An evening at the Parkway Hotel Cwmbran in May last year to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Welsh International Rally saw members from the Foresters Car Club present a cheque to Noah’s Ark children’s charity,

It was also 50 years since rallying legend Ari Vatanen came to the UK as a young boy in a beaten up old Opel Ascona 1.9, codriven by John Thomas from Maesteg and raced in the 1975 Western Mail International Welsh Rally.

The event, held in the South Wales forests, was a pivotal early UK appearance for Vatanen finishing 24th overall.

John was one of the top co-drivers in Wales at the time and was signed by Ford to return in 1976 to win the Welsh International.

Ari went onto become World Champion in 1981 with Ford but also drove for the likes of Opel, Peugeot, and Subaru.

Ari said of John: “he was only ever my co-driver in one rally, but in a way it was a life-changing experience for me. We have been close friends ever since and talk on the phone on an almost weekly basis.

“It was early 1975 in Finland when one day I received a letter from a John Thomas from Wales. With my limited English I could not figure out John's hand-written scribble, but I understood numbers. Avon Garage from Maesteg had succumbed to John's pressure and promised £300 sponsorship if I came over with my Ascona and participated in the Welsh Rally.

“It felt like winning the lottery! We hammered out the worst dents from my Opel and, a few days later, put it on a ship to the UK. Couple of months in advance. I did not want to miss the start! In my wildest dreams I could not have imagined what Tony Mason from Ford was going to say to me at the start line: ‘At the end of the rally do not speak to anybody before speaking to us.'

“Prior to the Welsh rally, I spent three weeks in Maesteg with John, his wife Susan and their in-laws. When you jump into the deep end of the pool, that's when the steep learning curve starts! Everything was new to me and I felt like driving in the left-hand lane of life all the time; slightly uncertain of myself but fascinated by everything I experienced and saw. The challenge was there from language and lack of showers to Welsh food and sheep whose hill-side legs were shorter... I recall all that with nostalgia and lot of warmth because that's how I was treated by John's family.”

The evening in Cwmbran attracted 400 people to listen to a host of guests talking about their memories of that Welsh International Rally.

Another £1,000 was donated to Ari’s chosen charity in Africa to look after underprivileged children at a school.

The evening was made possible by the generosity of sponsors Weir Rallying, West Wales Rally Spares, Restruct, Castrol,Roger Matthews Transport.