Forging Ahead – Forge Action Day 2017
‘Changeable weather at Forge Action Day 2017 couldn’t prevent the Gloucestershire tuning legend’s annual bash at Castle Combe from being a complete success’
Braving the best of the British summer weather, the 2017 instalment of Forge Action Day, turned out to be a truly wonderful petrolhead’s day out. Many thousands of passionate petrolheads braved the changeable weather, meaning that it didn’t take long before Castle Combe was filled to capacity, packed with modified cars of every shape and size – exactly as we’ve come to expect of Forge Action Day.
Forge Action Day has long prided itself on being able to deliver a fitting swansong for the UK’s summer show season and this year it more than delivered, so much so that it seemed as if every square inch of the circuit was filled with a modified motor of one kind or another. It’s a show that’s long been defined by a welcoming, utterly accepting atmosphere, hence why it really wasn’t odd to see classic Beetles rubbing arches (figuratively) with late ‘60s Americana, ‘hovercraft’ kitted Nissan S13s sharing stand space with be-winged ‘Cossies,’ and everything in-between. Basically, if you like tweaked internal combustion engines, Forge Action Day was your cup of tea.
It had its name atop the door so it goes without saying that Forge Motorsport were in attendance with a massive stand, one groaning under the weight of high end alloy components, but they were far from alone. Also in attendance were Meguiars (more on them in a moment), suspension bush gurus Powerflex, spring and damper gods Eibach and Bilstein, Milltek Sport (makers of some of the finest exhausts around). Toyo had a selection of ultra grippy rubber on display, Pipercross had an array of aftermarket filters, Cobra’s expanded range of bucket and sports seats, and The Performance Company, home to many of the UK’s most beloved tuning names.
The Forge Motorsport stand was the place to see some the nation’s most impressive feature cars, all of them utilising Forge hardware to some degree. Pipey McGraw’s purist displeasing triple rotor Jaguar E-Type was seldom seen without throngs of impressed show-goers, while Steve Putt’s LS-shod Mazda RS attempted to steal as much of the limelight as possible. Both were shaded by the debut of Forge’s own, recently reworked creation, the MK1 VW Golf GTI ‘Berg Cup’ car. Forge’s engineers worked late into the night and onto the early hours to get the John Player Special themed beast to the show, and they were rewarded by positive attention from all corners.
Meguiars were also responsible for the ever popular parade lap, an opportunity for the crowd to see immaculately presented, detailed to the nines cars to take to Castle Combe’s hallowed tarmac. It contrasted with some of the more high octane action taking place, most notably drift demonstrations from some of the UK’s top sideways merchants, plus bookable track sessions for those feeling more adventurous.
Forge Action Day 2017 proved once and for all that it really doesn’t matter if the Great British weather fancies playing ball or not, the British petrolhead’s passion and commitment will always shine through.
See you there next year!