By KLTV Newsdesk –
Despite a series of restrictions imposed due to Covid-19, the inaugural Yorkshire Motorsport Festival was held in June of this year in Holmfirth.
And now the event has been hailed as a success by the organisers, attracting over 4,000 people per day over the course of the weekend.
The festival featured many different attractions for visitors to enjoy and experience.
Hillclimb Event
No doubt one of the biggest events for visitors was the Wolfstone’s Hillclimb, which saw drivers compete, on the first-ever road-closed hillclimb in Yorkshire.
The Mayor of Kirklees, Cllr Nigel Patrick, officially opened the Wolfstone’s Hillclimb on Friday morning.
Friday saw the Benjafields Club enter over thirty pre-war vintage classic Bentleys for the competition.
The rain did not deter them and they kept their spirits high and tackled the course with great sportsmanship, treating the crowds to a great spectacle.
On Saturday and Sunday spectators were able to witness pre 1986 competition cars and classic Special Saloons, with some spectacular performances and the Fastest Time of the Day going to the Mk1 Ford Escort of Steve Bailey.
Several demonstrations were completed by the Group B rally cars and F1 stock cars were especially popular with the visitors.
A multitude of vehicles attempted the first-ever hillclimb in the region (Photo Credit: Howard Fielding)
Cars on Display
Beyond the hillclimb, there are also many amazing cars on display for visitors to view and take photos with.
Local Ben Bamforth and his mother Lucy, landowner and supporter of the Festival, proudly demonstrated his father’s World Championship winning Stock Car.
The fields were packed with millions of pounds worth of vehicles, including American Muscle Cars, vintage Minis, Trucks, David Brown Tractors, Supercars, Rally Cars and Stock Cars.
There were some iconic cars never been seen before in Yorkshire such as the latest Ford GT from Guernsey, and an original Jaguar D type which finished second at Le Mans, driven by Mike Hawthorne, the first British Formula One World Champion who was born in Yorkshire.
There was also a famous GT40, a Gerry Marshall tribute and an array of Supercars.
A huge array of luxury cars wrere on display throughout the weekend (Photo Credit: Mark Flynn)
Entertainment and Amusements
There was also much family entertainment; from Dodgems & Crazy Bugs to a Sheep Theatre, ‘The Land Rover Experience’ and crowd-thrilling stunts by Vanders Superheroes on their forty-foot ‘Wheel of Death’.
Food & Drink
A wide range of food and drink stalls were spaced apart across the site and did a brisk trade along with the retail trade stands once the weather brightened.
The was also a Members Enclosure that was a hit with its guests, who enjoyed special services, food and entertainment.
From Dogdems to ‘Sheep Theatre’ there was fun for the whole family (Photo Credit: Howard Fielding)
‘Great Team Achievement’
CEO of the Yorkshire Motorsport Festival, Michael McErlain, said: “Delivering the first-ever Yorkshire Motorsport Festival across the line was a great achievement by my Team.
“We must thank Kirklees Council for their support and for working closely with us to ensure the Festival opened.
“Next year we’ll put our original vision back into action and we’ll give Yorkshire a bigger and better Festival for all.”
A Welcome to Yorkshire spokesperson said: “Congratulations to everyone involved in organising the first Yorkshire Motorsport Festival this weekend.
“A stunning location in Holmfirth and exciting classic car racing action.”
The Yorkshire Motorsport Festival 2022 is set to take place from Friday 24th until Sunday 26th June.
It is hoped that next years festival will be even bigger (Photo Credit: Howard Fielding)
All photos in this article were provided by Yorkshire Motorsport Festival. Photo Credits Mark Flynn and Howard Fielding.
