Annual Rally & Concours d'Elegance 2024

The English sunshine shone on this year's Annual Rally & Concours d'Elegance, adding to the general good spirits of all who attended. The traders came in large numbers this year, and the presence from both Rolls-Royce Motor Cars - who brought with them four glorious cars - and Bentley Motors - who brought three superb vehicles - was thoroughly appreciated by members.

The show kicked off on the Friday, with members turning up in their hundreds to see the anticipated trade stands for this year, and also to enjoy other events of the day too, including the unveiling of a painting of AX201, completed by RREC Resident Artist Dawn Bosley, and also a seminar given by the East Midlands Chairman, Martin Carnell. Many members also attended the Hog Roast on the Friday evening, taking the opportunity to enjoy some delicious food and drink in the glorious evening sunshine.

Saturday started with a fascinating talk by Ian Newham of Yuasa, followed by the Rolls-Royce & Bentley Specialist Association's (RRBSA) talk on 'R-R Horror Stories', which was popular both with the crowd onsite and those viewing the seminars via livestream globally. Other talks included 'What Car Is That?' given by Club member Mermie Karger; the story of the resurrection of Fiennes Parts by Emily Anderson, and the making of 3D spare parts by Club member Joschka Roben. The seminars were interspersed with live demonstrations of a Merlin engine, which thrilled the crowd gathered around to witness this amazing piece of engineering, and there were also driving experiences put on by the Club's Registers, which were thoroughly enjoyed too. The afternoon was rounded off beautifully by singing duo the DreamBelles, who performed a selection of wartime songs, which had attendees dancing and singing along. After the day's activities, a charity auction was held in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, and members enjoyed a glass of fizz and some canapes whilst bidding on some fantastic prizes, including a full hospitality ticket to Salon Prive, a stay at the River Nene Cottages and tickets to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, amongst others. It was an exciting and fun evening, resulting in the Club raising over £2,000 for a very worthy cause.

As always, the jewel in the crown of any Annual Rally is the Concours d'Elegance, which got promptly underway on the Sunday morning. Whilst the judges were busily inspecting, members were treated to a talk from Rolls-Royce Motor Cars on the design of the Spectre, a truly fascinating topic. Members were also later treated to the Dacorum Community Choir singing, and the eagerly anticipated prizegiving. This year, that included a celebratory lap of honour by the only surviving 10hp currently still on the road, SU13 (or Little Sue as she is known). Driven by Georgina Wood of P&A Wood, the car's owner Sir Michael Kadoorie was also in the vehicle, alongside Andy Wood and Club CEO Claire Seymour. It was a stunning display to round off a fantastic weekend.

Overall, Annual Rally 2024 was a huge success, with lots of positive feedback from the membership on the event.

The Club would like to take this opportunity to thank the members for coming, and all of the volunteers to dedicated their time to supporting this event, be that in the form of a judge, marshal, in the members' spares tent, during set-up or breakdown, or on the Annual Rally committee. Your dedication allowed the Club to put on a fantastic Annual Rally 2024, and we look forward to the next one in 2026.