One of the UK’s first Covid-19 secure drive-in sporting events will take place near Cirencester when the annual Lombard Rally Bath takes place next month.

The rally, which traditionally attracts more than 10,000 spectators, has been granted permission for a reduced capacity for up to 400 rally lovers to attend via a drive-in.

Up to 80 roadside vehicles, with a maximum of five spectators in each, will be able to park up to watch a section of the event near Cirencester.

Each vehicle which will be positioned within a 5x5metre bubble which spectators will not be allowed to leave.

Spectators will be able to pre-order food and drink via the TicketCo app and have it delivered to their vehicles during the event.

And for the first time, the entire rally will reach a global online audience via TicketCo TV’s HD pay-per-view live streaming service.

Tim Nash, organiser of Lombard Rally Bath, said: “In order for this year’s Lombard Bath Rally to take place, we needed to change the way the rally serves its customers to make the event

financially viable.

“TicketCo TV’s unified pay-per-view live streaming and event payment solution met our requirements and means this year’s rally takes place with sustainability in mind.

"We’re only a small event organiser, and I believe hybrid events, where physical and virtual tickets are sold, is something the public will have to get used to for a long time.

“Hosting a small number of spectators on a drive-in basis aligned with broadcasting the event live is a fantastic alternative for us and something we will adopt in the future too.

“We are delighted to partner with TicketCo and have been impressed with the versatility of the company’s technology after switching ticketing providers in January.”

This year, Lombard Rally Bath has partnered with TicketCo TV to provide its pay-per-view live streaming and virtual ticketing for the rally.

This year’s rally, which features un-timed special stages which allow drives to showcase their motors to the camera without the pressure of being timed, will feature the usual historic rally cars from yesteryear including Minis, Imps, Volvos, Citroens, Escorts, and many more.

Tickets to stream the full event online on October 17th live on TicketCo TV are available now: https://bit.ly/33zc42d

Admission to the live event varies between £8.50 and £15, depending on the number of spectators in each car. Tickets for the live stream are £5.