Due to a variety of other commissions and assignments I haven't been able to cover a motorsport event for a while, so when I was asked by Audi UK to cover the FIA World RX of Great Britain at Lydden Hill I jumped at the chance.
This year the sport of rallycross celebrates its 50th anniversary and this was honoured last weekend at Lydden Hill where the first event took place back in 1967. The weekend was also a sad one for Lydden Hill 'The Home of Rallycross', as it marked the last World RX round to be held there.
From 2018 the Great Britain round of the championship moves to a newly built track at Silverstone circuit.
As this was my first visit to Lydden Hill, and indeed my first experience of a World RX event, I had a bit to learn and understand before the fast-paced action started on Saturday. Thankfully World RX commentator and old buddy Andrew Coley was on-hand to explain how things work and kept me updated with results via text message over the weekend!
Whilst my allegiance was obviously with the cars my client had racing it became clear from the qualifying races on Saturday that Petter Solberg would take some beating. With four qualifying races and two semi-finals completed Petter did go on to win the final and stand on the top-step of the podium on Sunday afternoon - his first World RX win in over a year.
I thoroughly enjoyed my World RX experience, learnt a lot and would probably do a few things differently the next time I cover a round of the championship - something I hope I get the opportunity to do again soon!
A few images from the weekend - click a thumbnail for a larger view.
