by Geoff Mayes
This weekend people flocking to the Chatsworth Rally Show are in for a treat as the iconic Audi quattro S1 that Michele Mouton used to make history on the famous 1985 Pikes Peak Hill climb, in America, will be in action on both days.
The Audi, which underwent a full restoration by North West based Hansport early in 2007, has featured at a number of events already in 2008, and as always has proved to be both incredibly reliable and a firm favourite with the fans.
Driven by Manchester resident John Hanlon the fire breathing 5 cylinder Group B Audi began the 2008 season running demonstration runs on Blackpool Promenade, where it assisted with course car duties on the North West Stages. This was the first run on a proper stage rally in the U.K for the car in over two decades and the admiring public were enthralled as the beast blasted up and down the sea front.
Next up was the annual appearance at the Stoneleigh Historic Motorsport Show in March, where once again John entertained with his sideways antics. It was at this event last year that Michele was reunited with her record breaking car for the first time since her race to the clouds in America 23 years ago.
The TAC Rally in Belgium was the first major foray into Europe for the historically significant Sport quattro. With a number of Group B cars running at the front of the actual rally, John, who was co-driven by local co driver Frank Blondeel, was especially pleased that his car, on its biggest test to date, ran faultlessly and was the only Group B entrant to complete the full rally distance.
The car now heads to Chatsworth having recently returned from the Rally of the Lakes in Killarney. There the Audi joined a number of other Slowly Sideways members in action. A minor issue with the gearbox on Saturday afternoon saw the Hansport team opt to change both the transmission and the suspension overnight, showing that they are serious about running this car properly.
![John Hanlon. Rally of the Lakes [Pic credit: Rally Gallery - www.rallygallery.com]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/449565.jpg)
