McRae Rally Challenge, Knockhill, 16/17 May …
Alongside the McRae Rally Challenge event at May’s motor rallying festival at Knockhill there will be a celebration of the excesses of the 1980s when big power and big wings provided the big spectacle in world rallying.
This was a time of “more of everything”, and car manufacturers plus race and rally teams responded with some of the most fearsomely powered machinery ever seen on track and stage. In Formula 1 the era of turbochargers, wings and huge tyres created motorised monsters with 1,000hp and more.
Things were not quite so outrageous in rallying, but the desire to win led to the creation of beasts with 600hp. It also made instant ‘superstars’ of any driver who could master such a monster. Names such as Hannu Mikkola, Ari Vatanen, Stig Blomqvist, Walter Rohrl and Juha Kankkunen were instantly revered by rally fans across the world. From the UK, the names of Tony Pond, David Lewellyn, Malcolm Wilson and our own Jim McRae still ring in the ears of rally fans today.
To celebrate those halcyon days, the ‘McRae Rally Challenge’ supported by Beatsons’ Building Supplies and EventScotland will host a display of this exotic Group B rally machinery.
Current generation rally cars may lack the fire-spitting raw power of these past automotive brutes, but such is the pace of technological progress that the latest rally machines can match and better the performance of these cars which had twice the power 30 years ago.
That does little to lessen the appeal of these cars of yesteryear and British rally fans will have the chance to get up close and personal to a variety of these machines at the Knockhill event and also get the chance to hear them once more as they indulge in a nostalgic ‘drive-past’ parade around the 1.3 mile Scottish track.
At present, the line-up includes examples of the first of the turbo cars, the Audi Quattro Sport plus a Lancia Delta and Beta, and a Toyota Celica GT4. The display will also feature the iconic MG Metro 6R4 and from Ford, a Sierra Cosworth and RS200. Naturally there will be quite a few Subarus around, and also many Ford Escorts, a Vauxhall Chevette HSR and a Talbot Sunbeam Lotus.
An Added Aural Treat
In amongst the beat of flat-fours there will be the skirl of bagpipes, as Pipe Major Martin Hewins will be attending the event courtesy of the Series McRae Owners Club. Originally, 200 special edition ‘Series McRae’ Subaru Impreza cars were built to celebrate Subaru winning the World Rally Championship title in 1995 and the Owners Club is hoping to gather as many of these iconic cars together as possible at the event in May.
Photo: Freelance Photos North Wales
In the past the Pipe Major performed at many rallies at the request of Colin McRae. Always keen to put on a bit of a show and ‘fly the flag’ Colin invited Pipe Major Hewins to pipe his car on to the Finish ramp at many rounds of the World Rally Championship. He piped and led the way when Colin clinched the World title in Chester in 1995 and led his winning car over the ramp on the 1996 Acropolis Rally in Greece, the 1997 Tour de Corse in Corsica, the 1998 Sanremo Rally in Italy and the 1999 Rally of Portugal amongst many others.
He was also invited to play at a special memorial service prior to the start of the World Rally Championship, Rally Catalunya event in Spain in 2007. It will be good to see and hear the Major again at Knockhill.
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