Locals will join the first historic rally demonstration at Craufurdland Castle later this year.
Scotland’s first antique rally car demonstration will take place at Craufurdland Castle when local drivers participate in the Lombard Rally Festival.
From August 31 to September 1, more than fifty ancient rally cars will be on display in East Ayrshire’s Lombard Rally Festival, which is set up like a vintage rally stage.
“There is a growing interest in historic rally cars, and the group of such cars that are often now unable to be rallied competitively,” stated Tim Nash, the event organiser. They are too valuable to be rallied, their owners don’t want to harm them since new components are hard to come by, or they don’t fit the UK’s current rules.
The events, which we have been holding throughout the UK since 2018, bring back memories of a time when the Lombard RAC Rally, which took place across the country, was the most popular athletic event there.
“Over the Thanksgiving weekend, more people attended than saw all of the football league games combined throughout the season. A variety of vintage rally cars will be on display at Craufurdland Castle, which is situated on the outskirts of Kilmarnock. The route has a combination of pavement and gravel surfaces. During that time, this kind of location was utilised so that onlookers could watch the rally in action without having to make the more difficult walk through a forest.
“As organisers we are delighted to have so much interest from local drivers.”
Jonathan Young, a managing director of the family-run company Scotseats and a driver from Fenwick, is among the local drivers attending the event.
In the Volvo Amazon he drives to the Craufurdland Rally Festival, Jonathan participated in the 2016 Monte Carlo Historique Rally.
When he was younger, he raced quads before switching to a Westfield, where he went on to win national championships before competing in the European Touring Championship at its height.
Tom Blackwood, a Stewarton businessman and auto enthusiast, will be driving his WRC Escort, one of just two vehicles produced with right-hand drive.
In the past, Tom sponsored Andy Gallagher, who won the Scottish Rally Championship and Wales Rally GB in Tom’s WRC Ford Focus, and he also drove a top-spec Ford Fiesta R5+.
Fraser McCurdie, an Ayr HGV driver, participated in sprint racing for many years in his Rover Mini, which was modified to add more power by installing a BMW bike cylinder head on a Mini engine.
Fraser then began rallying two years ago, but he hopes that the car’s dependability problems are now behind him.
Kenny Blair, a local company owner, began rallying in a Lotus Sunbeam in the mid-1990s and eventually moved on to a Ford Escort Cosworth. Life took over until he started rallying again in 2018 in a different Sunbeam, soon switching between a Subaru, a Mitsubishi Evo7, and a Skoda Fabia Evo.
At Craufurdland Castle, he is now taking a step back to focus on his daughter April’s rally trip while driving a historic Ford Sapphire Cosworth.
April, Kenny’s 13-year-old daughter, has an extreme dislike for anything on wheels ever since she got her first quad at age 3. Ten years later, she is getting ready to drive a VW UP in the Junior 1000 Ecosse rally championship in 2024.
April Blair is beginning her motorsport experience, and Kenny is happy that she gets to participate at the same location while entertaining spectators at a local event.
Tim remarked, “It’s wonderful to see girls take the lead in rallying—there aren’t nearly enough women doing it these days. The organisers are happy to draw attention to the junior drivers and hope that by doing so, the older drivers, who have a wealth of knowledge, can teach the younger ones a thing or two.”
Former champion rally drivers from Scandinavia and Scotland will also make an appearance at the East Ayrshire event, where they will drive vehicles replicating their competitive era and share some anecdotes about their rallying exploits.
The organisers will shortly make the champion guests public. Early bird tickets can be bought here through February 29.
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