I was very excited about my first trip to the Festival of Speed. Shortly after arriving we made our way up the side of the hill climb course to the rally stage. Stopping en route to the rally paddock, we watched Kris Meeke’s Mini, a classic mini, a Metro 6R4, a Lancia Integrale, a 205 T16, an Audi Quattro and a Lancia Stratos negotiate the narrow, rocky forest stage. To escape the dust being kicked up by the passing cars, we went to look round the paddock and I got very carried away taking photographs of the 6R4, the Stratos and the Quattro. After having a look at rally cars we headed back down the hill to look around the F1 paddock, where I got even more carried away taking photographs. I was amazed by the volume of the F1 car engines – I am still a little hoarse from having to shout over the top of them to talk to my dad! As well as the modern F1 cars we looked at lots of older ones. It is amazing to see how quickly aerodynamic technology moves on. The wings on some of the older cars look very dated compared with the modern cars. We saw an old Peugeot that I like to think could be our Peugeot 205’s great aunt…they are almost the same shade of blue. With so many cars on show it is easy to become car overloaded, so we heading back to our own car to have some lunch and fetch my racing suit and helmet – I had been promised a go as a passenger on the rally stage in a Sierra Cosworth!! After walking back up the hill, signing on as a co-driver and waiting for our run it was time to go round the stage. As I have never sat in anything other than a small Peugeot, I was totally unprepared for the speed and agility of the Cosworth. The thing was never going in a straight line! The boost from the turbo made the straights seem very short and the size of the car made the corners seem very tight and narrow, but it was great fun. I told my dad as I got out of the car “we need to get one of these!” Thanks to Jason Lepley for taking me round the stage and putting up with the giggling when we went round corners. The 3 hour drive to get there and the hours of walking in the midday heat were well worth it. What a brilliant day!