After the furious fighting frenzy of last weekend’s Jim Clark and
Reivers Rallies at Duns, this weekend sees a more ‘gentle’ approach to the
sport of rallying with Drumlanrig Castle hosting their first ever Lombard Rally
Festival. That’s not to say that Drumlanrig knows nothing about rallying,
because the estate has actually hosted some competitive single-venue rallies in
the past.
However
this coming weekend, Saturday and Sunday 30th and 31st May, the organisers of
the annual and hugely successful ‘Lombard Bath Rally Festival’, and other such
festivals around the country, are coming to Dumfries & Galloway with their
rally road show.
Mixing
rally stars from past and present with rally cars from past and present, this
exciting spectacle will feature a variety of front wheel, rear wheel and four
wheel drive cars driven by current and past drivers on the specially designed ‘Rally
Stage’ within the castle grounds.
The
organisers of these festivals always have a few surprises up their sleeves and
who knows what will be on the menu this weekend. From a three cylinder, one
litre Volkswagen CitiGo to an eight cylinder, 6 litre Vauxhall Firenza – just don’t
stand near the exhaust when the big beast gets fired up!
The
big attraction of an event such as this is that spectators can get up close to
the drivers and cars and find out what the sport is all about. Amongst the
entry list are some Ecosse Junior 1000 rally cars. These cars are used in the
14 to 17 year old young driver category and provides the ideal first step into
the sport even if the youngster isn’t yet old enough to hold a driving licence.
Once the road licence age has been reached, the next step up might involve one
of the various one-make challenges, like the more budget friendly MG3 Challenge,
where modifications are limited and the competition is closer. And there should
be a couple of these cars at Drumlanrig this weekend.
However,
it is the ‘big bangers’ which will attract most attention from Ford Escorts and
Subaru Imprezas, to an MG Metro 6R4 and Ford RS200, and keep a special eye out
for one car in particular – it has two engines, one at the back and one at the
front!
And
although this isn’t a proper rally as such, just don’t try and tell any of the
drivers that, once the green light signals ‘Go’ you can bet your little racing
booties that it will be foot to the floor all the way. Just stand well back.
And on that note, although spectators are welcome please listen to and adhere
to the Marshals’ instructions.
And
if you do want any more information on Scottish rallying you could always stop
by the ‘Book-tique’ and buy a copy of the ‘Scottish Rally Championship’ books
which will provide some entertaining and educational insight into the sport in
Scotland, with info and photos on a young Colin McRae’s career amongst others.
For
more information on the event, see Facebook page:
FB page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61580768099138
