Woburn Rally

Brief Rally History

The British Motorcyclists Federation, the UK's largest riders' rights organisation was originally founded in 1960 as the Federation of National One-Make Motorcycle Clubs (FNOMCC) to counter accusations of 'leather-jacketed hooligans'. The FNOMCC first rally was held at the Beaulieu Motorcycle Museum on October 1, 1961.

In 1965, the FNOMCC organised their very first Woburn rally, renaming themselves in the process as the British Motorcyclists Federation (BMF).

By 1973, the Woburn rally was attracting 6000 followers.

In 1974, the gathering then moved from Woburn to Donnington and in 1977 it moved to Peterborough where 15,000 took part.

Between 1983 and 1993 attendance more than doubled to 50,000 and by the late 90s it reached almost 90,000.

In 2000 the gathering was renamed the BMF Show and in 2002 an attendance record of 88,528 was set.

The Woburn Rally 1972

There are remarkable images filmed at the 8th Woburn rally of 1972, including the Miss Federation Contest and the display by the Royal Marines Motor Bike team that I invite you to watch.

Here are some brilliant photos of splendid classic British motorcycles (shown below), taken by a photographer by the name of Stu Newby.

- Jean-Francois Helias