Paul Evans - The Welsh Motorsport & Supercar Festival - Sunday 13th September 2026

Preview Interview with Paul Evans.

The third running of the Welsh Motorsport & Supercar Festival will be bigger and better than ever. After huge success in 2024 & 2025, 2026 is going to go from stength to strength – with supercar and hypercar zones, super rare cars, classic car collections, rally cars, race teams, MOTO GP motorbikes, a trade village, food stalls, live music, autojumble, and much more, all located in the paddock and throughout the venue.

The Welsh Motorsport & Supercar Festival will feature displays from the many world-class automotive companies located in and around Wales, as well as vehicles from the UK and abroad, making it a truly international celebration of supercar and motorsport engineering.

More Information

Buy Tickets

https://pembreycircuit.co.uk

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

Laura Cook 0:00

Moving on to sport now and the Welsh Motorsport and Supercar Festival at Pembray Circuit. Just a few weeks to go before the third running of this event on Sunday, the 13th of September. To find out more, I'm joined by Paul Evans. Paul, hello, how are you?

Paul Evans 0:17

Not too bad, thank you. How are you?

Laura Cook 0:19

Yes, very well, thank you. Well, two years have clearly gone down really well. It looks like you're looking forward to making this a third success on the trot. Must be an exciting time for you.

Paul Evans 0:29

It is. It's incredible, really, when you said uh it's the third year, because it's gone so quickly. I mean, we had an idea at the beginning of 2024 that Wales really needed a Welsh motorsport and supercar festival. And we put our heads together and came up with this idea. And year one was a was a really good success. Uh year two was uh was even better, and uh we are genuinely on course to make year three uh bigger and better still. So you know things are going really well, you know, all thanks to the support of uh of the exhibitors and the people that come down to to see the show.

Laura Cook 1:05

But exactly, and and tell me that's perfect timing to tell me a little bit more about the exhibitors. You really have got a wide range of cars to suit all sorts of taste, don't you?

Paul Evans 1:15

Uh we do, and that and that was the original plan. You know, we want to get a bit of everything down there, things that have never been seen at Pembray before. I mean, it's a bit of a celebration of Welsh automotive and motorsport, um, but we don't want to make it exclusively Welsh either. So, you know, we're we're branching out and we're getting some some amazing companies and some displays from from all over the UK. And actually, there's there's a team and a car coming from the south of France this year. So we we are expanding uh all the time. So uh it you know it's hard to put your finger on what the headline act is gonna be because we've got so we've got so many things coming. So uh yeah, we we've probably got about well over 200 supercars coming and three supercar clubs. Uh and we're gonna have cars like uh a Mercedes AMG1 again and uh Astin Martin Valley and uh and some really cool McLaren's and uh a Bigatti Charron and Ferrari F40. So there's I mean there's a whole host of things coming down um so we're we're we're fully stocked in terms of supercars. Um Motorsport, I mean we're very lucky. We we got we got companies like ProDrive come in with uh with Ari Vartinen's 1981 winning uh Escort Mark II and an ex-Collin McCray Subaru in Pretzer. In fact, we're gonna have two of those uh down at Pembray. Uh and we've got companies like RML coming from uh you know Northamptonshire, which is quite a long way for them. Uh electric classic cars coming from um Newtown, and we've got manufacturers like uh cars from Exeter and Bentley, Bristol coming. So we're really we're really spreading our our wings out and uh you know attracting some really cool exhibitors from from further afield, as well as some magnificent people who are a little bit more local, who are bringing some incredible machines down, and some incredible private collectors who have been very generous with their time in in bringing some very cool vehicles to the show.

Laura Cook 3:20

Do you find the more that you're doing this, the more that the word gets around and the reputation that you're building, so then it builds on more exhibitors?

Paul Evans 3:27

Uh that's exactly what we found, yes. I mean, people people took a flyer in U1. I mean, they they knew what the concept was, but they didn't really know if it was going to work at Pembray or not. Uh so they came down and everyone was was pretty pleased by how it went. So now they've got an understanding of it. I think one of the biggest compliments we had from U1 was somebody said it was it was like the the very early Goodwood Festival of Speeds, where everybody could go everywhere. You know, one ticket gives you access to everything and everybody. Um so there's no VIP areas, there's no there's no big corporate areas where people can't get to. That that'll never happen at Pembray. We wanted to be a big family day out where you can go and see everything, um uh regardless whether you're a VIP or uh or like me, you you're just a uh motorsport enthusiast.

Laura Cook 4:23

Yeah, or petrol heads, as we like to call ourselves if we love motorsport. Well, that's some compliment. I mean, being likened to Goodwood, that's a real taste of what people can expect at Pembray. And like you say, it and it makes it so much more special when people can get really close to the cars. I mean, you've got the Formula One circus of this world where you're kind of herded around, don't you?

Paul Evans 4:45

Absolutely, yes. Um, you know, but Pembray is gonna open its doors like never before, so you're gonna be able to get into the the pit paddock and the pit carriages, which is normally off bounds because you know when the racing's on, you you can't get down there. And we're gonna have everything from the world's fastest wheelbarrow to two two Division I trucks which race in the British Truck Racing Championship. So uh we've got uh little and large in terms of uh in terms of motorsport and and everything in between. So uh uh oh and and this year, of course, it's the 40th anniversary of uh of Group B, um 1986 being the last year that uh Group B rally cars were were allowed in competition, and we've got quite a selection of Group B rally cars coming to Pembray, and uh uh you know Pen Pembray is is synonymous with rallying, it's a it's a really big rally community. I mean, there's lots of other things that happen down there in terms of racing and motor motorbikes, but uh I think it's it's it's really the heartland for rallying. So uh we're going to have uh quite a lot of cool things for uh for rally enthusiasts to see. And of course, a lot along with static displays, there's gonna be action on the track all day. So uh uh it's a it's a full day of of demonstration runs and uh and donuts and lots of tire smoke. So uh it'll be a spectacular day as well.

Laura Cook 6:09

You've mentioned already that it's a family event. There's a lot of off-track entertainment as well.

Paul Evans 6:14

Yes, yes. Um, you know, we got we got a fun fair, a food village, uh the Pembray restaurant's gonna be open all day, serving breakfast and and carrying on throughout the day. Um, and it it it really is a day for the whole family because it's the only event at Pembray where are you allowed to uh to bring dogs. So uh well-behaved dogs on on Leeds, of course. Um, so you know they're very welcome to come down. So, you know, we're we're really trying to make the Welsh Motorsport and Supercar Festival something something really different, something for for everybody. And um, I mean, as you as you know, there's only one entrance into Pembrays and they're off the main road. Um, but we've got a new traffic management system in place for this year. So uh we're able to park cars on the Pembray airfield. So uh as soon as you turn off the road, cars will go in two different directions, um, which will will hopefully double the speed of of people coming into the venue as well.

Laura Cook 7:12

Well, that's a measure of your success as well, because when circuits get suddenly busy, all the crowds start coming in, you have to think about how you're going to get them in and out. So traffic management systems, clearly a sign of your success.

Paul Evans 7:23

You know, you know, it it it it is nice, isn't it? It is nice to have a have a traffic jam going into time today. Um, but you know, we do want to get people in and out uh quickly and safely. So it it is something that we've uh we've put a lot of thought to this year. So uh and it's all parking on hard standing areas as well. And you know, you know, it's a short walk um from the from the airfield, uh, and we also have a park and ride in operation from there as well. So uh yeah, we've we've we've put we put just as much thought into the into the traffic management as everything else uh this year. So uh hopefully it'll be a lot lot easier and nicer for people to uh to come in and and uh enjoy themselves.

Laura Cook 8:04

Fabulous. That makes it, doesn't it? So we're talking about the planning. I mean, presumably, hopefully, you'd like to be to be here in 12 months' time talking about the fourth Wells Motorsport and Supercar Festival. But planning, you know, must start months and months in advance, and the pressure's on you guys to come up with new ideas and reflect what's relevant in the world of motor racing. How exciting is is that sort of process for you?

Paul Evans 8:27

We have already got things booked in for uh for 2027. Yeah, and and we got some really cool things which may include a shot at the Pembray Circuit Lap Record. Um so yeah, that's something that's something we're working on for for next year. Um so um so we got we've got some very cool things already lined up. Um for so yeah, we're working, we're working more than a year in advance on this now, um such such as the the scale of the event. So uh um yeah, so look, but but priority of course is it's Sunday the 13th of September this year. So uh that's what all our focus is on, really. Making that a success and fun for everybody.

Laura Cook 9:14

So we've still got a few weeks to go, but Sunday the 13th of September is the date, and people should put it in their diary. Paul, tell us where people can find more information if they want to come and take a look at what's on offer.

Paul Evans 9:26

Uh yeah, the the best way is is via the Pembray website, which is uh Pembraecircuit.co.uk. So all the information is on there. You can buy tickets from there as well. Um, you know, they're they're slightly cheaper if you buy them in advance. Um, although you can buy them on on the gate or the day, but we you know we would encourage people to buy them in advance. Uh and that there's full information there about uh about what's going on and the displays and um on social media as well, on on the Pembray Circuit social media uh sites, face Facebook and uh and the normal places, um there there's regular updates going on there. So uh but I'd I'd I'd check out penbraysircuit.co dot uk first and foremost.