Thousands of people will be in pole position for one of the North West’s biggest free motoring extravaganzas, and you can come along and enjoy the fun.
The Ormskirk MotorFest on Sunday 24 August will be a fantastic day out for all the family with between 250 and 300 cars and motorcycles on static displays on Aughton Street, Moor Street, and Coronation Park. Many vehicles will take part in parades around the town centre.
Vehicles from all eras of motoring are being lined up for the event. Eyecatching models will include a 1978 Williams Formula 1 motor racing car. There will also be a classic BRM Formula 1 car, which was raced by Graham Hill at Aintree in the circuit’s last Formula 1 race in 1964. Rally, racing and stock car competition vehicles, and classic, vintage and competition motorcycles will also be on show.
Lancashire Police will have vehicles on static display as one of the many exciting attractions. Motoring clubs are having their own area on the Churchfields area of Coronation Park for attractive and fun themed exhibitions.
The displays will be open to the public from 11am onwards, and the parades are due to take place between 2.30pm and 4.30pm. Timings of events during the day are subject to change.
Councillor David Griffiths, portfolio holder for Town and Village Centres, said: “The Ormskirk MotorFest has been hugely popular since it began in 2011, and this year will be another fantastic event. So make sure you come to the Ormskirk MotorFest for a fabulous day out for all the family.”
Successful racing drivers will once again be showing off their expert technical skills in competition action in the Autosolo Challenge at Park Pool, starting at about 11.30am. Drivers will put their skills to the test, timed to a hundredth of a second, over a short and low-speed course.
Competitors will include Liverpool 19-year-old Declan Jones, who in 2013 become the youngest British winner of a round in the British GT Championship, a series shown regularly on ITV4. This year Declan has continued to impress in his GT Championship races as well as driving well in the 2014 V de V Endurance Series event in France. Last year’s Autosolo Challenge winner Ryan Burns, from Kirkby, returns to defend his title and his father David also takes part. Ryan, who has ambitions to compete in the World Rally Championships, won his class in the Cetus Stages race at the Three Sisters course in Wigan in 2013. David has been racing for 27 years, winning his class at many rallies and coming second in the British Trial and Rally Drivers Association Championships in 1994.
If you have ever dreamed of being driven in a competition car then GoMotorsport Live can make that come true at the MotorFest. They have organised passenger places in a competition car to be driven around the Autosolo course for a suitable donation to North West Air Ambulance. Times will be announced on the day.
Another attraction on the day sees Skelmersdale Prize Band performing in Coronation Park between 2pm and 4pm, so this really will be a fantastic day to come to Ormskirk.
The Ormskirk MotorFest is a free event organised by Aintree Circuit Club and supported by West Lancashire Borough Council.
The circuit club is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year and to celebrate officials are hoping to have a display of competition vehicles from that era at the MotorFest.
Mike Ashcroft, Aintree Circuit Club chairman, said: “We have worked hard to make sure this year’s MotorFest will be a great event for everyone to enjoy, and we have a fantastic line up of cars for visitors to see. The Autosolo Challenge will give people a chance to see professional drivers showing their skills, and there are plenty of other fun attractions so come along to the Ormskirk MotorFest on Sunday 24 August.”
A regular park and ride vintage bus service, priced at £5 per car, will operate from Edge Hill University for the MotorFest, starting at 10am. The service will take a break for the parade laps from 2.10pm and then resume for a short time at 4.30pm until MotorFest finishes.
Organisers are still looking for volunteer marshals for the day. Application forms can be found at ormskirkmotorfest (external link).