Four thousand fans brushed off the rain to enjoy a spectacular feast of high-speed action at an action-packed rally festival at Weston Park.
Rally legends Stig Blomqvist and Gwyndaf Evans headed a star-studded line up featuring 80 cars at this weekend’s Historic Rally Festival – which brought the sights and sounds of the sport’s golden era back to the stately home on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border.
Fans from across the country flocked to Weston Park, which hosted the service area for the first time giving them a chance to get up close and personal with the stars and their cars,
The event got off to a flying start at Hatton Grange – the private home of the Kenyon-Slaney family – before returning to Weston for the spectacular night stages, live entertainment from the Dirty Rockin Scoundrels and a fantastic fireworks finale.
Jennifer Astbury, Head of Estate Operations at Weston Park, said: “We hope that everyone enjoyed a fantastic weekend of rallying. Weston was home to the iconic Lombard RAC Rally back in the 1980s and 90s and it is always a joy to see these cars from the golden era taking on the stages once more.
“The great British weather was up to its usual tricks but the slippery conditions made for some thrilling action from the drivers and certainly didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the crowds.”
Former rally driver Louise Aitken-Walker joined Howard Davies in the commentary box to form a hugely entertaining double act guiding the spectators through all the action.
Warner Lewis, from organisers Rallying History, said: “We secured the best line-up of iconic cars for this year’s event representing every era of rallying and are very pleased to see the event grow from strength to strength.
“It was a shame that we lost two stages due to the weather but the safety of everyone must come first.”
Mr Lewis said the organisers had also presented a cheque £1,500 to Midlands Air Ambulance at the event.
