MORE than 200 cars roared into action against the backdrop of the South Downs for an inaugural motoring festival.

Hundreds of people attended the Firle Beacon festival near Lewes in a celebration of 90 years of rally motorsport in the UK, with displays of modern supercars, vintage vehicles and a rally stage demonstration course.

The two-day event, which took place at the weekend, also featured a collection of cars from rally champions Russell Brooks and Colin McRae, as well as an almost 100-year-old MG Morris Oxford, with a chassis and engine dating back to 1927.

Founder of the Firle Beacon event Henry Gage said: “It was an incredible launch for our first ever Firle Beacon.

“The aim of the festival was always to make a petrolhead’s dream come true and we hope that our all-access approach has helped achieve that.”

Cars from across the ages, from American muscle cars, lightweight speedsters and some of the fastest, most powerful vehicles from the Retro Rallycross Championship, filled the paddock with sound and fury to the delight of the visitors of the festival.

Vehicles at the event were taken out for a spin across a quarter-mile sprint course over both days.

The festival also featured a Mini collection, which included one of the most famous Minis, an original 1977 British Leyland Mini 1000, driven by Rowan Atkinson’s Mr Bean.

The inaugural event coincided with a bus rally along Worthing seafront over the weekend, with buses from across the country and from across history on display for visitors.