The first running of the Hills Ford stages in Shropshire over the weekend of September 19-20 has drawn widespread praise from competitors, officials and, most importantly, local residents.

The special stage rally brought 150 competitors from across the UK to Shrewsbury for a day and a half of competitive rallying based on closed-road special stages in the Shropshire countryside. The event opened with a ceremonial start in Shrewsbury Town Centre on Saturday afternoon, when the cars were flagged away by the town mayor, and thousands of people lined the streets to see the cars heading out towards the first of the competitive action at Weston Park on the Shropshire-Staffordshire border.

The Weston Park stage proved almost too popular as queues formed and some visitors were late in gaining access to the venue. But once inside they were treated to five hours of rally action as the competitors tackled a special stage in the grounds of the stately home.

On Sunday, it was out into the glorious Shropshire countryside, which looked at its very best bathed in early autumn sunshine, and the crowds thronged the special stages to see the action. Competitors on the event reported an amazing response on both the timed special stages and on the non-competitive sections around the area, with residents sitting outside their homes watching the cars go by, waving and cheering. There was a real party atmosphere in the villages on the route. Residents also praised the driving behaviour of the crews on the non-competitive sections that linked the special stages.

It proved to be a hugely competitive event, and victory went to Northampton-based Callum Black and his co-driver James Aldridge in their Ford Fiesta Rally2. The best of the local competitors was Church Stretton co-driver Phil Clarke who, alongside his driver Jason Pritchard from Builth Wells, finished second overall in their Toyota Yaris GR Rally2. Meanwhile, another local co-driver Jack Bowen from Hereford finished third alongside his driver Aled Wyn Morgans from Aberystwyth in their Ford Fiesta Rally2. Other notable performances came from Shrewsbury-based Gareth Price, who took his BMW compact up into a remarkable 10th overall and first in his class.

However, the real winner from the event was the county of Shropshire which gained a massive tourism boost with hotels, pubs, restaurants all enjoying a busy weekend. Meanwhile, the spectacle of this high-profile rally coming to the Shropshire countryside drew widespread praise from residents and local people.