Aside from the above it was also the decade that brought you the following champions: Walter Rohrl, Ari Vatanen, Hannu Mikkola, Stig Blomqvist, Timo Salonen, Juha Kankkunen and Miki Biasion.

Now rally fans can enjoy a look back at the action packed decade of drama, controversy, triumph, tragedy and the main subject of the DVD, the champions.

Featuring footage that has never been released before this great documentary explores the icons of the decade and the cars they drove including the Audi Quattro, Sierra Cosworth, Toyota Celica and Lancia Delta, plus Group B rockets like the Peugeot 205 T16, Metro 6R4, Lancia S4 and Ford RS200.

Along with this the DVD pays tribute to Michelle Mouton, the first woman to win a World Rally Championship event and Markku Alen, who held the title for a handful of days in 1986.

Rally Champions of the 1980s is released Out Now on DVD, priced at £14.99 and will be available from leading video outlets or direct from Duke Video: Tel 01624 640 000, fax 01624 640 001 or email mail@dukevideo.com. Visit www.DukeVideo.com online.

The double DVD is packed full of coverage from the 2009 season with commentary from Ben Edwards and Tim Harvey.

If you are lucky enough to win a copy you better book a day off work as the total running time is over seven hours!

All we’re asking you to do is think up a caption for the picture below of Matt Neal and Jason Plato (captured at the 2007 BTCC media day) and send it to competitions@thecheckeredflag.co.uk

Entries are open until 28 February, two winners will be announced on 1 March.

Packed with great camera angles and on-board footage you’ll see the likes of John McGuinness, Steve Plater, Bruce Anstey, Guy Martin, RyanFarquhar, Alastair Seeley and the Dunlop brothers battle it out for race wins.

Kicking off with the 250cc races as Michael Dunlop and Christian Elkin go head-to-head the racing is immense from the word go, superb five-wide racing.

Race 2 saw the superbikes take to the track with Steve Plater and Bruce Anstey heading up the field with an average overall speed of 121+ mph.

Moving on to the supersports Steve Plater coninues his dominance with Anstey chasing hard, Plater said after his victory, “I knew Bruce was closing, but it’s easier riding from behind than it is to lead. He came past me, but I managed to re-take him at Juniper.”

After winning the 250cc race earlier, William Dunlop took the 125cc race, completing a magnificent 125/250cc double, a feat achieved by his late father sixteen years ago. Dunlop said after the race “This was probably the best 125cc bike I have ever rode.”

Alastair Seeley was out to grab a win in the final race but Ryan Farquhar didn’t want to let him win easily.

Once again some great racing which was unfortunately curtailed by heavy rain.

Along with the action there is some great commentary from Keith Huewen, Steve Parrish and Phillip McCallen.

If the only road racing you’ve seen is from the TT, you should definitely check out this DVD, if you’re not excited by the time you’ve finished this DVD you’ll probably be better off watching Songs of Praise!

This DVD has become a firm favourite in my collection, amazing racing on an amazing circuit.

Running Time: 84 Minutes
Available from: Duke Video | Amazon

Former 500cc World Champion Marco Lucchinelli, Isle of Man TT legend Joey Dunlop, 250cc Grand Prix racer Davide Tardozzi and many more, including Roger Burnett, Fred Merkel, Roger Marshall, Stephane Mertens and Bubba Shobert all play their part in these great races around the 1.96-mile Donington Park circuit.

With costs in the 500cc championship rising, the World Superbike Championship was born out of a vision of cost-effective, world class racing, with a showcase of production-based machines

If you are a fan of World Superbikes now, one of the first things you’ll probably notice is the lack of safety features around the track, such as armco barriers and catch fences, this is 1988 afterall and all that is between the concrete walls surrounding the track and the rider is a gravel trap and a hay bale.

Over the course of the 52 minute running time, you will be thrilled by the action as you travel onboard with Burnett as he crashes out in race one and battles on in the second race, great dices between the two Itallians Tardozzi and Lucchinelli as they go head-to-head resulting in Tardozzi crashing out on the last lap.

As a quote on the DVD case says “Witness history in the making as the World Superbike Championship is born.”

Running time: 52 Minutes
Available from: Duke Video | Amazon