Organisers of last week’s Wales Rally GB enrolled 1981 World Rally Champion Ari Vatanen as the first official Rally GB Legend. Exactly 30 years after winning the UK’s round of the FIA World Rally Championship, Vatanen joined former co-driver Terry Harryman as guest of honour on this year’s event.
Vatanen’s presence on the four-day event in North Wales included a Rally Forum hosted by Broughton and Bretton Motor Club, the official WRC autograph session and Ceremonial start in Colwyn Bay, as well as meeting fans and dignitaries throughout the weekend.
Celebrating the 30th anniversary of their famous triumph on the Lombard RAC Rally victory back in 1984, Vatanen and Harryman took part in a special photo shoot with their victorious Peugeot 205 T16 in period Shell livery alongside current Hyundai Shell World Rally Team crew Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul.
Vatanen said: “When you are with your friends, you are in very safe waters and that was certainly the case at Wales Rally GB. In the WRC there are so many connections wherever we go, so every time I am welcomed with open arms.
“If you have to pick out the WRC events with prestige and tradition then of course Wales Rally GB has to be one of them – it’s one of the few that stand out. It has a lot of fantastic ingredients to move forward including a new organising team and, having spoken to people from the Welsh Government, I’m very optimistic for the future. There are many good reasons for me to come back here.”
Ben Taylor, Managing Director of Wales Rally GB, added: “We were delighted to host Ari as the first Rally GB Legend; a title he more than lived up to throughout the weekend. He was the perfect person to open up this new initiative and his popularity with the fans shows no sign of diminishing – his queue was by far the longest of any of the drivers at the autograph ceremony! He was a great ambassador for the heritage of this event, particularly when meeting dignitaries from the Welsh Government and other sponsors. He will always be welcome here.”
Alongside Vatanen and Harryman, a host of other stars from previous eras were also on hand during last weekend’s rally, including some of Britain’s most renowned co-drivers: Nicky Grist who won no fewer than 21 WRC rounds with Juha Kankkunen and Colin McRae; Robert Reid who won the World Rally Championship in 2001 with Richard Burns; Phil Mills who won the same title two years later with Petter Solberg; and Paul White who won the 1980 Lombard RAC alongside Henri Toivonen.
“It was great to have the stars back on the event,” concluded Taylor. “These are the people that have made the rally what it is over the years. We were delighted to have them as our guests over the weekend and the fans were thrilled to see them all.”
