The idea of the Three Castles Trial was conceived in the summer of 2001, at the height of a foot-and-mouth epidemic that was severely affecting North Wales. Tourism was at a standstill; many small businesses had no livelihood to speak of.
We thought that an international, high-status Classic Car rally, properly designed and run, might help the region to recover. It would bring income itself, directly in the form of hotel rooms, food, and petrol sales, but just as importantly it would showcase this beautiful area to a new generation of people who maybe hadn't visited before, or who had not been to North Wales since childhood, and so, impact on tourism development.
With the help of far-sighted individuals in local economic development and tourism bodies, who provided encouragement and then, some seed-corn finance, we launched Three Castles in February 2002, announcing the first Three Castles Welsh Classic Trial for that June.
In retrospect, we were a little early. That first year the entry didn't take off, and we had to cancel the event. But neither we nor our supporters lost heart. We gave every penny back (except for one very kind entrant who insisted we put his entry fee towards the future). Then, we planned over a longer time frame, found an enthusiastic sponsor for 2003 in Quinton Hazell plc, whose first factory had been built at Colwyn Bay, moved the event to a new home in Llandudno, and relaunched for 2003.
Suddenly, we were a success. 110 cars took the start for that first 'Three Castles', and almost all of those competitors were new to rallying of any kind. The idea of "a rally for the rest of us" was born. That first event would seem a little tame today, with no competition at all until the second day, but it laid the foundations for future success.
In 2020 we had to postpone the event, due to the coronavirus pandemic sweeping Europe. Just as in that first year, we refunded every competitor who asked (about half rolled over their entries straight away; we're fortunate to have such a great group of entrants). 2020 was the first year since 2003 not to have a Three Castles event, but all was not lost, for the work done was carried over to 2021. Again, we had to postpone the 2021 event, but this time just for three months to September 2021, when it finally ran to satisfying acclaim.
Finally, after three years, we were able to celebrate the twentieth year of our business by running the 2022 rally in its normal time slot of early June, a feat (!) repeated three times since. We continue to try to ensure that the experience reaches the highest level. To date well over a thousand competing crews have enjoyed a Three Castles Trial; many have become our friends and still, each year, our greatest pleasure is to host more crews new to our sport.
Three Castles Classic Rallies remains an independent family business, owned and run by its founders. Each year, once a year, the Three Castles Trial is its only event.
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