Myerscough hits top gear with Legend Fires North West Stages

Following a hugely successful event in 2019, Myerscough’s Bilsborrow campus will be the central base for the Legend Fires North West Stages, in partnership with Simpsons Skoda, which will be held on Friday and Saturday, March 20^th and 21^st.

The College is once again providing its extensive facilities for the event’s rally headquarters, including central servicing and scrutineering. Myerscough’s Bilsborrow campus is adjacent to the Garstang town centre ceremonial start and finish, and it is close to the Saturday main action, making it the ideal location.

The College boasts a rally heritage having a long-established motorsport department with stage rallying a core element of their activities and a number of lecturers having strong links to the sport. It has long established links with a number of Lancashire based Motor Clubs who have been instrumental in the organising of the event for many years.

By returning the rally to Myerscough and engaging with staff and students, that in itself provides valuable educational benefits providing first-hand experience of the running of a major motorsport event. All in all, it’s a win, win scenario for both the College and the rally organisers.

The route will comprise of a 175 mile route, 60 competitive stage miles, over 14 special stages, of which the majority are on closed public roads. 125 cars will compete. Following the hugely popular Friday evening Ceremonial Start in 2019, Garstang Town Council was keen to repeat the spectacle which attracted thousands of locals and rally fans into its High Street. However, for the 2020 event, not only will the town host the ceremonial start, it will also welcome competitors back on Saturday at the end of the rally to a ceremonial finish, and champagne celebration for the victors.

Following the change in the Road Traffic Act Legislation in 2017, the event takes advantage of the new laws allowing use of the public highways for motorsport. The 2020 event has been launched on Myerscough’s Bilsborrow campus, including a preview of a selection of the kind of rally cars set to participate in the event, and a demonstration of the action that can be expected, as cars sped round a ‘mini-stage’ set up within the campus grounds.

Dave Gardner, Head of Motorsport at Myerscough College and University Centre, said he was pleased that the event would be based on site: ''We are delighted that the North West Stages rally is back for 2020 and the College is looking forward to welcoming the competitors onto our beautiful campus.

''The organising committee have worked tremendously hard to get to this point and with the combination of closed roads and private venues it should be a fantastic event for both competitors and spectators.

''The College continues to offer students experiences of working at prestigious events on the motorsport calendar in addition to their course studies and this is a big opportunity. We’re pleased to be able to continue to offer these unique opportunities to Myerscough students as part of their enrichment.’’

Dave Read, Event Director for the North West Stages, said: ‘’We’re delighted to be returning to the facilities at Myerscough College, which is well known for their motorsport courses.

‘’The choice of coming back to Myerscough College for the rally headquarters was a really a bit of a no-brainer. Geographically it’s bang in the middle of the action with stages to the west and stages to the east making it the ideal location for central servicing on the day.

‘’The College also boasts a rally heritage having a long-established motorsport department with stage rallying a core element of their activities and a number of lecturers having strong links to the sport. It has long established links with a number of Lancashire based Motor Clubs who have been instrumental in the organising of the event for many years.

‘’The event engages with staff and students and that in itself provides valuable educational benefits providing first-hand experience of the running of a major motorsport event. All in all it’s a win, win scenario for both the College and the rally organisers and is the start of what is hoped will become a long-term relationship.

‘’Wyre Borough Council, with whom the organisers have worked closely, are confident the rally will bring significant levels of income to the area at what is a relatively quiet time in tourism terms.’’

The Legend Fires North West Stages rally is the largest multi-venue tarmac rally in the North of England, attracting thousands of people who compete and watch the action. Myerscough College has played a significant role in the event for a number of years, including students supporting cars competing.

Occasions like this give Myerscough students crucial real life experience on event where they'll be working alongside potential employers. The students will get to experience, first hand, a major event and such experience looks great on their CV when they apply for jobs within the industry.

For more information on the event CLICK HERE

For more information on the range of motorsport study programmes available at Myerscough College and University Centre, CLICK HERE