Rally ace revs up 70 year celebration evening for King's Lynn Motor Club
Lynn Motor has marked 70 years on the road with a glitzy celebration dinner and a visit from an international rally star.
Guest speaker at the event at Lynn Town Hall, Phil Mills, talked about the high speed action - and topsy-turvey moments - that have been part of his career as a co-driver for the best and fastest rallymen in the world.
About 100 club members and guests were invited to use the town hall for the event by West Norfolk borough mayor, Lesley Bambridge who welcomed everyone and congratulated the club on its achievement.
The origins of the club date back to the days of Raymond Mays and the then BRM Racing Equipe. It was during one of Raymond’s talks to a local organisation to raise funds for the team that sparked off the idea of a BRM Supporters Club. This club was duly formed in the early 50’s and, primarily held fund raising events for the team.
Today's club was formed in April 1953 as an offshoot of the BRM supporters club.
In the early years the club regularly organised autotests, rallies and autocross events with the main event in the 1950s and early 60s being the Hunstanton Rally which ended with an autotest on the seaside promenade!
In the past, the club has organised several stage rallies including The Tour of Norfolk in the early 1990s and the Richard Burns Memorial Rally at RAF Marham.
Today, the Club organises monthly clubnight events, ranging from 12 car rallies to gymkhanas.
In the summer it runs its annual Classic Car Rally which attracts entrants from all over the region. The event, which has run since the late 1970s,and has raised large sums for various charities including East Anglian Air Ambulance and Norfolk Accident and Rescue Service.
Club President Paul Haylock recalled joining the club at a film night at Lynn Guildhall before he was even legally able to drive. He said he has gone on, like many other club members to compete, organise and marshal on events that still show the strength and popularity of motorsport
Phil Mills was the 2003 WRC world champion with Norwegian ace Petter Solberg and now owns a rally car preparation and build business.
Phil braved questions from his audience and recalled a career which saw him compete in international rallies over 17 seasons, multiple seasons of national championship stage and road events and a total of 155 road rallies. He talked about the specific challenges of being a co-driver and his most memorable – from victories to upside down moments when things went dramatically wrong.