Private Plates
Now let's get one thing clear right from the start, a car numbers rally is a static event. The owners of cars with attractive registrations meet at a prestigious venue to display their cherished number plates and, more often than not, the rather smart cars that carry the plates. There's no racing or rallying around circuits. The owners drive their vehicles into a field or arena, park in very straight lines and settle down to a picnic and a number natter.
If you've never attended a rally, you may think that it is basically a good excuse for show-offs to display their wealth. You would be mistaken, for whilst it is true that a few will inevitably turn up, the vast majority are people who really enjoy owning a distinctive registration number and feel they have something in common. The reason for someone owning a particular registration number is the prime interest factor. Generally a registration number is purchased and transferred to a vehicle at hefty expense; it therefore follows that there has to be a reason for the person acquiring the plate. The majority are individuals' initials or initials of the company name, or bear some relationship to the make and model of the vehicle, or a host of other reasons - that's what makes a rally so interesting. Every car that drives into the rally has a number plate that tells a story. You can read the storieson the internet, but you can't beat the live atmosphere. Now are you getting to grips with the idea of a car numbers rally?
No rally is complete without the programme and a bad programme with next to no information about the entrants can spoil the day. With the exception of those whose entry forms arrived too late to be included in the programme, as much detail as possible needs to be included. Who is the entrant, what class has he entered, why did he buy the registration, how long has he owned it, what vehicle is it - are all types of information rally-goers want to read in the programme.
Judging requires organisation, as does the presentation of prizes. The timing of the day's events has to be planned and an attempt made to keep to the schedule. In a nutshell, what appears to be a very straightforward event to organise can take many months of planning, much travelling and a degree of administrative skills. The biggest rallies are organised by the dealers' trade Association. Needless to say, they have the funds available and can afford the £1,500 required to ensure a first class rally. I really do believe that the owners of the venues have a good deal when a rally is booked.