I always look forward to the Autosport International show at the NEC in early January. Not only do I get to see a wide selection of every type of competition car, modern and historic and hear interviews with some of the world’s top drivers, but also I spend two or three days walking around the million square feet covered by the exhibition. And that gives a real kick-start to the New Year weight loss campaign!
For many people, the most interesting displays this year were the
full F1 paddock, featuring a car from each of the 2003 teams and the fabulous £25 million Ferrari collection. Put together by the people from Maranello themselves, the 1999 to 2002 F1 cars were featured along with the F40, F50 and Enzo supercars in the
Galleria Ferrari. Then there were many historic models including the 250 GTO and the Daytona.
But I was more interested in the rally car exhibitors. First of all, there was a
WRC display with most of the 2003 WRC cars on show (though Skoda was missing). Subaru and Prodrive had large stands showing tarmac and gravel spec WRC Imprezas. In addition, Prodrive had their new Group N challenger on show for the first time and Subaru showed the WR1, a Petter Solberg special edition Impreza WRX STi (
see separate article). Petter was there to launch it on Sunday. Not far away, Mitsubishi were showing their
radical-looking WRC04 and new range of Lancer Evo VIII variants.
The show’s biggest stand belongs to Autosport itself and is where the main interviews take place. This was where you could hear such luminaries as Petter Solberg, Dave Richards, Patrick Head, Justin Wilson, Martin Brundle and dozens of others over the course of the show. But launches of new championships, cars and products were happening all the time, across the exhibition site. I think you’d have to go a long way though, to match the excitement of the launch of a new range of Swarfega product I saw in 2002!
You’ll see drivers past and present wandering around and most are approachable for a quick chat or autograph. I had a word with Russell Brookes and asked if my memory was right that I’d never seen him in a Group B car. He confirmed it, but that he had spent a day with Audi at the Vallelunga circuit, testing a tarmac spec 500 bhp Sport Quattro in which he could spin the wheels at 110 mph as he changed into 6th! He’d also seen the Group S Lancia Delta that had been due to start the 1987 Monte with 800 bhp. But, as you know, Groups B and S were banned before the end of 1986.
It’s not all static displays though. Four times per day, up to 4,500 fans pile into the Live Action Arena. I’ve seen some pretty dire shows in the past including the pathetic Fiesta demolition derby, a dump truck ‘race’ and awful attempts at humour and audience participation. This year was a little better with Tiff Needell introducing the action which was interspersed with hordes of dancing girls. While I’d like to see still more emphasis on the cars, we did see some great stuff: fast laps from Group B rally and rallycross cars were the highlights. We had Andy Dawson (Nissan 240RS), Pentti Airikkala (Metro 6R4) Harri Toivonen (Ford RS200) and Russell Brookes (Opel Manta 400), followed by rallycross stars Dermot Carnegie, Pat Doran, Will Gollop and John McCluskey in their 600-700 bhp machines. Friday saw Pat Doran spin his RS200 into the wall causing what appeared to be light damage. But as 15:00 and the next show approached, something was obviously bent. A closer look showed the nearside front wheel fouling the front spoiler while there was still a two inch gap on the offside. At the other end of the entertainment scale were the Reliant Robins performing doughnuts and the three 'Steer From the Rear' guys from Belfast in their fire breathing Nissan 300ZXs, performing pirouettes around each other. And while I’ll never be a BRISCA fan, the noise of eight F1 V8 stock cars reverberating around the arena was pretty awesome.
Another unforgettable feature of the Autosport show is of course
the girls. If you were there, you’ll have had your own favourites but my votes go to the Yokohama girl and those at Kumho Tyres and Westfield, with maybe a mention of the costumes on the girls at RaceX! Some other stands featured more plastic than my daughter’s box of Lego...
Despite the odd gripe, Autosport International is still a great occasion for anyone who loves motorsport. Aside from the cars and drivers, there’s a massive memorabilia section so you can load up on videos, books and paintings. I renewed my subscription to RallyXS and got this year’s Reinhard Klein calendar as a freebie. All the other car magazines had special subscription offers too. The engineers amongst you will spend hours in the engineering section and you could go home with a classic car if you sneezed or blinked too much in the Coy's auction. I am looking forward to the
2005 show already!
Words by Syd Wall.
Images by Colin Courtney, Bryan Sims, Mark Sims and Syd Wall. - 10 Feb 2004
