Race Retro was held at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry, United Kingdom on 24-26th February 2012. This year it pays homage to the race and rallying history of Porsche and the Motorcycling history of Honda Racing Corporation (HRC).
The main feature which saw thousands flock to the event, was the Live Rally Stage which was situated just 200 meters from the four exhibition halls. The live rally stage had a line-up of over 50 Group B Rally cars, which included the Porsche 914-6 driven by Bjorn Waldegard. The Classic Porsche is owned by Jay Kay, who made a personal appearance on track.
The various rally cars which performed for the crowd included the Audi Quattro A2, Opal Manta, Renault 5 Turbo, Talbot Sunbeam, Subaru Impreza, Ford Escort MK1 and MK2. Among the array of well know faces were Rally great Bjorn Waldgard and Musician Jay Kay aka Jamiroquai. Jay Kay is quite the car enthusiast and is well know for topping the leaderboard of Top Gear’s ‘Star in a reasonably priced car’. Ex Top Gear presenter Tony Mason was present at the event and commentated the live rally.
The Historic Endure Rallying Organisation (HERO) were giving car enthusiast the chance to drive a rally prepared car for £ 20.00. The four exhibition halls homed various exhibitions ranging from part suppliers, race and event organisers and many classic cars on display. Hall 3 featured the history of HRC where Moto GP presenter Steve Parrish was hosting interviews on stage. Hall 2 was dedicated to the history of Porsche, who are celebrating ‘The Porsche 956 at Thirty’.
[Photos and text by Steven Roe & Jenna Rothen]
