Classic car rallies back on
Historic vehicle rallies are slowly making a comeback across the country. A total of 80 cars took part in the Welland Valley Wander for Leicestershire charity LOROS on 16 August, while Bespoke Rallies is running the Highland 1000 on 23-27 September, starting and finishing in Falkirk; it’s being billed as the UK’s first cross-country touring rally for classics. Meanwhile, Rally the Globe’s Highland Thistle rally is planned to go ahead on 4-9 October, an event that is open to all cars built before 31 December 1976.
As lockdown restrictions ease for outdoor events and stop overs, a need to exercise historic vehicles has resurfaced. Bespoke Rallies director, John Brigden, told Classic Car Weekly: ‘With pent-up demand to return to the road and have some fun, we have experienced a clamour for entries.’
However, other event organisers have elected to wait until 2021 before starting tours in earnest again. Laurance Laver of Classic Road Trips (CRT) explained why its Wessex Grand Tour, scheduled to take place in October this year, has had to be cancelled. He said: ‘We have no idea what autumn is going to be like and we can always do it another year.’
CRT already has seven dates planned for 2021 ranging from one night in the Yorkshire Dales to a 13-date tour covering Geneva, St Bernadino, Monza Classic,
Stelvio and a return run to the UK via the German autobahns.
Tom McCooey
❚ classicroadtrips.co.uk/roadtrips.php
❚ bespokerallies.com
❚ rallytheglobe.com