THOUSANDS of visitors flocked to Bournemouth seafront as the town’s three-day Wheels Festival roared into life today.

Crowds watched on in awe as monster trucks were put through their paces and were treated to a vast array of stands and stalls, experiencing plenty of seafront entertainment such as a mini-tank arena and classic steam displays.

See all the pictures from day one of Bournemouth Wheels Festival in a gallery 

But the real stars of the show spent the day wowing petrolheads who had lined the East Overcliff Drive demonstration run.

Supercars, racing bikes, Le Man racers and historic F1 single-seaters were among the machines speeding along the cordoned-off straight, complete with makeshift chicanes.

Summing up the morning's mood, festival visitor Paul Anderson told the Echo: "I don't care about the wind and the rain really, I'm here to check out these cars. It’s hard to get a feeling about just how loud, how powerful they are, from watching on television. You need to hear them up close and personal."

Meanwhile, Grant Hughes agreed "It is a bit on the windy side, but there's plenty going on. I cannot wait to check out the supercars at the BIC."

The exhibition at the BIC proved popular, especially around the same time as a lunchtime downpour which had festival-goers running for shelter.

It included vintage classics alongside the best of modern motoring technology – worth a combined total of more than £12million. At one point there was a queue as people lined up to have their picture taken with the Ultima GTR 550.

One car that also proved a big hit with spectators was an original Mini Cooper S, which had been restored over an 18-month period after being abandoned in a barn. It showed spectators on East Overcliff Drive that when it comes to four wheels, size isn't everything.

Another visitor told the Echo he'd been waiting two hours for a glimpse of the historic Formula One cars, which powered their way along the demonstration straight.

The Echo was even given a driver's view perspective of the demonstration straight, from inside a DS3 Cabrio Racing car.

The team at Citroen, who have a stand at the site of the old Imax cinema, were happy to let our reporter sit in on a run in their Citroen Racing tuned 202bhp limited edition, which is one of only a handful ever produced.

After 2pm the wet weather began to disappear and the festival was awash with sun and everybody began to enjoy the warm weather, donning sunglasses and tucking into ice creams.

At Pier Approach a packed audience watched on as freewheelers took to BMXs, skateboards and rollerblades, dazzling them with a string of daring manoeuvres.

The MC whipped the crowd into life as they cheered on the young daredevils, although a couple did pick up a few bumps and bruises along the way.

Marcus Davies, visiting for the day with his young family from London, said it had been a brilliant day, adding: “Everywhere you turn there seems to be something else interesting and cool to keep everyone entertained.”

Among the new festival attractions this year are quad bike rider the Kangeroo Kid, who will leap over monster trucks on the beach - and stunt driver Paul Swift who, tomorrow, will be attempting to drive along East Overcliff on just two wheels.

Monster truck shows take place from 12.30pm on the beach between the piers, while Pier Approach and the gardens will see bicycles, wheelchair sports, BMXZ, skateboarders and rollerbladers showing off their skills all weekend.