DATE SWITCH AND EXPANSION FOR CASTLE COMBE RALLYDAY
Wiltshire showpiece bosses are looking at alternative date to celebrate its 20th anniversary meeting
Rallyday could move to early summer and run to a two-day format next season as the event plans to combine its own 20th birthday celebrations with the 25th anniversary of
Colin Mcrae’s World Rally Championship title.
Rallyday started life running in May then moved to its autumn date, but organiser of the Castle Combe event Tom Davis told Motorsport News a change of date is under “serious consideration” for 2020.
Davis said: “We’re looking at all options. We’re keen to see the WRC calendar so we can get our ducks in a row and bring some of the current WRC teams here next season. We’ve got a lot to celebrate [with 2020] being the 20th running of Rallyday and, of course, it’s 25 years since Britain’s first World Rally Champion Colin Mcrae.
“We’ve always had a close affiliation with the Mcrae family and it was an honour and privilege to have three generations of them (Jimmy, Alister and Alister’s son Max) with us and we want to mark 1995 in the right fashion.”
On turning Rallyday into Rallydays, Davis added: “The two-day idea is something we’ve considered for a few years now. We’re very aware that we have a lot of action to fit into a single day. Again, we’re thinking about all options. The one thing we will do is make decisions very early – we will have the format and date out in the next few weeks.”
As well as the Mcraes, Craig Breen and Didier Auriol starred at Saturday’s event, which was watched by one of the biggest crowds yet.
Auriol admitted he’d been surprised by his first visit, saying: “I didn’t expect so many good cars. Of course, I know Rallyday and the reputation of this event, so I knew it would be good – but not this good! And the people, it’s amazing. Miki Biasion came last year and he told me what a friendly event it was and it’s right. There are so many people coming and talking about when I drove the Corolla or the Lancia on the RAC. It’s a great day.”
Davis added: “Didier’s right: Saturday was a good one with so much to see, so many stars and so many cars.”