Wales Rally GB is the UK round of the FIA World Rally Championship and this year the event will be marking a momentous milestone, as it will be the 75th time the UK’s premier rally has been run. Other than being postponed during the Second World War between 1939-50, the Suez Crisis in 1959 and an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in 1967, the Welsh Rally GB has been held every year since an inaugural official RAC round Britain rally was held back in 1932.
This event took its lead from the Monte Carlo, with crews and their cars setting off from all points in the UK on a gruelling 1000-mile route bound for Torquay on the English Riviera. Although the inaugural RAC rally didn’t have the cache of the Monte, Colonel A.H. Loughborough driving a Lanchester 15/18 recorded the lowest number of penalty points on all the stages and was declared the winner.
The UK’s round of the WRC has been titled Wales Rally GB for the past 17 years since the Welsh Government became principal funding partner in 2003. This year the Wales Rally GB takes place on October 3-6 and will start with a spectacular evening stage at the Oulton Park circuit near Chester.
A special showcase of some of the principal rally cars from past generations will also be on show at Oulton and will include a display of significant Ford Escorts, Group B monster machines and some of victorious cars piloted by rally heroes such as Colin McRae and Richard Burns. For more information, visit www.walesrallygb.com.
