At the 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed, to be held 2-4 July, the forest on the hillside above Goodwood House will echo to the sound of both historic and modern rally cars as the Festival showcases the greatest loose-surface driving on its exciting Forest Rally Stage.
With no date conflict with the World Rally Championship or Intercontinental Rally Challenge, plans are afoot to bring many of the protagonists of the modern sport to the event once more. Citroen and Peugeot have already confirmed their attendance, with the cars due to be driven in anger by reigning IRC champion Kris Meeke in a Peugeot 207. Sebastien Loeb is expected to attend also but confirmation is awaited. American sensation and Goodwood rookie Ken Block is also due to be screaming around in his 800 bhp+ Ford Fiesta.
This year marks 50 years since rally cars took to the forests of Britain for the first time on the RAC Rally. This event, the forerunner of today’s Rally GB, quickly became an all-time classic, ranking alongside the Monte Carlo, Safari and 1000 Lakes as the most prestigious on the calendar. This year the Forest Rally Stage will celebrate the rich history of the RAC, with a sensational gathering of cars and drivers, including many former winners.
Around 50 cars will tackle the stage throughout all three days of the event, ranging from early Sixties favourites like the Saab 96 and Mini Cooper S, to the ubiquitous Ford Escort and Lancia Stratos of the 1970s, awesome fire-breathing Group B monsters like the Audi Quattro S1 (the pioneering Audi marking its 30th anniversary this year), Peugeot 205 T16, MG Metro 6R4 and Ford RS200, and the ultra high-tech machines of today.
In action in these iconic cars will be rallying legends including RAC winners Rauno Aaltonen, Markku Alen and Petter Solberg, and British rally legends Russell Brookes and Jimmy McRae.
The Earl of March says, ‘I am delighted at the enthusiasm shown for the Forest Rally Stage since it was introduced in 2005. It had long been an ambition of mine to get exciting and little-seen rally cars performing in their natural environment, and the course, designed by the great Hannu Mikkola, has created a wonderful stage on which to marvel at some of the very best and most spectacular driving that motor sport has to offer.”
For more information, contact the Ticket Hotline at +44 1243 755055 or visit www.goodwood.com.
[Source: Goodwood]
