Rally Round appoints former ERA Director Heidi Winterbourne, om langløp.

	RALLY ROUND NEWS - July 2015 Welcome to Rally Round's Summer Newsletter. We hope it finds you well and happy, wherever you are in the world. Here in the Rally Round office we have been busy sending out event brochures to our most valued customers and friends. You should have received yours by now, and we hope you enjoy them. If they haven't arrived, or if you would like more copies, please email us and we will happily post them to you. Please also let us know of any change of address, so we can keep our records up to date. Have you visited the Rally Round website recently? As well as the latest news about our forthcoming events, the site continues to expand with a wealth of advice about car and event preparation and a beginners' guide to rallying. Another great new feature allows you to buy copies of any of the photographs in our picture galleries, where hundreds of images from past events include competitors and cars, spectacular scenery and striking compositions, all taken by professional photographers. We've linked up with leading online photo-printing site PhotoBox, so with a just few clicks you can choose almost any size and format, from large framed or unframed pictures on canvas to desk photos, coasters and more - the range is quite amazing, and they make wonderful gifts or personal mementos of past adventures. Now as we head into to high summer, please be aware that the Rally Round office will be operating on reduced hours during August, although we will of course respond to any enquiries as soon as possible. We will be back to full-time operations from September, when amongst other things we'll be gearing up for November's Thunder Dragon Rally to Bhutan.  Hawker Restorations For those who share our interest in all things mechanical, and as we mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, we'd like to recommend the new website of Suffolk-based Hawker Restorations, the world's leading restorer of the Hawker Hurricane and other vintage aircraft. Hawker will have a marquee at the Silverstone Classic race meeting on 24-26 July, and will be displaying a part-restored Mk1 Hurricane, one of only two survivors, alongside a 27-litre Rolls-Royce Merlin aero engine. The Hawker stand will be located on the Jet Village Green, where visitors are very welcome to examine the aircraft in detail and admire the amazing engineering involved in its restoration. It's often said that the Hurricane was 'simpler' than the Spitfire, but that's far from the truth. Perhaps even more amazing is the fact that a restored, fully airworthy Hurricane costs less than some sports cars! Speaking of cars, we are also happy to recommend the equally new website of sister company Hawker Racing, where the same top-flight engineering skills are applied to historic road and racing machines. Rally Round Roadshow Rally Round will be attending some major events in the coming months, including this weekend's Silverstone Classic, where the Wenman boys will be racing a Jaguar C-Type and a Cooper Bristol. Do please come and see us, whether to discuss forthcoming rallies such as the 2016 Haka Classic, for which we've found some spectacular roads and circuits (see below), or to catch up with our Rally Co-ordinator Heidi Winterbourne, who will be delighted to see old friends as she returns to the forefront of the rally world. We will also have a stand at the Goodwood Revival on 11-13 September, where you will be welcome to join us for light refreshments throughout the weekend. Looking further ahead, we'll be returning to the London Classic Car Show in February 2016. If you would like a complimentary ticket, drop us an email and we will put you on the guest list. Haka Classic Rally 2016 We are delighted to report that we have completed the detailed route planning for next year's Haka Classic Rally in New Zealand. It includes some of the best driving roads anywhere in the world and the landscape is simply breathtaking. The rally starts from Auckland on 30 October 2016 and winds its way from the North to the South Island, finishing in Christchurch on 25 November 2016. Highlights include the Forgotten World Highway, the Black Birch Range and several famous race circuits. Our man on the ground in NZ is Rhys Nolan, who not only has a vast knowledge of the country but is a top-class rallyist, so knows how to find roads that offer both spectacular scenery and an unforgettable driving challenge. Paris-Vienna Rally 2016 With entries already flying in from near and far, the Paris-Vienna Rally is shaping up be an unmissable event on the 2016 calendar. Celebrating the epic Paris-Vienna race of 1902, the rally will run from 13-18 June 2016 on fabulous roads, starting from the Royal Palace at Fontainebleau and traversing the Alps to finish with a gala dinner at the exquisite, imperial-style Hotel Schloss Wilhelminenberg in Vienna. Although a competitive rally, the schedule has been planned to offer comfortable daily distances for even the oldest cars, while also allowing you to spend time in two of Europe's most romantic cities if you wish. Click on the photo above for the latest list of entries. Rally Round Race Team Update Thank you very much to everyone who sponsored the Rally Round ladies to run the Race for Life in May. We are pleased to announce that with your support, we smashed our fundraising target and raised a grand total of £1,220 for Cancer Research UK. So thanks again, and don't worry - we won't be doing it again for at least another year! And finally....! We love a good book, and it's always nice to recommend the best of them. We were privileged to attend the launch of Christian J Jenny's 'The Jaguar Sports Car Collection, A Personal Endeavour'. This is a must-have volume for enthusiasts, beautifully designed and presented with a huge amount of technical detail on one of the world’s foremost collections of sporting Jaguars, plus reviews of key models that defined the marque's history. It may be purchased at Paul Skilleter Books. On a more adventurous note, we are very pleased to let you know that a friend and fellow petrol head, Kate Tojeiro (daughter-in-law of the late great racing engineer John Tojeiro), has written 'The Art of Possible'. A few years ago, Kate found herself completely alone and slightly terrified astride an off-road motorbike in the foothills of the Pyrenees, facing a slippery, 45-degree ascent. This experience turned out to be the catalyst to writing a book, which involved a two-year journey meeting and interviewing extraordinary people who have overcome incredible hardships and difficulties to reach their potential. They include individuals from many different walks of life including business, sport and the charitable sector, and their stories make a great and inspirational read. You may watch a video of the launch here and the book is now available to order from Amazon. Kate herself will soon be returning to the track with a fabulous Ford Mustang, and we very much hope she will be joining us on next year's Paris-Vienna Rally.  That's about all for now. We'll be back in September with some particularly exciting news, and hope to see you at Silverstone or Goodwood. In the meantime, we wish you a serene and sunny summer. Safe and happy driving! Liz, Heidi, Sandy and the Rally Round Team Rally Round on Facebook             Follow us on Twitter

The Team at Rally Round are delighted to announce that Heidi Winterbourne has joined the company as Rally Co-ordinator, taking a pivotal role in business development and event organisation from concept to completion. She will also represent Rally Round at major events such as the Goodwood Revival, Silverstone Classic and London Classic Car Show.

Heidi is very highly respected, widely known and well liked in the classic rally world, having been a leading figure in the sport for almost 20 years. It was in May 1996 that she joined the Oxfordshire-based Classic Rally Association (CRA), then headed by Philip Young and Peter Browning, where she immediately set about preparations for the imminent Classic Marathon, the Monte Carlo Challenge and the very first Peking to Paris Motor Challenge. Following Peter Browning's departure, Heidi took over all aspects of CRA event logistics, hotels, sales, team training and office management, leaving Philip Young free to concentrate on promotion and marketing.

After the phenomenal success of the 1997 Peking to Paris, Heidi persuaded Philip that the office should be restructured. Sharing just one secretary, they set up World Rallies Ltd to run events in Europe and Africa, and Around the World in 80 Days Motor Challenge Ltd to run the longest rally ever held. Organising as many as five international events per year, the pace was frantic and the challenges extremely varied, from testing sand ladders for use in Mongolia's Gobi Desert to hiring an Antonov aircraft to fly the Around the World in 80 Days rally cars from Beijing to Alaska.

The hard work paid off, however, and over the next 16 years Heidi and Philip ran groundbreaking events for an ever-increasing number of enthusiasts, founding and co-owning the Endurance Rally Association (ERA) Ltd, Endurance Rallying Ltd and the Peking to Rally Association Ltd. As the business grew they moved the rally office from Blewbury to East Hendred, setting up home nearby.

Whilst Philip was classic rallying acknowledged figurehead, Heidi remained the driving force behind the organisation. As Event Director she personally organised more than 40 major rallies in 65 countries, including the Classic Safari, the Lombard Revival, the World Cup, the Classic Cup, the Classic Marathon, the Rally of the Tests, the Monte Carlo Challenge, the London to Istanbul Rally, the Around the World in 80 Days Motor Challenge, the Nile Trial, the Dash to Marrakesh, the Trans-America Challenge, the Flying Scotsman and the Peking to Paris.

In August 2012, after 16 years living and breathing rallying, Heidi felt she needed a break. Having made the necessary preparations to ensure the success of ERA events, she sold all her interests in the organisation to Philip, terminating their professional and personal relationship, and took time out to recharge her batteries.

In addition to her formidable business skills and experience as a rally organiser, Heidi is also an enthusiastic competitor, having driven and navigated on a variety of events including the Rome-Liege-Rome, Tour Britannia, Paris-Madrid, The Road to Mandalay and the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique, which she has successfully completed three times.

Of her long-awaited comeback, Heidi said: "I'm happy to return to the rally world with Rally Round as I believe their ethos, combining competitive rallying with sufficient rest days to properly explore a country in the company of a smaller, more intimate group of people, is the right way forward. Rallies should be exciting, but they can also be enjoyable and memorable journeys. I'm looking forward to meeting all my old customers and telling them about the wonderful adventures we have planned."

Rally Round Director Liz Wenman added: "We're delighted to welcome Heidi to the team. As a major force in classic rallying for so many years, she will help ensure that Rally Round Driving Adventures are the best in the world."

To contact Heidi, email heidi.winterbourne@rallyround.co.uk or to contact Rally Round, email info@rallyround.co.uk or telephone +44 (0) 1252 794 100.

For details of forthcoming Rally Round events in Bhutan, Europe and New Zealand, visit our website: www.rallyround.co.uk