Isle of Man Festival of Motoring – 18th to 21st September 2025

Words by Kevin Fagan
Pictures and Video by Francine Hendrie, Adam Woods, Kevin Fagan. Drone Footage by AmadeusIOM

The seed of the rally started when Sue and I attended the Silverstone Classic in 2023 with our Figaro. We wandered onto the Scenic Car Tours stand and started to chat with their club Senior Group Relations Manager, Kieran Line. Kieran mentioned that the event attracts around 300 cars, and if we could get at least 30 cars to the event, then we would be awarded the Marque of Honour. I knew that this wouldn’t be a problem, and this was confirmed on the release of the rally to our members, when by close of play on the first day, we already had 38.

Roll on two years, and this number had risen to 65. In addition, the UK Members who signed up also included cars from Germany, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg, meaning two ferry trips to take, that commitment for you. To help members keep informed and allow them to share their preparations and pictures during the event, we created a couple of WhatsApp groups. One for chat and another for announcements. These proved priceless during the rally and were a great way of introducing our ‘newbies’ to seasoned rally goers. The journeys to the IOM started and different times depending on the distance, as we all decided on the island. The ferries departed from Liverpool and Heysham.

DAY ONE – THURSDAY 18th September
The rally has an optional day on Thursday called the ‘Fun Run’, which 29 enjoyed. The morning offered dry weather as we all departed from the hotel at 10:00, heading for our first coffee stop at the Sound Café. Sue and I were so lucky to see seals basking on the rocks. At 11:30, we left in convoy for our next stop at Peel Castle. We were met by the red-jacketed staff from Scenic Car Tours, who directed us to park next to the other classic cars. A walk along the beach and a visit to the marina were followed by a coffee. 13:30 soon came, and we all drove off again in convoy towards the next stop at the Victory Café. Unfortunately, the weather closed in, and the fog was like pea soup! We sought refuge in the café with a hot chocolate. The last stop was Laxey, and finally back to the hotel. The first day had been a lot of fun, and it was great a feel the island’s roads before the main event started.

DAY TWO – Friday 19th September
Unfortunately, the forecast was heavy rain and indeed, heavy rain it was!! We set off from the hotel at 08:15 and headed towards the holding car park, which was located near the Coffee Cottage. If you watch the video, you will see just how heavy the rain was falling. Two drops on the BBC weather app were delivered. Our members huddled up under brollies whilst queuing for the coffee until it was time to leave. Everything at this rally is organised to ensure the car groups get to the holding areas at different times. With 300 cars to park and get around in groups, each person is given a window screen number. Our group was 1 – 65, which meant we were the first out in the morning. Although this meant early starts, we were rewarded by having first access to areas such as the TT Grandstand on the Sunday. At 9:00, we all left the car park in a 65-car convoy, which, although it was still raining, looked incredible. About 10 minutes later, we arrived at the start of the SLOC up in the mountains.

The cars were sent off every 1 minute, meaning a good distance between them for safety. As we approached the man with the red flag, our excitement rose, and at last it was our turn. One thing that becomes apparent immediately is how odd it feels driving on the other side of the road. This meant that you really could put your foot down; although there was a maximum speed limit of 60 mph, we did reach this once, and it felt very fast indeed. The nice thing is you get another go, and when there are two in the car, it means each can experience this unique event. Luckily for me, I was the second driver, and the fog was clearing, so you could see where you were going and the view from the road. From here, we headed to the IOM Motor Museum, which is located on the other side of the island. The drive was so nice, and you could pick out the ‘TT Sections’ as the roads on these have black and white curbs, and the trees are covered with large foam! Arriving at the museum, we parked with all the other figs, which looked fantastic. The venue is well worth a trip if you ever visit the IOM, and it has so many classic and unusual cars. Back at the hotel, it was time to start preparing for our Figaro Quiz Night. These nights are legendary within the club and are always very competitive. The room was filled with 30 tables of 4 people. We had pre-printed the forms, and as Sue gave these out, I checked the mic and got ready to ask the 50 questions.

THE QUIZ WINNERS
3RD PLACE – Silence is Golden (Adam & Lukas / Andrew & Kitty)
2ND PLACE – Lapis Lovelies (Dawn & Aaron / Anthony & Nicky)
1ST PLACE – The Shatner Pants (Gillian & Peter / Jane & Mark)

DAY THREE – Saturday 20th September
After a couple of early starts and some busy days, today’s static display aw a welcome rest. We left the hotel again in convoy to dry weather (hooray) and headed towards to promenade at Douglas. Like the day before, we were welcomed by the red-jacketed Scenic Car Tours staff and entered the closed promenade. The figs looked amazing as we made our way towards the parking. I jumped out of the car and filmed us arriving. Once all parked, you were free to visit Douglas, take the steam train or even visit the Great Laxey Wheel. I was asked to do a quick radio interview live with Bob Cole from SCT on Manx Radio. As the wind dropped, I decided to fly my drone to capture the figs from the air. I must admit I was a bit nervous, but I managed to get some nice pictures and video. At around 15:00, we were allowed to leave, and we made our way back to the hotel for some much-needed rest!

The evening soon arrived, and we were off on our next adventure. This time it was driving to Laxey and catching the 130-year-old Snaefell Mountain Railway up to the Victory Café for pie and mash. This was so much fun as we all parked up at the Washing Floors. The train took around 15 minutes to take us up the 5-mile track to the summit. The Victory Cafe was full of the history of the TT, and you just felt the vibes of all the bikers who had visited it over the years. The organisation was again so well done, as we made our way to our table, each place had a place card with not only our name but also what we had ordered. The food was very tasty, and we were told that they had been busy making all the pies all day. Entertainment was supplied by a band with just two people; they created a brilliant sound, and soon some of us were up dancing around the tables. The evening was over all too soon, and we all made our way back down to Laxey and home to the hotel.

DAY FOUR – Sunday 21st September
The final day was blessed with a blue sky as we ate our breakfast. We knew that with great weather, the next few hours would be simply awesome. A group picture at 08:30 was followed by a convoy in sunshine with the roofs down (at last) towards the iconic TT Grandstand. Our cars entered around the back of the stand, and in convoy, we parked in a row at the start grid. I quickly went to the top of the grandstand to capture this unique moment in history for our little club. You almost had to pinch yourself, were we here now doing this? It really was so special. I mentioned before our 1-65 numbers, and this is where they paid us back, as this allowed us to be first on the grid and to enjoy this unique moment. A quick briefing to everyone from SCT was followed by our setting off. We made our way in convoy to the start of the closed parade, which was led by 4 police bikes and a police car. As we made our way across the island, many residents had positioned themselves down by the road so they could wave at us. Of course, we Figaros are not like other cars, as we have flags on our cars, and these really did set us apart from the others. I can imagine what we must have looked like from those houses, with us waving and flags flapping.

All too soon, it was over, and we entered Ramsey and were asked to park by the sea in another holding compound. We were then moved further on to start the last of the closed mountain runs. After a delay due to an accident, we were allowed to go. The next 10 miles were the best I had ever driven in our Figaro Belle. The sun was out, the roof was down, we had figs in front and behind as we snaked our way in convoy to the famous Creg-Ny-Baa for afternoon tea. The last part of the day involved us going back to the TT Grandstand, where a professional photographer from SCT took lots of pictures of our cars and members.

The evening was met with a coach pick up from our hotel and a short trip down to Douglas for our Gala Dinner. After a superb meal, it was time for a dance (we have a reputation for filling dance floors very quickly), and we danced to the brilliant Retrospect.

DAY FIVE – Monday 22nd September
Saying our goodbyes at breakfast, most of us made our way to the ferries today, but some stayed on another day and enjoyed the Steam Train.

SUMMARY
What a rally, it really did deliver in so many ways. Although the weather didn’t play ball at the start, we didn’t let that affect us, and like many of our rallies, it’s all about being together and enjoying ourselves. Without knowing it, our little cars are really the ‘glue’ which joins us all together, delivering fun, smiles and memories.

WATCH THE VIDEO