Toivonen and Martin to appear at Rallyday
Two of the FIA World Rally Championship’s most iconic names will be reunited with period rally car machinery next month as part of Rallyday – the UK’s premier rally car show.
Event organisers have confirmed that Gp B protagonist Harri Toivonen, the younger brother of the late Henri, will attend Rallyday (20 September), and he will be joined by Estonia’s Markko Martin who won five WRC events during a career that included works drives with Subaru, Ford and Peugeot.
Toivonen will take part in the celebrations that will mark the 30th anniversary since the MG Metro 6R4 [pictured above] was first used on the world championship rally stages. The Finn drove a 6R4 on selected WRC rounds in 1986 and also in the British Rally Championship the same year.
He said: “I'm thrilled to come to Rallyday 2014 to celebrate the Metro 6R4 and spend a day with all my old friends, team-mate Dai Llewellin and all fans of the car.”
Martin, who brought the curtain down on his WRC career at the end of 2005 and is a patron for the Richard Burns Foundation, will drive an ex-Colin McRae Subaru Impreza WRC at the event.
“It will be something new for me,” Martin said. “I have never been to the event, but I have read a lot about it. It will be nice to come and experience it myself. I still miss some of the crowd and the atmosphere from 10-15 years ago.
“It will be great fun and a great experience to drive one of McRae’s old cars. I know the old Imprezas and Legacys are special – they are cars every rally fan has memories of. It will be good to drive one of them. Seeing lots of old historic cars you don’t see every day is always nice – and just to hear them is special.”
Other famous drivers that have been confirmed on the Rallyday lineup include 1979 World Rally Champion Bjorn Waldegard, Finnish legend Markku Alen and British rally champions David Llewellin and Gwyndaf Evans.
Rallyday will be held at Castle Combe Circuit in Wiltshire, UK. Visit www.rallyday.com for more information.
