Rallycross ace Mark Rennison returns after seven years at new Lydden festival
Seven years after two-time British Rallycross champion Mark Rennison last raced, he is returning to the track at the Lydden Legend Festival
Mark Rennison
Alamy
Two-time British Rallycross champion Mark Rennison, below, will end a seven-year sabbatical from the sport to return to the wheel of a Ford RS200 as part of the new Lydden Legend Festival this July.
Famous for his rallycross successes during the 1980s, Yorkshireman Rennison has signed up to handle the Group B monster for the new event, which aims to celebrate the glory days of rallying and rallycross machinery at Lydden Hill Race Circuit in Kent.
Rennison made his biggest mark across both 1987 and ’88 when he claimed back-to-back British Rallycross titles, becoming the youngest-ever champion aged just 23. His milestone achievement also marked the first time a Group B car had won the British title, and Rennison is still the only driver ever to go unbeaten across a full British Rallycross season. He took five of his 14 career wins at Lydden.
He most recently drove an RS200 on the Pikes Peak hill climb back in 2014, and last drove on a rallycross circuit in 2017 when he raced an RX150 buggy at his home circuit of Croft near Darlington. The Ford that Rennison will drive is owned by fellow racer Steve Harris and will run in the same colour scheme that Rennison used during his 1987 title-winning campaign.
“I can’t remember the last time I drove a top rallycross car, it’s been a long time,” said Rennison. “I’ve been tempted to have a go in a [modern top-class] Supercar in recent years, but I’m honoured to be driving an RS200 at the Lydden Legend Festival. I was honoured when Steve put his car in my old livery a few years ago, and it’s very kind of him to now let me drive it. It will be quite special.”
The Lydden Legend Festival takes place on July 19-21. Following in the footsteps of the successful Lohéac Legend Festival held last year in Brittany, the Lydden event will feature on-track action for machinery across the history of rallycross with a diverse range of classes, headlined by the Group B and 4WD monsters that ruled the sport almost 40 years ago.