Roger Albert Clark Rally 2008

[sal]

As the event is only a month or so away thought it was about time that a thread was started!

http://www.rogeralbertclarkrally.org

Nice entry building including Phil Collins in his new Ascona 400 with Nicky Grist alongside. For those of you old enough to remember Phil's first association with an Ascona in the 80s this will be a real blast from the past.

Still waiting for Malcolm Wilson's entry in his new RS1800 and no doubt there will be some other enttires before the closing date.

Stage highlight for me is the return of Olivers Mount which is always a hoot for crews and fans alike.

Bring it on!

[Langdale Forest]

Will be marshalling in Langdale.

[BGilbert]

I shall be there for the weekend, my first RAC, cant wait!!
Ps, if you look a little closer at the entry list, you will see that Malcolm Wilsons name is already there. ;)

[MrJan]

I think I might be taking a few days off and make the mammoth trip up from Exeter for my first RAC. Can anyone suggest the decent stages to look out for and (more importantly) if there are any that I should avoid :)

Either way it's going to be fairly epic and expensive :S

[sal]

Ps, if you look a little closer at the entry list, you will see that Malcolm Wilsons name is already there. ;)

He wasnt when I started the the thread as there was a question over whether his new Escort would be ready!

Still time for some more entries before the closing date. I'm very fortunate in living half an hour or so from the Yorkshire stages so can spend at least one night in my own bed! Been to Langdale for the last two years so maybe Olivers Mount for me this year...

[sal]

I think I might be taking a few days off and make the mammoth trip up from Exeter for my first RAC. Can anyone suggest the decent stages to look out for and (more importantly) if there are any that I should avoid :)

Either way it's going to be fairly epic and expensive :S

Unlike the Rally GB you wont really run into any "jobsworths" as this event is very much like the old days in the main and the majority of people you will meet are rally enthusiasts and not air horn toting gimps. Therefore I cant really suggest any stages to avoid just plan your route depending on how hard you want to push it. Langdale is a great Yorkshire stage and if they run it the same way as previous years there is one particular spot wheere you can see the cars twice in the stage without moving. Olivers Mount is a superb tarmac venue but as it is a hill can get a bit cold and breezy! Greystoke has been busy in previous years . Other than that if you do make it then just revel in the atmosphere of what for me is now the best event of the year!

[MrJan]

My bro is in Manchester so thinking of being there on Friday night. Still not sure if we are heading up to other stages as it adds quite a bit of cost.

[sxis]

Anyone know the mr for the Newcastleton stage?

[306 Cosworth]

I'll be covering the whole day with Ben and several others, should be a large group of us, and we should see 8 - 10 stages. Can't wait should be awesome, hope it's dry south of the border and snowy north of it :D

[MrJan]

What's the walk like into Oliver's Mount? Thinking of only heading there on the Saturday and then heading up to Carlisle or Dumfries overnight and hitting some of the Scottish stages on the Sunday.

[Simmi]

Has anyone seen them blast round Temple Newsam? I'm heading over on Saturday morning as it is right on my doorstep. Obviously the rally is best viewed in the forest but this is too close to miss.

Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts/tips/good corners?

[MrJan]

Is it Temple Newsam or Temple Newsum? Seen it spelt both ways on the site.

I really wanted to get to this one but we decided that without knowing anything about the area that it was a bit of a stretch to get there from Manchester and then across to Scarborough in a reasonable time.

Also what's the best thing to do on Sunday? We apparently have a hotel in Dumfries but I'm still a bit unsure of what stages to go to. Any suggestion at all would be great.

And sorry I can't help you Simmi as this is my first R.A.C, in fact it's my first rally north of Epynt :D

[Simmi]

It was gutting to see Steve Perez limping through Temple Newsam this morning. He didn't look like he could get up through the gears and had to be pushed off the startline on the second run. A real shame to see him coasting.

Malcolm was on it and looked the fastest by far. People can say what they want about his team tactics as M-Sport boss but he can certainly drive.

[sal]

Spent the day at the Weaponess hairpin at Ollies and what a great day it was with Malcolm Wilson poetry in motion and carrying so much more controlled speed than anyone else. Perez came in backwards on one run but Phil Collins seemed very subdued perhaps preserving the rear axle. One Mk2 jibbed and the Sunbeam had to be restarted and came round on his last run minus the spots so hope his electrics didnt give him trouble in the Scarboro traffic. Today reminded me how much I have missed speccing at Olivers!

[MrJan]

Wow, what a huge amount of rally I managed to pack into 2 days, and there was space for more.

Firstly a comment on Collins, spoke to David Stokes at the service before Greystoke and his words were that Phil is used to driving a MK2 with WRC technology that can stop on a dime and he was not used to having 'no brakes' :D

Got to Temple Newsam on Saturday and watched by the start but it all seemed pretty mundane, still a good taster. Then on to Olivers and watched the first 2 stages at the top esses. Dropped down the hill for the second lot and watched at the hairpin which is the first corner when the bikes race there. Good viewing and some different approaches (Wilson and Easson were notable for just carrying speed and not using the handbrake). Also fun seeing a camera being run over which some plum had dropped in the stage :p :

We made tracks towards Greystoke but my brother was driving and suffering from a cold and the early start so we headed to the service bit for 10 minutes or so and then straight on to the hotel.

Started Sunday at Ae watching just before the bridge, again Wilson was just really neat but the spot we watched was all a bit tame really. For the second run through we drove round to the other side of the stage on top of the hill but again it was just good viewing but nothing notable.

Then it was on to Twiglees which was the highlight of my rally. Stood on the side of the hill with a nice unobscured spot and virtually every bugger was tail out.

After that we made the trek over the moors to Newcastleton and wacthed at a 90 left at the top of the hill. The best part of this stage was trying to get out. Some transit had left a huge pothole (in the words of some Scottish lads "nah, that tranny's f***ed it"). Two lads stood and guided every car around it, except some p***k in a 4x4 who thought he could go anywhere. One almighty crash and a burst on the horn later he probably regretted it :D

Finally back to Twiglees in the dark which was better than I expected.

Star of the rally for me was the lad with the flashing lights and ice cream chimes :D Best driver was Wilson by a long stretch but McCormick (I think that's the name) was really balls out techspacular on Sunday and deserves a :up: Just a shame that the atrittion rate was so high and we lost a lot of the quicker boys but all in all a fantastic weekend.

[MrJan]

Few piccies, all of which look as if they could be in completely different events. Videos to follow when I can be arsed and all my pictures will also be on http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrjanyeo at some point.

Round one of the hairpins at Olivers Mount in the dark
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/8071/dscf0163ut4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Across the bridge at Ae
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/2295/dscf0211vb5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Through a puddle at Newcastleton
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/8453/dscf0330uw2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

POwer down in Twiglees
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/2372/dscf0288va3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[BGilbert]

Heres some shots from an awesome weekend on the RAC

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii24/Bengilbert_photos/RAC4.jpg

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii24/Bengilbert_photos/KK3.jpg

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii24/Bengilbert_photos/RAC2.jpg

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii24/Bengilbert_photos/RAC3.jpg

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii24/Bengilbert_photos/KK1.jpg
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii24/Bengilbert_photos/RAC4.jpg

[BGilbert]

And a few more

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii24/Bengilbert_photos/KK4.jpg

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii24/Bengilbert_photos/rac1.jpg

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii24/Bengilbert_photos/KK2.jpg

[ryland.j]

some nice pics there boys,wish i could have been there :)

[AndyRAC]

A fantasic event as ever. But, as is always said - it does need a lot more entries, and as much as I love the Escorts - a bit of variety. Where are the 131 Abarths? Just wish they could find a big money sponsor, so the entry fee could be lowered and maybe add additional mileage/day.
Oh one other thing, thanks to the Bar-stewards in Newcastleton who stole 2 stoves and a kettle of mine, much appreciated.NOT!!!

[MrJan]

Oh one other thing, thanks to the Bar-stewards in Newcastleton who stole 2 stoves and a kettle of mine, much appreciated.NOT!!!

Seriously?!!!! Bang out of order and not what you expect from rally folk. I noticed walking into the stage that there was a white Mk2 which had a wheel clamp and an Anglia or a Mini which had a steering wheel lock. Thought at the time that it was a sad reflection of society but never thought that people would nick stuff.

[sal]

In the good old days of the Lombard RAC/Network Q if you did all the days not every stage had killer action as it was a marathon event and not a sprint like the current WRC. The Clark shares characteristics with the old days (even if it doesnt have the 50+ stages of a typical Lombard) so dont think you can expect door handle driving on every occassion certainly not on the last day. Also dont forget for every Grp4 or Grp B car in those there were 6 or seven class cars be they Astras, Golfs etc so the tailout driving was far more diluted.

One of the main attractions of following this type of event is that it is almost as much an adventure as competing (often harder if you dont book accomodation!) Planning the route beforehand making amends on the move if traffic or other delays get in the way, grabbing food and hopefully sleep when you can and maybe helping the odd crew out if they have a problem its all part of it unlike todays 9-5 stuff.

As for the crime aspect I can remember going back to my car in the 80s in Keilder and Wales and finding someone had tried to force the lock on more than one occasion as there were far more cars parked than these days so it was easier for the crims to operate and it was before immobilisers and the like. Thats why everyone always used to have padlocks on their Cibies!

I only did one day this due to work commitments but hope the event continues and goes from strength to strength. Yes it needs more entires yes it could get a bit samey if it keeps the same route but you only had to be at Ollies in the dusk on Saturday to sense the atmosphere that you were part of something special. I've said it before but the future is in the past!

[MrJan]

I've said it before but the future is in the past!

Funny that. I was watching the history of rally GB on Dave the other night and Dave Richards was talking about how the WRC has changed to be more TV friendly. I still find it funny that in attempting to make the sport more accessible to the masses they just seem to be alienating more people who actually love the sport.

Take the trip that I've just done, going from Exeter to Manchester, Manchester to Leeds, Leeds to Scarborough, Scarborough to Penrith, Penrith to Dumfries, Dumfries to Lockerbie, Lockerbie to Newcastleton, Newcastleton to Lockerbie, Lockerbie to Manchester and then using a day off work to go from Manchester to Exeter on the Monday. The whole thing cost me IRO £50, thanks to sharing a hotel room and a company car fuel allowance, and a s*** load of effort. I loved every minute of it. I was excited before I went and I'm still smiling now.

In a few weeks the WRC comes to Wales. I don't know the date exactly but I do know that I could do the whole trip for about the same price, with less effort and without having to take time off work. The thing is that I really don't want to do it. Whenever I've been to the WRC I usually get to see maybe 3 stages in a day whereas on the RAC we managed to see the cars 6 times in one day, a figure that could have been increased to 10 times if we'd stood in the right place at Olivers and been arsed to go to Greystoke.

Modern day rallying at the high level just leaves me feeling a bit cold and I don't think that I'm the only one who would take the RAC over Rally GB every time.

[www.historicrally.be]

Hello Guys,

I see you have very good pictures about the RAC 2008 !

Now I'm Joris Erard from Belgium and I am the codriver of Stefaan Stouf. As you maybe know we have driven the RAC with our Ford Escort RS1600. We had startnumber 19 and registration plate is BVW 14L.

Maybe you can help me to get some pictures of our car?
Hopefully you guys can help me and I would appreciate this a lot.

Regards
Joris Erard
Belgium

[sal]

Hello Guys,

I see you have very good pictures about the RAC 2008 !

Now I'm Joris Erard from Belgium and I am the codriver of Stefaan Stouf. As you maybe know we have driven the RAC with our Ford Escort RS1600. We had startnumber 19 and registration plate is BVW 14L.

Maybe you can help me to get some pictures of our car?
Hopefully you guys can help me and I would appreciate this a lot.

Regards
Joris Erard
Belgium

Joris

Great to see you and Stefan out on the RAC hope you enjoyed the event! You were great entertainers at Olivers Mount! Please tell some other Belgian crews about the rally as it would be nice to see more overseas entries.

If you ask the same question at http://www.britishrally.co.uk I'm sure that one of the many snappers there will be able to help with images

Regards
Chris

[AndyRAC]

In the good old days of the Lombard RAC/Network Q if you did all the days not every stage had killer action as it was a marathon event and not a sprint like the current WRC. The Clark shares characteristics with the old days (even if it doesnt have the 50+ stages of a typical Lombard) so dont think you can expect door handle driving on every occassion certainly not on the last day. Also dont forget for every Grp4 or Grp B car in those there were 6 or seven class cars be they Astras, Golfs etc so the tailout driving was far more diluted.

One of the main attractions of following this type of event is that it is almost as much an adventure as competing (often harder if you dont book accomodation!) Planning the route beforehand making amends on the move if traffic or other delays get in the way, grabbing food and hopefully sleep when you can and maybe helping the odd crew out if they have a problem its all part of it unlike todays 9-5 stuff.

As for the crime aspect I can remember going back to my car in the 80s in Keilder and Wales and finding someone had tried to force the lock on more than one occasion as there were far more cars parked than these days so it was easier for the crims to operate and it was before immobilisers and the like. Thats why everyone always used to have padlocks on their Cibies!

I only did one day this due to work commitments but hope the event continues and goes from strength to strength. Yes it needs more entires yes it could get a bit samey if it keeps the same route but you only had to be at Ollies in the dusk on Saturday to sense the atmosphere that you were part of something special. I've said it before but the future is in the past!

Quite agree. What sport tries to promote itself more by alienating it's true fans? You couldn't make it up.
Reading today's MNews, it seems Andrew Coe of IMS who promote Rally GB, is keen to keep the event in Wales - as the sponsors are happy with the media and TV coverage. What??? Are they serious? The coverage is pants. Seriously, for the good of the event and the sport, it needs to move elsewere. Being stuck in South Wales is doing the event/sport no good as it's not reaching the conciousness of Joe Public - like the old RAC did. Sorry, it's not an anti-Welsh rant, but just being realistic.

[J4MIE]

Well I have to say it, sal has got it spot on, it's an adventure for everyone involved from the organisers to the competitors, service crews, marshals and spectators (car temp guage said -5C on Sunday night in Kielder!). I was at 16 stages on the event and could've been more, and apart from the last day when they were really trying to get to the finish (and I don't blame them), everyone looked to be on it and trying very hard indeed :up: I was even organised enough to be able to have bacon and eggs in Ae on Sunday morning, and then later I got sunburnt! :eek: :p :

Can't praise the event enough, by far the best event in the country and a pleasure to attend, all the organisers should be very proud of what they have achieved. Of course more entries would be good but it's not everything, and a great time was still had by all.

I have still got to sort my photos out but will post some up tomorrow :)

[J4MIE]

Now I'm Joris Erard from Belgium and I am the codriver of Stefaan Stouf. As you maybe know we have driven the RAC with our Ford Escort RS1600. We had startnumber 19 and registration plate is BVW 14L.

Maybe you can help me to get some pictures of our car?
Hopefully you guys can help me and I would appreciate this a lot.

Hi, firstly well done to you both, totally on it everywhere I saw you :D :up: I will get some pics of you up here tomorrow :) Hope to see you back again next year ;)

[AndyRAC]

Hello Guys,

I see you have very good pictures about the RAC 2008 !

Now I'm Joris Erard from Belgium and I am the codriver of Stefaan Stouf. As you maybe know we have driven the RAC with our Ford Escort RS1600. We had startnumber 19 and registration plate is BVW 14L.

Maybe you can help me to get some pictures of our car?
Hopefully you guys can help me and I would appreciate this a lot.

Regards
Joris Erard
Belgium


See attached

[www.historicrally.be]

Hello,

Yes, we enjoyed our RAC very much ! It is nice to hear that the spectators loved our style at Oliver Mount.

We hope to do the event again Next Year !

Joris