THE FULL MONTE
RALLYE MONTE CARLO HISTORIQUE/CLASSIQUE START, PAISLEY, RENFREWSHIRE, 25 JANUARY Thousands line the streets at Paisley for a spectacular classic rally start
For the fourth year in succession, the streets around Paisley Abbey reverberated to the sound of classic car engines as 80 vehicles departed from the UK’s jump-off point for the Rallye Monte Carlo on Burns Night.
Provost Anne Hall flagged off the first of the entrants – the 1978 Opel Kadett GTE crewed by father and son team Gordon and David Glen – in the competitive Historique category in front of a 10,000-strong crowd, prompting a colourful display of pyrotechnics.
Time will tell whether Gordon and David can replicate the form they showed last year, when they rivalled the crew that ultimately took victory. Gordon is joined on the Historique by his cousin David in a genuine factory X-Pack Ford Escort RS 2000.
Other crews competing for honours include Michael Hyrons and Patrick Haley in the Mini Cooper S that Paddy Hopkirk took to sixth place in the 1967 Monte.
Entrants for the noncompetitive Classique category include the 1952 MG YB in which Gregor Grant, founder of
Autosport magazine, competed in the 1954 Monte.
The Monaco-bound entrants were followed over the ramp by 60 classic cars participating in local heritage runs, including a Ford Capri 3100 RS, a Clan Crusader powered by a BMW motorbike engine and a replica of an Opel Ascona 400.
Provost Hall and UK event organiser Douglas Anderson praised the public and entrants alike for the way that they have embraced this historic event and the cars taking part. And, according to Douglas, it seems likely that the Monte will return to Paisley in 2018. David Milloy