One of the most important things we can do in our sport is inspire the next generation, and at Spark Developments we’re always looking for ways to add value and put back into the sport.

When we announced that rally TV presenter, Paul Woodford would be returning to the driver’s seat in a brand new Spark Developments Mini, we were keen to use the project to benefit sport.

As part of Paul’s ‘Road to Cadwell’ project, which saw the presenter team up with the Mini Rally Challenge’s Julia Perry to tackle the North Humberside Rally at Cadwell Park, we ran a competition for kids to design a rally car.

The winner, 13 year old Katie Harper from North Yorkshire, won the chance to drive an R53 Mini Cooper S on a rally test stage, thanks to the amazing team at Rally Rides. Katie’s family joined her for the experience, and Julia was on hand to help give our competition winner a proper taste of rally driving and co-driving.

The smile on Katie’s face all day made this project worthwhile, and we are very confident this won’t be the only time this talented young driver gets behind the wheel of a rally car. Watch out, Mini Rally Challenge!

We couldn’t have achieved this without the help of Ian Ross at Rally Rides, and their Junior Rally Experience means kids as young as 8 years old can get behind the wheel of real rally cars, including Subaru Imprezas and Minis. Find out more at rallyschool.co.uk.

Here’s a video from our inspiring day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlxtQHR6OVQ