Five great little events for your 2016 diary

In addition to some of the bigger and better advertised outings in our social calendar, here are five great little events that we’ll be enjoying this year. Perhaps there’s room in your diary for them, too?

3rd April – Rallye des Jonquilles

The Daffodil rally. A pleasant Sunday spent charging about the French countryside in the company of (mostly) continental types in modern classics. This year’s rally encourages entries from TVR drivers. We’ll be there in a Morgan. Info here and our write up on last year’s event here.

22nd May – The opening of the Ape racing season

How have we not discovered this before? Apes are raced professionally by a group of drivers who are clearly one wheel short of a full chassis. I think it’s not too late to sign up if you, like us, think this is the silliest and most brilliant form of motorsport on the planet. Info on the full season’s ape japery here.

10-11th July – Chateau Impney Hill climb

Reviving an event that was once popular half a century ago, the organisers of the magnificent Chateau Impney hillclimb attract a great mix of classic single seaters, road cars and other automobilia for a hillclimb in the grounds of this lovely venue in Worcestershire. This event is going to grow and grow, so visit this year before it gets as swamped as Goodwood. Info here.

29th-31st July – The Right Direction

We stumbled upon this one quite by accident a few years ago and ended up getting nicely sloshed with a great crowd. If you own a Fred Perry, like a bit of Ska and can appreciate some brilliantly customised bikes then it’s well worth a visit. The write up and pics from the last event are here and more info on the event is here. It’s an all-weekender and our fingers are crossed for sunshine again.

28th August – Retro Rides gathering

We love the good karma that Retro Riders seem to exude. “Everything has potential” is the motto, so you’ll see some unusual and previously unloved metal amongst the most obvious classics at Shelsley Walsh for their annual shindig. More info on their excellent forum, here.

We hope to see you at these five fantastic events, and if we don’t, you can always enjoy the write up here on MotorPunk afterwards.