Lamborghinis lined up alongside the crowds of local families as Carlisle's Pirelli plant marked the start of the opening round of the 2018 British Rally Championship.

An array of the polished supercars were situated in the grounds of the Dalston Road plant as the Pirelli International Rally roared into north Cumbria.

A field of 140 cars were taking on up to 85 miles over eight tough stages in Kielder Forest before Saturday evening's ceremonial finish in Brampton, outside the Moot Hall.
Employees at the factory were able to invite family and friends to the site for its annual fun day as the cars set off from the ramps of the ceremonial start on Saturday morning.

Attractions included tours of the factory, supercars, a bouncy castle, mini diggers from Story Contracting, food vans, go-karting grand prix and simulators.

The Mayor of Carlisle, councillor Trish Vasey, and city MP John Stevenson were among those at the start.

Mario Apollonio, Pirelli UK’s Industrial Director, said: "It was a fantastic pleasure to get the first round of the British Rally Championship – named after our company – underway from our home in Carlisle, in what is becoming a proud tradition.

"The backdrop of the family day meant that all of our people and their families were able to get up close to these spectacular cars and drivers as part of a very special engagement with the local community."

Mrs Vasey added: "The rally has been going on for so long which is amazing in itself. It gives great prestige to Pirelli and the drivers. The same prestige is brought to the finish line in Brampton and it brings the people out too; it’s fantastic."

Mr Stevenson said it was good to return to the plant.

He said: "Pirelli is our major employer in the city but it’s more than that; it’s part of our community.

"The Pirelli Rally has become synonymous with Carlisle and I think it is great to see the support that the rally has had with local people as it starts."

Children of employees were invited to help wave off cars as the vehicles set off a minute apart from each other.

They included 10-year-old Danielle Paton, of Houghton.

Her father Ross is a maintenance electrician at the plant.

Attending with her mother Catherine McAleese, Danielle, a pupil at Houghton School, said: "I had to hold a flag and we did a countdown before waving the car off. I had the car with number 39 on it. I was wishing him well.

"It's the first time I've done it. It was really good."

Brothers Mason, Aston and Ricky Stubbs, aged seven, eight and nine respectively, were with their father Garry.

Garry, an industrial engineer at the plant, said: "They've absolutely loved it. It has been fantastic, lots of fun for them."

Dot and Graham Metcalf, of Wigton, were at the event with their grandsons Zack and Theo.

Dot said: "It has been an absolutely brilliant day. We spent all day at the factory and everything was finished and was being packed up when we left.

"The boys even loved the tours of the factory."

The field of cars was led away by four-time British champion and two-time Pirelli winner Keith Cronin in a new Hyundai i20.

Others in the field included the Dumfries Skoda driver David Bogie, himself a former Pirelli winner.

The rally headquarters were at H & H Borderway Mart's site in Rosehill.

The Pirelli International Rally has been run for over 40 years.

Saturday's event was not only the start of the 2018 MSA Prestone British Rally Championship.

Some of those taking part were part of other competitions such as the FIA Celtic European Rally Trophy, MSA Fuchs British Historic Rally Championship, Motoscope Northern Historic Rally Championship and Rally2 The 2WD Challenge.

In Brampton, where the fun began around 4pm, organisers looked to create a carnival atmosphere as the victors romped home.

There were street entertainers, a 60-foot giant TV screen, a barbecue and giveaways.