For the second successive year Lydden Hill hosted a weekend of the World Rallycross Championship and, through the generosity of Kent Sports News, I was lucky enough to attend.

Having not been to Lydden for a number of years, and never experiencing the top level of rallycross I was unsure what to expect but, on arriving well before the first event of the day, I was impressed by the multiculturalism within the attendees, with fans from all over Europe including many from Germany, France an d even Lithuania thanks to the track’s close proximity to the European mainland.

The day began with an open practice session for the opening two hours, allowing every team and driver to prepare for the afternoon’s heats whilst being able to take into account the climate to ensure each machine is perfectly prepared. As someone who has only ever been to British and European Rallycross in the past I was amazed at the financial differences between what I had experienced in the past and what I was witnessing, wondering through the paddock later this was again at the forefront of my mind.

The heats continued with little of the crazy action we all expect from rallycross as the teams looked to adjust their car’s details to optimize its performance later in the day.

With the preparation over, the cars returned to the paddock for final checks whilst a select group of cars from the British Drifting Championship treated spectators to an insight into their discipline and, when the smoke finally cleared from their performance, the heats began as the typical bank holiday weekend weather began to improve.

For those in the crowd who didn’t have an in- depth knowledge of rallycross the afternoon’s action gave them everything they wanted; in the first race the importance of the ‘joker lap’ was shown when a Volkswagen was forced out wide into the extension of the track before gradually working its way back to the top spot, showing the fans the importance of quick tactical decisions within the sport.

It didn’t take long for the sport to live up to its reputation when a chaotic race ended with a Ford Focus being retired at the top of the north bend whilst another, with both rear tyres having been punctured, continued to be thrown around the track sideways before limping its way across the line to a huge applause.

The story of the day however, belonged to Petter Solberg and his Citroen DS3. The Norwegian outclassed the rest of his field after winning his opening two heats, the second of which he needed to do in the final lap after a series of events lead to him not being in contention until aggressive driving spurred a quick turnaround in the reigning champions favour.

The second day of the event was on Sunday with the final heats for each category being followed by the semi-finals and the final. As a first time World Rallycross attendee, I would certainly recommend going or looking out for the event in the coming years. High quality sport, plenty of excitement and overall, a great day out!

Images courtesy of  www.psp-images.co.uk