Wales Rally GB has returned to the region with a packed regime for the weekend.

The festival of motor sport and final stage of the FIA World Rally Championship descended on North Wales once again with events getting underway at the Deeside Service Park and in the Denbighshire forests.

As since the rally moved north in 2013, the busy, free to enter rally village and service park is situated next to the Toyota engine plant on Deeside Industrial Park and hosted a ‘Big Bang’ Industry Awareness STEM exhibition, with more 1,500 visiting students studying key science, technology, engineering and maths subjects at educational establishments throughout Wales and Cheshire.

Ken Skates, Labour Assembly Member for Clwyd South and Welsh Government cabinet secretary for the economy and infrastructure, said: "I'm delighted to be here today at the Big Bang in Deeside.

“It’s a fantastic interactive experience which will no doubt help to inspire the engineers and scientists of the future.

“Wales is home to around 150 component and systems manufacturing companies, which employ some 18,500 people within automotive manufacturing with an annual turnover of £3 billion.”This is an excellent opportunity to get young people interested in the subjects they need to become a part of this dynamic sector in the future.”

Rallying got underway in earnest at the shakedown through Clocaenog Forest on Thursday morning.

Throughout the weekend, the rally will take in a special timed event through the streets of Chester city centre as well as the family friendly RallyFest event at Cholmondley Castle on Saturday.

This year’s event heads into Denbighshire and Powys once again and welcomes back the of the super-tricky night stages, also on Saturday.

Full details of the 2017 Dayinsure Wales Rally GB including route, timetable and ticket information can be found on the official www.walesrallygb.com website.

Pictures and video by Don Jackson-Wyatt