Crowds turn out for Mid Wales rally car spectacular
Hundreds of people lined the streets as Mid Wales played host to some of the world's best rally drivers.
Fans of all ages lined Broad Street and the Back Lane car park in Newtown as it hosted the National Wales Rally GB yesterday.
The event got under way in Broad Street at 10am, with competitors such as Mikko Hirvonen and former Formula One driver Robert Kubica, who crashed out during yesterday's stage.
The competitors then took in a stage through Hafren, Sweet Lamb and Myherin, near Llangurig, before regrouping back in the town centre for a remote service stage.
Sebastien Ogier pulled clear at the top of the leaderboard during yesterday's event, with the newly crowned 2013 WRC champion heading through Hafren nearly 10 seconds quicker than any other driver.
Councillor Rina Clarke, Mayor of Newtown, said the event was a great way to show off Newtown to the watching world.
She said: "It is a marvellous day for Newtown and it is great that so many people have managed to come out to support the event and see the cars and drivers up close.
"To have them in the town centre like this has been a real experience and I am sure that everyone will remember it for years to come.
"They have signed up to come to Newtown for the next three years, so we will build on this year's event and make sure it gets bigger and better each year."
Jenn Jones, town clerk, added: "It is a great experience and great for people from the local area and further afield who have come down to see it."
The rally is believed to have provided a massive boost to the region's economy, with Val Hawkins, chief executive of Mid Wales Tourism, saying she hoped spectators who travelled to the event would return in future.
She said: "Having this important motorsport event in Mid Wales is great news for the region as a whole and we need to ensure that visitors receive such a warm welcome that they will want to return in the future.
"The Wales Rally GB is the second major sporting event to visit Mid Wales this year, following the The Tour of Britain, which attracted some of the world's top cycling stars in September.
"These sporting events are fantastic because international media coverage helps to raise the profile of Mid Wales. They give the tourism industry and the local economy a real boost in the autumn at a time when our outstanding countryside is so colourful."
Fans from as far afield as Manchester and Glasgow were in attendance, with Gary Beardwell, 45, from Oldham, saying: "I follow it very closely and you would never expect to come to lovely little places like this otherwise.
"What I like about it is that you can see everything really up close."
Fiona Davies, 19, a student, who lives in Trehafren, said: "We have come up from college to see what is going on because there is a real buzz in the town.
"Everyone is really impressed to see the cars up close in person."
Her boyfriend, Kyle Wright, also 19, added: "It is something I am really interested in so I didn't want to miss it while it was on my doorstep. We got to see the crews working on the cars close up which was great for petrol heads like me."
The rally moves on to a stage at Chirk Castle today while the overall winner will be crowned on Sunday.
