Motorsport UK met with stakeholders in November last year to devise a new strategy to help grow rallying in the UK and promote the discipline to both existing and new audiences. The introduction of a rally festival to showcase the discipline was tabled by by M-Sport-Ford World Rally Championship team principal Richard Millener.
While the concept is in its infancy, the idea is to bring rallying to the public through a showcase of historic and modern vehicles, featuring the current WRC Rally1 cars, and including a competitive stage rally element - held in either an urban environment on closed roads or at a bespoke venue.
“I think it is unrealistic for the public to come to you so you have to take the sport to them,” Motorsport UK CEO Hugh Chambers told Autosport.
“The beauty of it is that if you get a Chatsworth House and its grounds you can put on a wonderful display of Group B rally cars, modern machinery and get some Rally1s there, and some manufacturer involvement, and really have a rally festival a bit like the Chris Evans Car Fest. That is something we are looking at.
“I think we have got to get the population excited about rallying again and find new ways fo doing that.”
The idea isn’t an entirely new prospect and one that follows in the footsteps of the Rallyday event that has proved successful at Castle Combe, while Chatsworth House, a former RAC Rally venue, used to host the Chatsworth Rally Show from 2008-2010.
Source: Autosport