Wet weather only adds to the Group B fun at Race Retro

Heavy rain and strong winds failed to stop die-hard historic motorsport fans enjoying the live action of the Slowly Sideways Group B rally cars at this year’s Race Retro at Stoneleigh Park. Only adding to the fun, rally legends Markku Alen, Bjorn Waldegard and Russell Brookes thrilled the crowds as they slid around the stage. Following a busy first day, the inclement weather on the Saturday and Sunday did impact visitor numbers. Overall the show was ten per cent down on previous years, which the organisers feel is a good result in the current economic climate.

The feature area dedicated to the use of Biofuels and greener motorsport received a positive response from event organisers and clubs, with a number of leading organisers planning to allow or utilise low level gasoline and ethanol blends in the 08/09 season. Another highlight was the bringing together of Junior Rallying, BTRDA Juniors, Autograss, Minicross, Saxmax and T Cars, to highlight the opportunities for Juniors aged from 12 to 16 years old to compete, a first for the motorsport industry.

This year’s chosen marque, Ford, was celebrated with an exciting display of cars including Colin McRae's Focus, Maurice Gatsonides’ Zephyr and the first Escort to win an international rally - Roger Clark, Circuit of Ireland 1968. Another feature display covering 40 years of the Ford Escort, was sponsored by Retro Ford, included a number of iconic cars: two ex-Hannu Mikkola cars, as well as Latvala’s 2008 car displayed by M-Sport. The Alan Mann racing Escort was also on display.

Bonhams’ auction proved to be one of the best so far this year, with sales exceeding £500,000 and 70 per cent of the lots available being sold, including Bjorn Waldegard’s Ford Escort, which he drove to victory in the East African Safari Rally in December 2007, being sold for £80,000.

The display of competition sidecars at the entrance to Hall 3 was a unique sight, with the current World and British Sidecar Champion Tim Reeves in attendance, along with Steve Webster MBE, ten times champion, and Stan Dibben who raced with Eric Oliver in the 1950s. Outfits from over 50 years were on display. Another motorcycle feature was the Wall of Death, which was immensely popular with visitors of all ages and first appeared in the UK in 1929 and throughout the 1930s with only two left in existence in the UK.

The Ace Café area was again re-created and expanded after its success in 2007 and now included a concours of Café Racers, which was won by Gary Lawrence with a Norvin (Norton/Vincent). The Ace Café was sponsored by Footman James and the Concours Awards by Autoglym. Alongside the Ace Café was the new stage for interviews and celebrity autographs. There were 28 celebrities this year. Malcolm Wilson and Mark Deans, the Head of Ford Motorsport, opened the Show on Friday; the British World Sidecar Champions on Saturday and Markku Alen, Bjorn Waldegard and Russell Brookes for the rally fraternity, on the Sunday.

Event and Series Organisers and Sporting Motor Clubs were out in force and reported strong interest from competitors. Historic Sports Car Club showcased Historic Formula 2 which they took over in 2007 and a new Series for 1000cc F3 cars from the 1960s was launched by Keith Messer. Formula Junior was back from Australia/New Zealand, where it launched a global FJ Series for 2008, in celebration of its Golden Jubilee. A whole range of classic car tours and less competitive rallies had their stands in Hall 1. Of the more well-known public events, Classic Silverstone reported strong interest as did The Rally Show at Chatsworth. Additionally, in the rally area, Historic Endurance Rallying Organisation and The Lombard Rally, which is for standard cars up to 1400cc, reported themselves very pleased with entry enquiries.

Retro Car Sales and enquiries were strong with Proteus, GT40 Supercars, Nostalgia Cars and Tygan very pleased with the level of interest at the show. Lola Cars, celebrating 50 years as the World’s most prolific racing car producer, showcased a T70 Mk III Continuation Car and announced a new series build of the T70 Spyder and Coupe cars, both eligible for vintage and historic racing. Morgan brought the Aeromax from the Geneva show to sit alongside their competition ready Roadster 3.0 V6. The private car sales area also expanded in 2008 and Barry Walker, who only booked space at the last minute, sold an MG J2 and a replica MG K3, which together fetched over £75,000.

The 2009 Race Retro will be held from Friday 13th to Sunday 15th March. To book tickets and for the latest updates, visit raceretro.com