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Volvo Amazon to race again in Welsh forests

5 October 2017

Tom Trana finished on the podium of the 1966 Rally GB, driving one of Volvo’s Amazon saloons, an achievement which will be heralded at this month’s Dayinsure Wales Rally GB.

Keen to mark the 1966 milestone, Ken Davies from Hereford has entered this year’s event in his own classic Volvo Amazon rally car. Adding to the significance, with the 1967 event being cancelled due to foot and mouth disease, this is the 50th Rally GB since Volvo’s last podium back in 1966.

“My co-driver Alan Jones mentioned the time scale, so we thought we really ought to have a go on this year’s event,” said Davies, aged 67, who has owned his Amazon for the past six years.

“I wanted something different from the historic Escorts that everyone else seems to rally, so I really fancied the Volvo when it came up for sale,” he explained. “It’s a car that everyone loves – it must be the one of the most photographed in the woods. It’s quite hard to drive compared to modern machines but it’s great fun and we are getting quicker and quicker.”

The Amazon is just one of a large number of crowd-pleasing historic rally cars contesting the three-day WRGB National Rally which shadows the full FIA World Championship event. Other  entrants include a number of Peugeot 205 GTIs, a Datsun 240Z, a brace of VW Beetles plus lots of Ford Escorts.

In 1966 there were two Volvos on a Rally GB entry list dominated by Minis and Ford Cortinas. The list of drivers was also impressive, featuring F1 world champions Jim Clark and Graham Hill plus a host of rally legends including Paddy Hopkirk, Timo Mäkinen and Roger Clark.

Ultimately though, victory went to the Ford Lotus Cortina of Bengt Söderström, with fellow Swedes Harry Källström in a Mini Cooper S and Amazon ace Trana joining him in second and third respectively.

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