Off season topic: Why do you love rallying?

[GigiGalliNo1]

1972 Pino?! You're much older then I thought!

[pino]

Yes I am an old man but thanks to rallying...I still look like a teenager :

[A.F.F.]

My father took me to the rally of the thousand lakes the first time and the year was 1979. I must admit I don't remember it much but I do remember that Markku Alen won it and my favourite car was Per Eklund's Triumph TR7. I have not missed many NORFs since then. I remember the first time we saw Audi Quattro S1 and laughed that those spoilers will fall out at first jump. And we were really amazed it landed rear first. I do remember the sound those group-B monster gave and the smell in the dark forest after they passed by. And the nightstages. It was unbelievable feeling to hear the car from many kilometers and then see the lights closing and then awful sounds as they passed by. Folks were cheering and clapping their hands. Oh man... I also remember the feeling the first time I saw group-A cars... It seemed like they weren't moving at all. We chose one particular 90-degree turn and the comparision how the cars accelerated after the turn 1987 was a bit different than in 1986 :/ But soon there were more manufacturers and more Finns driving and rallying was rallying the next year And so it has been. So many memories to pick. When Henry Toivonen drove off right in front of us with 037 and I got to almost touch the car. And Tommi's maiden victory. And those crazy Galli-fans in the forest One thing I want to point out is that I joined in this forum 2003 and have met and been a host to some forum members abroad. And I have to say it has been a pure pleasure. A strong social element joined in this sport I love and made it to even more cool than I ever thought. That's why I love rallying. Even at worst it's the best sport in the world.

[pino]

...and to answer the topic question...here's why I love rallying...A.F.F are you among those spectators ?

[youtube]cDRkHXMHqFo[/youtube]

[stefanvv]

Well this is.... actually I don't have words for it May be the Holy Graal of Rallying...

[MrJan]

I have no idea why I like rallying, but I know that every now and then I get an indescribable urge to go and stand in a forest/on a moor and watch some cars drive past while I complain about being cold.

I suppose that going to watch when I was a kid has had a lot of influence. My dad was keen not to force me to watch motorsport and would generally wait until I asked to go and watch something, meaning that I never felt like I was being dragged along. And soon I developed a love of the speed, the sound and the smell of it all. As I gradually got more interested my dad was happy to spur me and my brother on, and it quickly became a hobby that the three of us could do together. Increasingly it became about the banter as much as the motorsport, something that I've always thought of as key to rallying.

As for my first rally, well the first that I can remember was reasonably local to me in Exeter, in Haldon Forest (which they don't use any more). I must have only been 2 or 3 and remember very little of it, but what I can remember shaped my image of rallying. There was a particular moment when we were walking along the stage and heard whistles, the shouts of 'CAR' and then I was hauled off the stage onto a bank. At some point Pat Doran came round in his Sierra (I remember that it was Pat Doran because he was my brother's favourite driver) and promptly rolled it just down the stage from us. He was soon put back on his wheels and went on his way, it was probably that one moment that hooked me.

[A.F.F.]

...and to answer the topic question...here's why I love rallying...A.F.F are you among those spectators ?

Probably. But if you dig the clip where Henkka brakes and slides to the ditch with Lancia 037, I am there about 20 meters away. For some reason my dad always chose the stages from south of Jyväskylä. Btw, if that clip was from 1986, I was 14 years old then but I still was a bit afraid of S1 when it passed by. The sound/smell combination was amazing