A FANTASMAGORICAL CHITTY THEMED OCTOBER HALF-TERM AT BEAULIEU

A FANTASMAGORICAL CHITTY THEMED OCTOBER HALF-TERM AT BEAULIEU

There will be fantasmagorical Chitty-themed fun this October half-term at Beaulieu with activities to celebrate the much-loved musical film and a last chance to see the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 50 years exhibition.

A Chitty trail will lead visitors around the attraction from October 27th - November 3rd, where they can hear storytelling in Palace House and join in with Chitty themed crafts.

A Chitty reconstruction can be seen in action as it is driven around the grounds of the attraction and a set of cards collected from Living History characters around the site.

It is also the final opportunity to see the Chitty exhibition in the National Motor Museum, which includes an original screen Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the Humber 8hp driven by Truly Scrumptious, Lord Scrumptious’ rare Austro-Daimler 27/80 Prince Henry, the original Child Catcher carriage, the wonderfully inventive machines of Rowland Emett, original film artwork and Chitty memorabilia.

To start the holidays with a bang, Beaulieu’s Fireworks Spectacular on Saturday October 26th will celebrate its 50th anniversary with an Out of this World theme for the half-centenary of the first moon landing.

Choreographed to amazing music, the display is one of the largest in the south. The event will also feature a range of entertainment for all the family, with traditional fairground rides and the Wave 105 music stage. Admission to the event is from 3pm, with the display starting at 7.30pm. For tickets and details see www.beaulieu.co.uk/events.

Chitty October half-term activities are included in a general admission ticket to Beaulieu, which includes entry to the National Motor Museum, World of Top Gearfeaturing new cars from the latest series, On Screen Cars, Palace House, the Secret Army exhibition, Beaulieu Abbey and the grounds and gardens. Tickets can be bought in advance online. For tickets and details see www.beaulieu.co.uk or call 01590 612345.

Half-term visitors will also be given a free DVD or CD of the Chitty Chitty Bang Bangstage show when they spend £5 or more in the Beaulieu gift shops. One DVD or CD will be offered per transaction, subject to availability.

BEAULIEU’S 50TH FIREWORKS SPECTACULAR CELEBRATES FIRST MOON LANDING

BEAULIEU’S 50TH FIREWORKS SPECTACULAR CELEBRATES FIRST MOON LANDING

Beaulieu’s 50th Fireworks Spectacular will take you Out of this World on Saturday 26thOctober when the event celebrates the anniversary of the first moon landing.

Beaulieu’s first fireworks event was held in the same year as the lunar landing of Apollo 11 and so the half-centenary event will be choreographed to an impressive space-themed playlist.

In association with Wave 105, Fireworks Spectacular will start half-term holidays with a bang, with entertainment for all of the family at one of the biggest fireworks displays in the south. 

Event-goers can arrive early from 3pm to enjoy all of the features of the Beaulieu attraction, including the National Motor Museum, Palace House and Beaulieu Abbey. Traditional fairground rides will include a big wheel and popular gallopers, children’s swing boats and a coconut shy, while rides on the Monorail will be offered into the evening.*

From 7pm on the Wave 105 stage, radio presenters will get the evening off to a dynamic start with live entertainment running before and after the fireworks. The fireworks display will get underway at approximately 7.30pm and hot food and drinks are available inside and out.

Tickets can be bought in advance online before 5pm on October 24th, at £13.50 an adult, £8.75 a child and £38 a family. Tickets can also be bought on arrival from 3pm on October 26th. For tickets or more details see https://www.beaulieu.co.uk/events/beaulieu-fireworks/ or call 01590 612888.

Visitors with general attraction Beaulieu tickets who arrive earlier in the day are welcome to stay and enjoy the fireworks, while entry with event tickets is from 3pm.

Event admission also includes entry to the Beaulieu attraction until 5pm, with the exception of World of Top Gear which closes at 3pm. The National Motor Museum, with its Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 50 years exhibition, will stay open until 9.30pm.

* Old time fairground and monorail rides are subject to availability and will be offered at good-value extra charges.

WALES RALLY GB TO CELEBRATE MOMENTOUS 75TH MILESTONE

WALES RALLY GB TO CELEBRATE MOMENTOUS 75TH MILESTONE

Col Loughborough winner of the 1932 RAC Rally

This year’s Wales Rally GB (3-6 October) will be the 75th running of the globally renowned event – a significant milestone that will be celebrated in style when the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) arrives in the UK this autumn.

A special showcase featuring many of the stand-out cars from past generations will be one of the highlights at Thursday evening’s spectacular opening competitive stage at the popular Oulton Park circuit near Chester.

The celebratory display will include many icons from previous eras including significant Ford Escorts, Group B machines and victorious cars rallied by British heroes Colin McRae and Richard Burns.

Illustrating the rally’s remarkable history, the collection will provide visitors with an engaging insight into the sport’s evolution over time, whetting appetites for the arrival of the latest generation of WRC stars and cars – the fastest and most impressive machines ever to set wheels in the forests.

Back in 1932, the inaugural Royal Automobile Club Rally took its lead from the Monte Carlo Rally with crews driving standard road cars setting off from nine different towns and cities all bound for Torquay on the English Riviera via a variety of 1000-mile routes, each one with four control points. No fewer than 342 competitors entered and the £25 prize for having recorded the lowest number of penalty points was awarded to Colonel A. H. Loughborough driving a Lanchester 15/18.

Motor Sport magazine reported: “People with the knowledge and experience of the Monte Carlo Rally may, perhaps, have regarded the R.A.C event as a meek and mediocre counterpart of the former, but as a preliminary effort there can be no denying the fact that it was a great success. It showed that British motorists are really keen to indulge in motoring fixtures when the opportunity occurs provided they are organised by a competent body.”

Though there was a break in the action following the outbreak of the Second World War and again in 1957 for the Suez Crisis, the RAC Rally followed a similar format, albeit with the introduction of more competitive tests, until the start of the sixties when Scandinavian style off-road forest stages were first introduced – a move which cemented the rally’s reputation as one of the most challenging and respected on the calendar.

In 1973, the event’s international repute earned it a founding position in the newly created FIA World Rally Championship and, together with Finland, remains one of only two rounds that have featured on every year’s WRC roster ever since.

The switch to gravel tracks in the forests and a wintry, end-of-season slot on the schedule resulted in 30 years of Nordic success only interrupted by Roger Clark’s two home wins in 1972 and 1976.

In more recent times, though, the victories have been shared more widely with further home-grown winners Colin McRae (1994, 1995 and 1997), Richard Burns (1998, 1999 and 2000) and most recently Elfyn Evans in 2017. Coming 25 years ago, the first of McRae’s victories was in the 50th running of the event.

The UK’s premier rally has also seen several title changes over its long history with the advent of title sponsorship from commercial partners such as Lombard, Network Q and Dayinsure. The UK’s round of the WRC has been titled Wales Rally GB for the past 17 years since the Welsh Government became principal funding partner in 2003.

“Only the Monte Carlo Rally can boast a longer or richer pedigree than Rally GB and only Finland has also retained a place on every World Rally Championship calendar – it’s this incredible esteem and heritage which make this historic event, in all its guises, so special,” remarked Hugh Chambers, CEO of Motorsport UK, organiser of Wales Rally GB. “While continuing to innovate and keeping the event fresh for both competitors and visitors, we are proud of the rally’s unique place in the sport’s history and will be celebrating that with this special 75th anniversary showcase at Oulton Park in October.”

Adult tickets to the opening Oulton Park Special Stage on Thursday are priced at just £25 and must be purchased in advance – grandstand seats are also available as well as a hospitality upgrade for those seeking the ultimate entertainment experience. Children aged 15 and under enjoy free admittance.

Full details of these – as well as a wide choice of tickets for the 21 Special Stages that follow on Friday, Saturday and Sunday – can be found on the walesrallygb.com website.

RALLY GB MILESTONES

1932 Inaugural Royal Automobile Club Rally finishing in Torquay

1933 First female RAC Rally winner: Miss Kitty Brunell

1940-50 RAC Rally not staged following outbreak of World War 2

1951 RAC Rally re-introduced based in Bournemouth

1953 Ian Appleyard wins his second RAC Rally in Jaguar XK120

1957 RAC Rally cancelled due to the Suez Crisis

1960 First forest competitive section successfully introduced in Scotland

1961 Multiple forest stages introduced around the country

1962 Erik Carlsson completes a hat-trick of wins in Saab 96

1965 Rauno Aaltonen gives the Mini its only RAC Rally triumph

1966 Entries from two F1 World Champions Graham Hill (Mini) and Jim Clark (Lotus Cortina)

1967 Rally cancelled due to foot-and-mouth disease

1970-73 Title sponsorship from the Daily Mirror

1971 Fan-friendly Spectator Stages first introduced at Harewood House

1972 Roger Clark becomes the first British driver to win since switch to forest event

1973 Rally GB included in the first FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers

1974-92 Title sponsorship from Lombard

1975 Timo Mäkinen completes a hat-trick of wins in dominant Ford Escort era

1976 Second victory for Roger Clark who becomes first British winner of a WRC round

1979 RAC Rally included in first FIA Drivers’ World Championship

1980 Henri Toivonen becomes final driver to win in 2wd car (Talbot Sunbeam Lotus)

1982 Hannu Mikkola becomes the first four-time Rally GB winner

1986 RAC Rally was final European round for Group B cars

1993-2002 Title sponsorship from Network Q

1994 50th running of RAC Rally; Colin McRae becomes first British winner for 18 years

1995 Colin McRae wins and is crowned as Britain’s first World Rally Champion

1997 Colin McRae wins his third Rally GB

2000 Richard Burns completes a hat-trick of Rally GB victories

2000 Rally GB moves to Cardiff with all 17 stages in Wales

2001 Richard Burns finishes third and is crowned as England’s first World Rally Champion

2003 Welsh Government becomes principal funding partner

2005 Petter Solberg/Phill Mills win for a fourth consecutive

2013 Rally moves to new home in Deeside, north Wales

2016-18 Title sponsorship from Dayinsure

2017 Elfyn Evans becomes first Welsh driver to win a WRC round

2018 Llandudno stages first world championship motor sport on closed public roads in the UK

2018 Sébastien Ogier becomes first fifth-time winner

2019 Milestone 75th running of Rally GB

RALLY GB MULTIPLE WINNERS: DRIVERS

5		Sébastien Ogier
4		Hannu Mikkola Petter Solberg
3		Erik Carlsson Richard Burns Juha Kankkunen Sébastien Loeb Timo Mäkinen Colin McRae
2.		Ian Appleyard Stig Blomqvist Roger Clark Marcus Gronholm Jack Harrop Harry Källström Jari-Matti Latvala Carlos Sainz Henri Toivonen Tom Trana

RALLY GB MULTIPLE WINNERS: MANUFACTURERS

15		Ford
9		Subaru
6		Lancia
5		Saab
4		Jaguar Toyota VW
3		Audi Citroën Peugeot
2		Mitsubishi Volvo

THE ULTIMATE ITALIAN JOB TOUR TO COMMEMORATE THE MOVIE’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY

Source:

THE ULTIMATE ITALIAN JOB TOUR TO COMMEMORATE THE MOVIE’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY

Classic car owners are being invited to commemorate the 50th anniversary of The Italian Job on an extraordinary 11-day driving tour which takes in many of the famous roads and locations featured in the movie. The Ultimate Italian Job Tour, created by Classics on the Road and the Jaguar E-type Club, will treat drivers and their companions to some of Europe’s most fabulous roads and scenery as its route passes through France, Italy and Switzerland between October 6th and 17th 2019.

Highlights of the Tour will include a driving experience on the rooftop test track of Fiat’s former Lingotto factory in Turin, which appeared in the movie’s legendary car chase; driving some of the most spectacular mountain roads in Europe, and an evening with key personalities involved in making the film.

Participants in the Ultimate Italian Job Tour will be accompanied throughout the 1,400-mile drive by a swarm of red, white and blue Minis, and by the red Jaguar E-type roadster, orange Lamborghini Miura P400, and silver Aston Martin DB4 convertible seen in the movie. The Tour visits the St. Bernard Pass, scene of the film’s opening credits, where the Miura was blown-up in a tunnel and the E-type and DB4 also met their fates.

While in Turin, Tour participants will spend a few days in the company of The Italian Job producer Michael Deeley; stunt director Rémy Julienne; actor David Salamone, who played Dominic, one of Charlie Croker’s gang of ‘Chinless Wonders’; and subject-expert Matthew Field, whose new book, The Self Preservation Society – 50 years of The Italian Job, will be published later this year.

The three-day Italian Job experience will also include a private screening of the film; a ‘soirée’ hosted by Field; a Walking Tour in the city of car-chase locations with commentary by Field, visiting the Baroque staircase of the Palazzo Madama, the crowded porticoes on Via Roma, the cathedral steps and the weir on the River Po. Tour participants will also receive a copy of his book.

In keeping with its theme, the Ultimate Italian Job Tour is open exclusively to E-types, and to pre-1970 Lamborghinis, Aston Martins, and Minis. The price –  €5,495 per person in double occupancy or €6,575 per person in single occupancy – includes accommodation in carefully selected four- and five-star hotels in France and Italy; three lunches and 10 dinners; a comprehensive Road Book with Tulip notes, maps, rally plates, information about places being visited, and recommendations of other places worth seeing; a private evening screening of The Italian Job; and guided visits to the Domaine Pommery champagne cellars, Arc-et-Senans Royal Saltworks, Museo Nazionale dell Automobile in Turin, Mont Blanc Skyway, and Matisse Museum in Le Cateau-Cambrésis.

Tour participants will be accompanied by the event organisers, including E-type Club co-founders Philip and Julie Porter in their E-type, the original Italian Job roadster, 848 CRY; a film crew and professional photographer; and a mechanic.

Philip Porter commented:

“The Ultimate Italian Job Tour is going to be amazing. It will be unique and probably the last opportunity to celebrate this iconic movie with key people from the film, combined with fantastic driving, the star cars and informed visits to most of the charismatic locations”.

To find out more about the Ultimate Italian Job Tour or reserve a place, please visit www.classicsontheroad.com

Jaguar E-type Club

Founded 15 years ago by Philip and Julie Porter, the Club has members in more than 50 countries. Porter has written 30 motoring books, including a number on Jaguars, and owns two early E-types of historical significance: the prototype registered ‘9600 HP’, which was the first Fixed Head Coupé and one of the pairs which launched the E-type at Geneva in 1961; and the roadster ‘848’ CRY, which appeared in The Italian Job. The E-type Club’s patron is Norman Dewis (OBE), who joined Jaguar in 1952 as Chief Test Driver and helped develop production and competition cars including the E-type.

Classics on the Road

Classics on the Road specialises in organising tours and events for classic and sports cars, encouraging the enjoyment of driving on unfamiliar roads and visiting new places. Classics on the Road’s precise tailoring of events includes the selection of memorable routes, hotels, restaurants, and sightseeing locations.