No other city in the United Kingdom has a heritage of transport innovation and development to match Coventry. From the invention and manufacture of the first modern bicycle by James Starley, through motorcycles churned out by around 150 companies, to the current day where students are being trained in design, business and manufacturing at two of the country’s finest Universities, the City of Coventry has always been proactive when it comes to the transport industry. Coventry MotoFest is designed to celebrate the heritage, the current endeavours and an amazing and exciting future for personal transport and more! Cars, motorcycles, live music, trucks, buses, films, stock cars, armoured vehicles, taxis, art, stalls, design, education, prototypes, engineering, and even some bicycles take part. In short, if it’s got something to do with transport, has a connection to the City of Coventry and probably involves an engine in some way, it’ll be here. There's always so much going on, and quite simply everything is free to attend. Contact: Doug Whiffen (07795 805950) or email classified@clubpeugeotuk.org
Coventry Motofest event report 2017 I was joined for the weekend by Liam Kelly and his wife Kelly, who bought their two boys with them this year and made a weekend of it by camping. Liam's 405 Mi16 was there and looking a good improvement on where it was at last year with just a few jobs to finish off. We were also joined by Neil James in his 205 for Saturday and by Chris Clements with his 206 GTI180 on the Saturday. I made up the numbers by bringing both my 304 Cab and my 205 down to help fill the space. We had good weather for the Saturday and the rain held off allowing is to enjoy roaming round the city centre, finding the classics in Broadgate and enjoying the various race cars that were in action on the ring road sprint circuit. The day finished off with a parade lap around the sprint circuit by all the classics at 5pm. Sunday was a more variable day as the weather brought some heavy showers in, leading to a 400m dash for me to get the roof up on my car! I think the weather has led to a lot of extra work for Chris as this was a rare occasion when his car got wet! I managed to go and find the short oval which seemed better put together as you could get up close to the fence and really get the smells, sounds and feel the rubber from the drift cars - a multi sensory experience. I missed the stock cars that were not there in such numbers this year - a casualty of the demise of Coventry Stadium and also the racing trucks who were away racing that weekend. The weekend seemed to have less motor attractions this year, but it was still a great weekend and I know the organisers are already working on getting more motor themed attractions for next year as they continually look to improve things. I know that a smile still graces my face when I drive round the ring road and see the tyre marks on the road. It is definitely in my diary for next year again (2-3 June 2018) and I'm planning on organising a dinner for anybody making a weekend of the event on Saturday night. I hope that more of you will find your way to join us in the future.
