Chris Knights wrote in the WSSCC magazine 'DASHBOARD'

The First Rally

The organiser of the first 'Star' was the vice-chairman of W&SSCC, Alan Martin, who said "We propose to run this rally on the principle of national rallies where there are fairly easy sections between short difficult ones".

A permit was obtained from the RAC which allowed entries from any members of clubs which had 'signified their willingness to join in the project' up to a maximum of 210 entries! There were cash prizes for the first three crews of £35, £25 and £15 respectively and the S. W. Fletcher Memorial Trophy would be awarded to the best placed W&SSCC member.

There were multiple start points

As was common practice at the time, following the example of the main continental rallies, there were multiple start points - a pattern which continued up to 1962 - and in 1958 these points were Wolverhampton, Liverpool, Hereford, Oxford and Newark and a total of 90 cars started. Penalties were to be awarded at the rate of 10 points per minute late, 300 points per control missed and 150 points per gate left open after passing through! The routes combined at a common 'control X' and then continued with two 30 minute stops for a total of 400 miles. It wound through Shropshire, and over the Long Mynd where a section was cancelled after K.W.Chaplin's Jaguar Mark VIII completely blocked a road after its transmission locked.

The route continued to make a traverse of the Black Mountains in Breckonshire where it was noted that several of the roads were 'but the faintest traces on the one inch ordnance survey map and were covered by light snow'. Following sections through the Cotswolds where Fish Hill, Broadway was particularly slippery, the cars made their way back to Wolverhampton for driving tests at the municipal airport at Pendeford before the finish and breakfast at the Wulfrun Hall.