable from the invention of rallycross itself. The first rallycross event was held at Lydden circuit near Canterbury in Kent on Saturday, 4 February 1967 — a one-off conceived by Robert Reed, a producer on ABC TV's World of Sport programme, and organised by the Tunbridge Wells centre of the 750 Motor Club under the leadership of Bud Smith. The event proved such an overwhelming success that further television specials quickly followed, and clubmans events began appearing for autocross, race, and rally drivers captivated by the new format.
The first event was won by Vic Elford, already an experienced rally driver who would go on to compete in Formula 1 and sports car racing, driving a Porsche 911 owned by AFN, the official Porsche importer for Great Britain at the time.
A common claim holds that the foot and mouth outbreak of 1967 — which cancelled that year's RAC Rally — gave birth to rallycross. However, rallycross predates the outbreak by several months: it was born in February 1967, and the November foot and mouth disease actually prevented some drivers from attending the first rallycross event staged at Croft, near Darlington in County Durham, on 30 December 1967.
ITV held an early monopoly on the sport, broadcasting through the winter of 1967–68. Tony Chappell of Wales won that inaugural championship season, becoming the first person ever to win a rallycross championship. ITV's exclusivity ended in August 1968 when the BBC struck a deal with Lydden owner Bill Chesson, gaining near-exclusive access to the Kentish track. ITV moved north, basing its coverage at Croft and later adding events at Cadwell Park near Louth in Lincolnshire.
The television rivalry between the two broadcasters did not last. ITV departed rallycross by the mid-1970s, and BBC coverage had diminished to one or two events per year before eventually dropping the British round of the European Rallycross Championship from its schedule. The British Rallycross Grand Prix at Brands Hatch was the last event aired by the national broadcaster, ending after the 1994 edition.
The championship's influence spread rapidly across Europe. By 1973 the Embassy European Trophy was being contested, with Scotsman John Taylor winning in an Escort RS1600. The first officially sanctioned FIA European Rallycross Championship followed in 1976 — won by Austria's Franz Wurz in a Lancia Stratos — the same year Britain formalised its own British Rallycross Championship, with Trevor Hopkins taking that inaugural title in a Ford Escort RS1800.
The current format features several classes across a single championship weekend structure. The headline Motorsport UK Supercars class runs 600-horsepower or more vehicles with four-wheel drive based on production hatchbacks. Supporting classes include the Supernational and All4Mini divisions, the BMW Mini Class, Retro Rallycross, the Swift Sport and Swift Junior championships, and RX150 buggies.
The championship roll of honour reflects the diversity of machinery and drivers that have defined British rallycross. Trevor Hopkins dominated the late 1970s with three consecutive titles from 1976 to 1978. Keith Ripp won three straight titles from 1981 to 1983. The MG Metro 6R4 era produced a cluster of champions including Will Gollop, who won in 1991 before returning for back-to-back titles in 1995 and 1996, and Dermot Carnegie, whose six titles between 1993 and 2004 place him among the championship's most successful competitors. Julian Godfrey dominated the 2010s with five consecutive Supercar titles from 2011 to 2015, adding a sixth in 2019. Patrick O'Donovan took three consecutive championships from 2022 to 2024, while Derek Tohill claimed titles in 2021 and 2025.
The British Rallycross Championship's significance in motorsport history extends well beyond the United Kingdom. Its founding moment at Lydden Hill in February 1967 introduced an entirely new form of motorsport that would eventually spread across Europe and achieve FIA World Championship status. The series has produced European and World Rallycross champions, served as the development arena for Group B cars following their WRC ban, and maintained an unbroken record of competition since its formalisation in 1976.