This Saturday (4th November) sees Prescott Hill Climb playing host to the third running of its unique event, Rallye Prescott. Celebrating rally cars and drivers through the years, The Bugatti Owners’ Club organised event will follow the same format as last year with competitors taking two runs in the daytime followed by two runs with lights.
A bumper entry list features examples of many of the most iconic cars from rallying through the years along with an array of the fastest current day machinery.
The Austin Healey 3000 was a regular contender on the world’s leading rallies from the late 50s through to the mid 1960s in the hands of drivers such as Pat Moss, sister of Stirling, co-driven by Ann Wisdom, along with others such as Davie Siegle Morris and original “Flying Finn” Timo Makinen. Leslie McGuffog will be tackling Prescott this weekend in his Mark 2 version of the beautiful sports car.
Timo Makinen was also synonymous with the original Mini, taking the Mini Cooper S to wins over far more powerful machines on the Monte Carlo rally in both 1965 and 1967 but it was Paddy Hopkirk who took the car to its first victory on the legendary event in 1964, beating, amongst other rivals, a V8 powered Ford Falcon.
A whole array of the classic British cars will be in action on Saturday competing against, among others, two diminutive rear-engined rivals from back in the day, the Hillman Imp of Ian Moss and the Fiat Abarth 695SS driven by Leigh Carter and David Fripp. Another rear-engined machine in action will be the Renault Alpine A110 of Charles Reynolds.
The Volvo P1800 was not only the sports car driven by “The Saint” in the 1960s TV series , it also enjoyed a successful rallying career and Simon Firth-Bernard will be out in his example on Saturday.
Arguably the most successful rally car of all time is the Ford Escort in its various guises and there will be examples of both the Mark 1 and Mark 2 versions along with the later Escort Cosworth in action with light ablaze later in the day. Some of these also sport the liveries that they appeared in at the time such as the Rothmans liveried Mark 2 and the Repsol liveries Escort WRC.
The era of the super powerful Group B machinery will be represented by both the fabulous Lancia 037 and the Ford RS200 while a whole host of super successful Subaru Imprezas will be up against their rival, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, including one previously driven by former world rally champion Tommi Makinen.
The day won’t all be about the rally machinery of the past, however, with a number of examples of the current generation of cars also in action. Will Nicholls will be out in his R5 specification Ford Fiesta as will former UK national Rally Champion Roger Duckworth. Meanwhile former British Hillclimb champion Roger Moran will be sharing his Skoda R5 not only with son Scott Moran, a six times British Hillclimb Champion, but also with multiple British Autotest champion and Guinness World Record holder Alastair Moffatt.
The action on Saturday will get underway at 10am and run through to 8pm. Early bird admission is available for £18 up until November 3rd with accompanied children under 16 and carers admitted free of charge.
As ever, a full range of refreshments and meals will be available at the Prescott Clubhouse and various outlets around the Hill.
EVENT TIMETABLE
Friday 3rd November
1300hrs - Paddock and Orchard opens
1800hrs - Clubhouse opens
2000hrs - Paddock closes
Clubhouse open till late for food and drinks
Saturday 4th November
08:30 – Paddock Access Opens
09:15 – Scrutineering Commences
10:20 – Earliest Engines Can Be Started
10:30 – Practice Commences (Daylight)
12:00 – Competition Run Commence (Daylight)
Break for Lunch
15:00 – 16:00
16:00 – Practice Commences (Darkness)
17:30 – Competition Runs Commence (Darkness)
19:30 – End of Event
Awards presentation will be held in the Clubhouse once results have been declared final.
CLUBHOUSE MENU
Friday 3rd November (Dinner 6pm - 8pm, Bar open till late)
Lancashire hotpot served with minted peas £11
Veggie hotpot served with peas £10
Saturday 4th November
Breakfast Served 08:30 to 11:00
Full English Breakfast - £12.45
Breakfast Baps - £4.75
Pastries £2.40
Hot Lunch Served from 13:00 to 16:00
Beef Goulash with Garlic & Thyme Roasted New Potatoes - £11
Southern Fried Chicken with Skin on Fries and Slaw - £11.50
Mushroom Stroganoff with Braised Rice - £10
Sandwiches - £4.50
Evening Meal Served 18:00-20:00
Local Sausage, Creamy Mash & Onion Gravy – £11
Vegetarian Pie with Creamy Mash and Gravy – £10
Plus find our regular guest food outlets throughout the site, including Belistore and the ever popular ice cream vans!
