The first running of the popular Ashley Forest Rally Sprint was held in 1979, which saw Steve Millen in a factory backed 2.3 Vauxhall Chevette win.
This meeting was staged over a downhill section before changing the year after to the 1.7 kilometre (55% uphill) course that has challenged competitors and thrilled spectators in the intervening years.
The first winner on the current circuit was the late John Woolf driving a Mazda RX3 with a winning time of 1.10.81.
From that time the magic minute has been the challenge for all prospective winners. This finally came in 1988 when Steve Millen’s brother Rod driving a four wheel drive Mazda RX7 won in a time of 59.14.
The late Kim Austin then became a regular in breaking the magic minute and his 1999 winning run of 56.57 in a 4WD Mitsubishi Starion V8 remains the course record.
Over the years winners have included national rally champions Neil Allport, Tony Teesdale and the late Possum Bourne together with other big names in the sport.

For a list of previous winners Click Here .

For event information Click Here .

To check out the Ashley Forest Rallysprint Facebook page Click Here

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