The first event in 1932 was the Royal Automobile Club Rally — the first major modern rally held in Great Britain. Of 367 entries, 341 competitors started from nine towns including London, Edinburgh, and Liverpool, converging on Torquay. No outright winner was officially declared; results were based on penalty points accumulated during tests at the finish.
The format remained centred on road-touring and regularity through the 1930s until the outbreak of the Second World War halted the event in 1939. The post-war return came with the RAC International Rally of Great Britain 1951, which introduced an 1800-mile itinerary taking in Scotland, Wales, and England. For the first time an official outright winner was declared — Ian Appleyard driving a Jaguar XK120, in an edition that also counted as a round of the inaugural European Touring Championship.
A pivotal transformation came in 1960 when organising secretary Jack Kemsley negotiated access to a closed two-mile gravel road — Monument Hill in Argyll, Scotland — for a timed speed test. That stage is regarded as the moment the RAC Rally shifted from a navigational exercise to the stage-based competition recognised today. In 1961, hundreds of miles of rough forestry roads across Britain were opened to competitors, and the rally's reputation as one of the sport's most gruelling events began to solidify.
From the inaugural 1973 World Rally Championship season the RAC Rally was a consistent calendar fixture. Through the 1970s and 1980s, sponsorship by Lombard North Central gave the event its most recognisable identity as the Lombard RAC Rally, a title that endured for nearly two decades.
The British forest stages feature relatively high average speeds compared to many gravel events, with long sweeping corners and minimal jumps, though the roads vary significantly — North Wales and Lake District stages are narrow and technical, while South Wales and Kielder stages are wider. Typically held in November, the event is defined by almost guaranteed rainfall, mud, and unpredictable conditions that can include ice and snow. The combination rewarded drivers who started early in the stage order before roads became polished or cut up.
The 1986 RAC Rally was the final European WRC round for Group B cars. Peugeot 205 T16 Evo 2 machines dominated, with Timo Salonen, Juha Kankkunen, and Mikael Sundström filling three of the top four positions.
Wales Rally GB's traditional position as the WRC season finale made it the setting for numerous title deciders. In 1991, Juha Kankkunen edged Carlos Sainz after the Spaniard suffered engine failure and went off in Kielder Forest. In 1992 a three-way battle between Sainz, Kankkunen, and Didier Auriol resolved in Sainz's favour after the other two retired, giving the Spaniard his second title. In 1995, Colin McRae won in front of an estimated two million fans lining the forests and clinched the drivers championship.
One of the most dramatic finales came in 1998: championship leader Tommi Mäkinen crashed out early after his Mitsubishi hit oil, then Carlos Sainz's engine failed 300 metres from the last stage finish, handing Mäkinen the title despite not finishing. In 2003, Petter Solberg beat Sébastien Loeb to the championship by a single point.
In 1998 the RAC branding was dropped following corporate restructuring, and the event became known as Rally of Great Britain or Rally GB. The Welsh Government became title sponsor from 2003, cementing the event's Welsh identity as Wales Rally GB. From 2000, all competitive stages were concentrated in South and later North Wales, with service parks at Cardiff and later Deeside near Chester.
The 2005 edition was overshadowed by the death of co-driver Michael Park after a crash on the Margam Park stage. The final Wales Rally GB ran in 2019. The 2020 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Welsh Government withdrew sponsorship, effectively ending the event. Subsequent attempts to replace it with a Rally UK or Rally Northern Ireland did not result in an event on the WRC calendar, and Rally GB was absent from the 2022 through 2026 seasons. A resurrection as Rally Scotland was announced for the 2027 season.
Scandinavian drivers built a remarkable record in British forests. Erik Carlsson of Sweden won three consecutive editions from 1960 to 1962 in a Saab 96. Of the drivers to win three or more times, five have been Swedes, Finns, or Norwegians. The record of five wins belongs to Sébastien Ogier (2013–2016 and 2018), who surpassed Hannu Mikkola and Petter Solberg.