<\/a><\/p>\n

Today I found myself at\u00a0Lark in the Park 2014, a rally event held at\u00a0St Columbs Park in Derry (Northern Ireland).
\nIt was a great day for the rally with the sun shining brightly\u00a0over the course, leaving a nice dry track for the drivers.
\nFor anyone that has never been to St.Columbs park it’s an idyllic setting for motor sport such as this.
\nAs I entered the\u00a0tranquil woodland on the path that follows the\u00a0small stream, I heard a\u00a0familiar pop bang, as the cars\u00a0made their practice runs\u00a0through the\u00a0course. I made my way to the starting line and the first car I was greeted by was a rare sight in the form of a red 1990 318i touring estate, owned by one of the officials.\u00a0Behind this lay\u00a0the safety car, sitting\u00a0proudly at the front of the pack, it was a nice 86′ Porsche 911. I continued on and took\u00a0some pictures of the 50 cars that were entered as they\u00a0were lined up waiting for the stages to begin. I had hoped to get some nice action shots during the stages but the course was locked down pretty tight during runs (for safety) and found it difficult to get close enough. I had to\u00a0settle for\u00a0a spot close to\u00a0the starting line and enjoyed watching,\u00a0as the cars warmed their tyres and engines before\u00a0attacking the first corner.\u00a0The sun was shining and the smell of petrol and burning rubber filled the air, the woodland\u00a0was brought to life by the sounds of the rally cars and there was some great driving on display.
\nDuring one of the earlier stages\u00a0I made my way towards the steep hill and corner that follows the straight along at the stream and just as I got there car number 40, which was Mark McElwee’s white Talbot sunbeam\u00a0struck a protruding stump\u00a0causing\u00a0the front passenger side\u00a0tyre to\u00a0pop and the\u00a0wheel ended up under the car as it skidded trouser-fillingly close to going in the stream. Thankfully no one was hurt and the\u00a0stage was put on hold until the car was towed away.
\nAll in all it was a great day\u00a0out and it was fantastic to see a lot of young families there spectating, and creating the\u00a0next generation of young people who are enthusiastic about Motorsport.<\/p>\n

The full gallery of\u00a0pictures from lark in the park can be seen here…https:\/\/flic.kr\/s\/aHsjXBCTW5<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"