Off season topic: Why do you love rallying?

[BOZIANracing]

I love rallying, it's my life. Here I am now talking about it when I have a college assignment due in 12 hours. Thanks to Rallymedia, Flyin Finn, SudRallye and all the other great video guys for distracting me from my work so much haha!

My first memory is when I was 6 years old, watching Bertie Fisher in the Toughmac Impreza on the famous Moll's Gap stage on the Rally of the lakes. He set the record of 9.59. He was so quick he almost caught Liam O Callaghan in a fresh TTE ST205 GT4 on the stage! The whole place was going wild, I was up on my dad's shoulders, very nice memory.

Since then I used to go with my father to rallies until me and my friends were old enough to drive ourselves. Andrew Nesbitt flat out in the old P2000. Eugene Donnelly beating everyone in the famous K-AM 651 Corolla. McRae in Killarney 2005 in his Escort, sideways everywhere. In 2007 seeing Gronholm, Loeb, Sordo and Hirvonen compete in our tarmac championship rounds was unreal, I will never forget Loeb's pace on the Cork 20, and Donnelly, Higgins et al trying to keep him in sight. Higgins always sideways in the yellow S11 Subaru.

The first Irish WRC round was incredible. Not so much the stages themselves,just the atmosphere. Going to shakedown on Thursday morning, hearing the loud bark of the Focus' anti-lag through the trees. Watching all the WRC cars being loaded onto the transporters was very cool. Just little things like that stand out.

Sitting in with local rally drivers during testing, the speed, the noise. Now I am old enough to compete I cant wait to start. Every road I drive down I am calling pacenotes to myself in preparation, driving my girlfriend mad. First rally in a few months. I don't think I'll ever be happier than on the start line of the first stage

[ShiftingGears]

What first got me into rallying?

[Iskald]

Sitting in with local rally drivers during testing, the speed, the noise. Now I am old enough to compete I cant wait to start. Every road I drive down I am calling pacenotes to myself in preparation, driving my girlfriend mad. First rally in a few months. I don't think I'll ever be happier than on the start line of the first stage

I`ll second that! Just keep on preparing yourself.
My first experience of pacenotes came in 1991, the Finnskog Winter Rally, at that time in the European Championship. It was the first rally with pacenotes in Norway. I told my driver Knut beforehand that we should attend a notetrainingschool with John Haugland. He was reluctant and didn`t show up on the day. We were allowed one drivethrough on the stages as asort of recce, but all competitors were using organiser pacenotes (made by Haugland btw). My driver didn`t turn up for this time either, and I had to summon a tarmac racing driver mate of mine to do the recce driving, while I was reading the notes - to get some sort of "experience" with it! When we started the rally my driver Knut actually hadn`t heard a pacenote being read to him ever! Okay, here we go I thought, you will get pacenotes wether you like it or not, and I started reading the notes from the word go on the first stage. After just a few hundred metres my driver muttered something in the intercom that it became to much information for him to "take in". I then started to read only one corner at the time, and soon Knut (the confused driver) became quiet and consentrated on the driving. Great, he is actually understanding something, I thought! Midway through the stage I "dropped out" for a few corners, it was the first time for me as well, remember? But I soon came back into it and continued reading notes to the finish of the stage. Knut was silent as we approached the stop control, but then he looked over to me and said: "Henning, I felt blind when you dropped out mid-way!"
I`m still laughing when I think of it today. Knut, the confused and sceptical one, had actually got some sort of grip and understanding! On the next stage we beat a fourwheeldrive car in front of us with nearly one minute, passing the finish line of the stage right on his back bumper. Knut was happy as a monkey, drove better than ever, and never more questioned the "magic" of seeing the corners in front of him. It still is one of my most cherished memories from rallying!

Great thread btw, its so good to read all these posts and the fascination and love people have for this great sport.

[Miika]

Why? Because of seeing (or more likely hearing) the Group B cars live when I was two years old - and then watching them from the grainy VHS tapes instead of the usual nickelodeons. And because our family moved to Jyväskylä when I was four. And because..

[donlorean]

My first memory of rallying is from year 1977. I was 5 year old and my father took me in 1000 Lakes Rally. It was legendary Humalamäki stage and I still remember the sound of Leo Kinnunen's Porche when he's got a problem with gas pedal. He drove over first jumps and then car just "rolling" behind a next corner. Then I heard how they try to fix it and few moments later they continue. There is a famous foto where co-driver Jorma Pulkkinen sit in top of that engine and accelerate it so they can drive till the end of stage... I got some kind of virus from there...

Now I've done NOFR 3 times as a co-driver(first in class twice...), about 20 small rallies as a driver, hundreds of service parks from Arctic Circle to Maspalomas as a mechanic...

[Sami]

Nice question to think about. Rallying plays big part in my life, its my passion, its my hobby, I sacrifice a lot for it. An awful lot.

I've been told I went spectating rallies as a one year old baby with my father. And I still do (And my father still does in his seventy years of age). I visit almost 30 rallies a year, in Finland, Sweden and further away. I'm hunting challenging places to see the greatest saves and close calls by the greatest drivers. I'm hunting crashes too, I admit, even used to count them when I was young, I remember my record being wittnessing 40 crashes where car rolled (only those were counted) in one year

Rallying has brought me a lot of good friends, amazing enjoyment and great spectacle. A lot of memories as a driver and as a spectator.

But rallying has also cost me a lot. I've been driving with rented rally cars, rwd Corollas, BMW 325's and BMW m3's lately, I've done this for more than 10 years, and spent a lot in rents, crash repairs, tyres, parts, accomodations. But the biggest cost has been my neck injury, which gives me pain at this moment, too.

But the reward has been greater. Driving a 300hp M3 in blind rally without notes, 200km/h over crests and jumps is just bigger than life experience. Fighting to control the beast, having close calls, avoiding trees and rocks, and beating your opposition, its just impossible to describe. It just makes me feel alive. All those memories just come to your mind and make you smile.

I wouldn't change anything, it's been all perfect. It's been all rallying.

[Ripplin]

I started watching the WRC in 1995. My first rally memory was seeing Kenneth Eriksson's feet dancing around on the pedals. I thought it was so cool that they had so many cameras in the car, so I must admit the presentation was a part of my fascination with the sport. I think my favorite driver at the time was Juha Kankkunen. (it was a good year to start watching, with McRae winning the championship, too!) I was instantly hooked.

It was really hard getting information and merchandise back then, but thankfully, it became easier and easier over the years.

[GigiGalliNo1]

I think for me, I won't write a long post but the sport itself Rallying be WRC or local is emotional. It's a passion and I love it! I've followed the WRC for over a decade now, maybe 12 years and I have maybe another 60 decades to follow it haha! I'll write more when I get a chance, the smells, the sounds, the early hours you have to wake up to go to the stages, the drivers; their charisma's and characteristics, the cars and more!

[Anders Grøndal]

Spectate Swedish Rally 2001! My life since then!

[pino]

About time to post on this great thread.

So for me, all started in 1972 on Turini stage, watching amazing Sandro Munari beaten the huge and almost unbeatable Alpine Renault Team. Watching that Fulvia HF always sideways and flying on the downhill part covered with snow made rallying to became my favorite motor-sport. It was the start of a loving story and passion, culminated with more than 20 entries as codriver in the Ital Champ and more than 100 rally- events spectated live. Greatest experience ever for me, it was a ride with legendary Waldegaard on a Stratos in Sanremo