| Billed by Wales Rally GB organisers as ‘The Millennium Job,’ visitors will enjoy a mouthwatering demonstration of bravery and skill on four wheels, performed by five-times British Auto Test champion, Paul Swift and his team, filling the stadium with cars, lights and action. ‘The Millennium Job’ is just one element of the entertainment programme planned to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Wales Rally GB, formerly the Rally of Great Britain.
As rallying stars from across the globe gather beneath the stadium in preparation, spectators will also be taken on a high-speed ride through the event’s history from the very first running in Torquay in 1932 to Cardiff in 2007. Amongst the iconic cars of the past there will even be a 1932 Lanchester identical to the car in which Colonel A H Loughborough won the very first running.
“As the final round of both the World and British Rally Championships, this is one of the most exhilarating events in the UK sporting calendar,” enthused Wales Rally GB’s Chief Executive Andrew Coe. “This year will be particularly special with all the celebrations to mark the event’s 75th anniversary, and we have gone all out to create a night to be remembered by every rally fan.”
“However, the focus of evening is still very much on the competitive challenge that this stage will present,” continued Coe, “not least because the result of the last few World Rally Championship battles sees just 6 points separating current leader Marcus Grönholm and reigning champion Sébastien Loeb. On Saturday evening, all eyes will be on the Millennium Stadium for the penultimate day of what is increasingly looking like one of the closest World Championship finale in years.”
The entertainment at Wales Rally GB’s Millennium Stadium will start at 18.00 on Saturday 1 December. Tickets are on sale from just £15 per adult or £5 for children aged 15 or under from the ticket hotline 0870 060 1764 or http://www.walesrallygb.com/
Ends. For more information or photography, please contact Carina Hill, St John White or Richard Postins at Prova on 01926 776900.
Notes for Journalists:
This year's Wales Rally GB will be the 75th Anniversary of the event.
Since its inception in 1932 the rally has been run 62 times; this year’s event will be the 63rd edition. Enforced stoppages have included World War 2, Suez Crisis (1957) and Foot and Mouth (1967).
No “Overall Classification” was produced until 1953 when the event finished in Hastings and was won by Yorkshire husband-and-wife Team Ian and Pat Appleyard in a Jaguar XK120.
Wales Rally GB is the British and final round of the 16-round FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). It is one of only six events that have retained their unbroken World Championship status since the WRC was established in 1973.
Cardiff first hosted the event in 2000 and the Welsh Assembly Government has supported the event since 2003.
WRGB is the sixth and final round of the Tesco 99 Octane British Rally Championship and the final round of the FIA Production World Rally Championship.
Wales Rally GB is held annually and is the UK’s biggest motor sport event. It is organised and promoted by International Motor Sports Ltd (IMS), the commercial arm of the Berkshire-based Motor Sports Association (MSA), the governing body for all UK motor sport.
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