After a previous weeks worth of sunshine I pictured an afternoon of cream tea’s, chattering wastegates and diff’s snapping ageing Escorts sideways. After last years washout, the day started ominously with rain, lots of rain.

After a great year, a good year and a wet year the show seemed to have lost some of its former glory. And most of the way there I realised something. i’d left the Nikon D50 at home. Still it was an interesting experience using an old fashioned digital camera.

Young upstart Craig Breen was doing hotlaps in the Ford Fiesta s2000, this was my first encounter with the Fiesta. The M-sport derived machines look streets ahead of the Peugeot and Skoda efforts

The airbox is the first thing that strikes you about the 4 cylinder 16v Duratec engine. With an output of 280hp not shy of what some of the ageing WRC cars produced in the early 90′s. I’m still unsure as to whether this is the future of the sport, with the WRC’s to be phased out for 2011 in favour of a new s2000 derived machine I fear we could see the final swansong of the 4wd Turbo’d monsters.

At the opposite end of the spectrum Steve Perez, owner of a fleet of rallycars and principle sponsor brought out most of his collection.

Henning Solberg, Petters older more hilarious brother undertook driving duties in Al Qassmi’s Ford Focus WRC. I’ll be sad to see these cars disappear from the WRC the Super 2000 spec cars just don’t have the same appeal to me.

Ryan Champion was out campaigning N555 BAT an ex Piero Liatti Subaru Impreza Group A.