Rally GB 75th anniversary event brings out historic stagers including ex-mcrae Subaru
Cheshire circuit remembers 75 years of mud, sweat and tears as the Rally GB returns
Adramatic display of cars, encapsulating three quarters of a century of rallying, formed the centrepiece of Rally GB’S visit to Oulton Park. While the Rally had been confined to Wales since 2004, 2019 saw it return to the circuit for the first time since 1993.
Subaru Impreza
Seven-times Olympic cycling medallist-turned-racing driver Sir Chris Hoy took to the track in the Subaru Impreza that Colin Mcrae used to win the 1996 Rally Catalunya. After Catalunya it was sold to a privateer, who campaigned it under a different livery before selling it back to Prodrive in need of an engine rebuild. The car spent many years as a engineless exhibit at Prodrive’s Banbury HQ before being reunited with its newly rebuilt engine as part of a restoration ahead of the event.
‘I’d only driven it for 15 minutes on Tuesday on an airfield in the dry before today,’ said Sir Chris. ‘There was loads of space there so I could play around, and it was all flat so there was very little suspension travel. But today it’s narrow and slippery so there’s no room for error. But I’m sat where Colin sat, driving on a rally stage, and when I push it hard, I start to feel like Colin himself.
‘I’d best be careful with it though. In terms of dynamics, it tends towards understeer in the wet and you have to use the handbrake to get the back end out. The gearbox is wonderful – it’s a dogleg shift pattern and only needs a partial throttle lift as you move through the ratios, so you can make very rapid progress.’
Toyota Celica GT
This recently-restored Celica, a veteran of the RAC Rally and three great Swedish drivers, made its major-show debut at Oulton Park, but it told a tale of uncanny coincidences and bad luck.
Said owner Nick Taylor, ‘It’s a 1979 car, built in Cologne, Germany by Toyota Team Europe for the 1980 World Rally Championship season. Its first event was the Acropolis with Ove Andersson, then the 1000 Lakes. Next Björn Waldegård – reigning World Rally Champion at the time – did the RAC Rally with it, before it was sold to Toyota GB. Per Eklund contested British Rally Championship events with it in 1981 – Mintex, Welsh, Circuit of Ireland, Scottish and Manx. Its final event was the 1982 Mintex.
‘Its highest finish was sixth on the Acropolis, one of the toughest rallies on the calendar, but it doesn’t really reflect its abilities. Waldegård was leading the 1980 RAC until its oil filter fell off in the Lake District. Eklund should have finished on the podium in the 1981 Mintex, but was stopped by the police for speeding, which made him late for the next stage.’ Eklund eventually brought the Celica home in 11th place.
‘It’s a very unusual car – only a dozen were made, and compared to the Escorts, Sunbeams and Chevettes it was up against it wasn’t popular with clubman competitors because Celicas weren’t as wellsupported by specialists,’ explains Nick. ‘I bought it in 1990 with the intention of doing a two-year restoration, but finished it four years ago! It’s had some new body panels, because when I got it, it still wore Eklund’s livery and I felt it would be a shame to respray them. I’ve still got those panels in the garage.’
Singer Nine Coupé
Ray Warland’s Singer was the oldest genuine RAC Rally veteran at the event, but even at that early stage it pointed to a future of production cars heavily modified for rallying.
‘It came third overall and second in class in 1933, then Bob Spikins used it to develop a special, which won the event outright in 1934,’ said Ray.
‘There were no works teams back then, just gentleman amateurs. This has different carburettors, an altered intake manifold and a balanced crankshaft, and other modifications like a mechanism to stop the suicide doors from flying open on tests. They don’t work, by the way, as a scary moment on the motorway attests.
‘It has tyres just two-and-a-half inches wide, but otherwise it was a very good candidate for a rally car, way ahead of its time. It has upsized and vented aluminium hydraulic drum brakes, an overhead-cam engine, a floor-mounted stick-shift and Hartford dampers.’