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The Welsh Rally Sprints got my attention when shown on NZ tv from 1978. Some of my relatives were among the first to point a car down an officially closed gravel road in NZ, many years before.
https://youtu.be/DQSELkJhi80 NZer Alan Carter in the Toyota Celica and co https://youtu.be/AoZxBXxEwcI
Mikkola, Vatanen, Salonen, Airrikkala, Dawson were in NZ for the '79 WRC and subsequent years. No F1 in NZ, so WRC is better than F1 imo.
I always wonder about people's first rallies.
I'm averaging around 3-4 WRC events a year and the pure magic and anticipation of seeing the cars is gone now. It's still exciting don't get me wrong - but okay it's never going to be the same as the mid-90s when I first started watching rallies live. When you could hear the first car from a huge distance away and it sounded like a small war was approaching. Plus when I was much younger I literally saw the cars once a year.
But on the flipside the cars we are witnessing now are by far the quickest, jumping higher, further, etc.
Hello everyone. Nice to hear other rally fans stories about getting crazy of rallying. My very first memories for rally start in year 82 and thousandlakes rally. I was under school age little boy and my daddy bring me in special stage (ouninpohja) which was quite near my grannys place. Wow still remember That Mikkolas Audi sound when it came that junction. Love at first sight :) I went every 1000 lakes rally since 1982-2013. So i have seen best years of group B especially 85 and 86. Still miss that sound and bangs which can hear many km before car came. Henri Toivonen was my biggest idol that time. Now after 2 years brake I will go back to watch Rally Finland. Like this new cars more and waiting new season more than many years. Can write whole book about Rally Finland and my experiences but I would like to hear other people stories as well. Merry xmas to everyone. And welcome Revman
I think the Quattro turned so many of us on to rallying back in the day.
As a kid in the 70's I liked rallying on tv, but it had quite normal looking cars like the Escorts, Chevettes, Sunbeams etc.
But when the Quattro came it looked and sounded from another planet. I had to go and watch it for real on the RAC and I was hooked. The follwing Group B cars were just amazing and I was so lucky to see them first-hand for 5 years before they were banned.
Its never been as thrilling since but rallying still stayed a passion.
Again, I would like to thank you for the responses. I am so excited for the season! I've got to go study up!!!!!
Means a lot of longdistance travelling for you to meet up our recommendations. :)
I would advise not to go to a WRC round as your first event, if you can try and get to a local club event (not so easy if you live in the US though). The reason I say that is that you can be impressed by how quick the drivers are going and the way that they control the car. Then when you actually get to a WRC event you can be completely blown away by how much quicker it is at the top level.
My first ever rally was a local event and I must only have been 2 or 3. Rallycross star Pat Doran was competing (I think in a Sierra Cosworth) and was one of the first cars threw the stage. Almost right in front of us he rolled the car into a ditch, before getting back on his wheels (with the help of spectators) and carrying on. I was hooked!
We continued to watch a lot of local/national club events but it wasn't until 13 or 14 years later I got to my first WRC round. I'll never forget being stood on a cold, wet hillside on the Rheola stage of Rally GB. The first car threw was McRae in the Focus and I'd never seen a car going that fast on gravel. It was absolute poetry in motion as he came into view threw a left hander completely sideways, flicked the car back the other way for a right kink, into a 90 right and then out of view round a long open left. It gives me goosebumps thinking about it, in particular the atmosphere as the sound of the car faded into the distance and the hill seemingly came alive with the buzz of excited chatter. In all the many years of rallying I watched before and since, that moment beyond all others reminds me of why I love the sport.
There´s always John VanLandingham to ask about american rallying. I know from him there´s some forums in america as well for rallypeople to discuss. (his name here is JanVanVurpa.Quote:
Originally Posted by MrJan
True, but my wife wants to see Europe, so.......;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Rallyper
Still researching, and gaining a solid understanding of this sport day by day.....In preparing for Monte Carlo, I have heard references to teams sending a passenger car out on the course to assess conditions. In Monte, specifically looking for ice/snow. Does this happen daily during any rally, or is this practice exclusive to ice/snow races?