Rally cars will return to Haigh this Sunday, 40 years after Group B cars competed there as part of the Lombard RAC Rally.
The North-West Rally Legends show takes place on Sunday, August 16, with around 40 rally cars expected to be on display at Haigh Barn and a number of cars taking part in demonstration runs at Haigh Country Park. Wigan & District Motor Club is involved in organising the event. The club has been meeting since 1973, with its members involved in various forms of motorsport.
Dayle Traynor, from Wigan & District Motor Club, said the main static rally show will open at Haigh Barn at 10am.
He said: “At 11am, around 20 demonstration cars will leave the venue and drive into Wigan Town Centre, where they’ll be ceremonially flagged away by the Mayor.
“They’ll then head into Haigh Country Park for two live rally demonstration runs, before returning to the main show.”
The cars will also pass through the recently restored Plantation Gates at Haigh, providing a chance to see and photograph them at one of the park’s best-known entrances.
This year’s event marks 40 years since Group B rally cars competed through Haigh Hall as part of the Lombard RAC Rally. The Group B era was a significant period in rallying during the 1980s, before the regulations were discontinued at the end of 1986
If you just want to watch the rally action at Haigh Hall you don’t need to buy a ticket, as the demonstration runs are free to watch, but tickets for the main rally show at Haigh Barn cost £5 per person.
A free shuttle bus will run between the main rally show and Haigh, allowing visitors to travel between the static display at Haigh Barn and the rally action at Haigh Hall.
The main show is expected to finish at around 4pm.
Dayle, who is from Wigan, has his own long involvement in rallying. He is visually impaired and has competed as a rally co-driver on more than 70 rallies over the years. He said Sunday should be “a brilliant day for Wigan” and “a nice chance to recreate a bit of local motorsport history 40 years on”.
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