Wales Rally GB

21 students and 3 staff left Reaseheath at 6:30am last Friday for the World Rally Championships final round, being held in North Wales.  Arriving at the Dyfnant Forest stage near Lake Vyrnwy in the morning mist was a precursor to an action packed day.

As we arrived early we chose to start the day with bacon butties for all, cooked on the trusty Student Services BBQ. This gave us all a hearty start to a 2 ½ mile walk along the route of the race to a tight and twisty section where we watched the morning action. Several students later chose a slightly higher vantage point as stones thrown up by the passing cars threatened expensive dental work.

After the WRC cars passed through we all walked a mile back towards the minibuses as the fog came down. For the National Rally we stood along a very high speed gravel section and watched everything from brand new Evo’s to 1970’s Ford Escort RS2000’s. We were all amazed to see some fantastically spirited driving of these older machines and many were faster through the stage than modern rally cars with 4 wheel drive.

Lunch time saw a return to the minibuses for a headcount and more BBQ food. At 3:30 we all headed back to the track and watched the WRC cars come through for a second time as the rain came and darkness fell. The highlight of the day was watching World Champion, Sebastian Loeb literally fly through the stage at impossible speed at the head of the field with headlights blazing.

All the students set an exemplary example for behaviour and we are all looking forward to better weather for our return trip next year!