The Dark Wob

panhard65 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 24, 2022 8:11 am Me and a few mates used to follow the RAC rally every year (It was the Network Q back in the 90's) What killed it for us was when they stopped spectators being able to watch from anywhere. The costs went right up and you could only watch from one crowded spot. They also cut down the entry list so instead of 100 odd cars trying their best you just got about 40. Driving hundreds of miles sleeping in the car for a few days in November just seemed too much effort and expence when they had sucked all the fun out of it. If they had kept to the spectator stages on the Sunday, round the stately homes for the families and idiots who thought their girlfriend would enjoy the mud. Then kept the serious stages during the week when only the sadest bobble hatted weirdo's would take the time off to freeze in the woods and eat the most disgusting burgers from some taffy in a caravan. I am sure there is probably a better explaination why it has died a death but that's what did it for me and my mates. The stupid thing is I used to live 250 odd miles away from the Welsh stages but still drove there, now they are about 70 and I can't be arsed to go.

That sounds like me and my mates and brothers.
“ The RAC” was the highlight of my year from 1985 until about 97 and for all the reasons you list we just stopped.
We started planning in October and sorted out equipment and prepared cars, I had access to company cars and would usually find the roomiest pool car or demo as space to sleep was more important than speed or handling. Mk3 Ganny hatchbacks we’re the best although in 1990 I remember having to use a demo Rover 214 which got thrashed mercilessly. I invented the 180 degree burnout in that car. To turn round on a Forestry track, just apply handbrake , get the wheels spinning then 2 people just push the front round in an arc. That picture was my ( company) XR3i at a service halt in Hawick in 1985 , 4 of us followed all 4 days sleeping in there. Later that night we sat at the same table as Henri Toivenen at a service at 3am in Kielder , he had a cheese sandwich and removed the cheese ! When he got up to leave I said ‘ Good luck’ he replied ‘ I thought you all wanted Tony to win’.
I drove like a cunt that whole week , the high points were when racing competitors- they must have loved that betweeen stages. I remember the traffic in Newtown been so bad that I drove through a pedestrian shopping arcade and loads of cars followed me- it was like The Italian Job( it was in the middle of the night)
Subsequent years were less frantic and better planned.

Is that Vulgalour's ruined Princess via a space/time continuum?

Looks like one of the fabled "100 Club" cars only given to well-performing BL dealer bosses.

Since i can't get into the Grin thread as the pictures recently posted annoy my pc...

Warren t claim wrote: ↑Mon Sep 19, 2022 3:31 am I used to be a pretty keen rally fan. I'd travel to see stages and overnight halts. A few of us went to visit the start and finish in Chester back in 1987

To illustrate how disinterested I am in the sport nowadays. The successor to the RAC rally usually has an overnight stop literally two minutes walk away from where Claim_Intended lives and I've not once bothered

I do still watch YouTube videos of classic rally stuff though. Frank Kelly in Baby Blue is worth a watch.

Baby blue is a bit poorly at the moment.



Any of his videos are worth a watch, especially the one where he is laughing at his co driver.

I always picture him in my head like this...

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/villa ... 0526201345

They wasn't on a rally , they were just late for Sunday morning Mass..

1976 Scottish Rally. If you have not seen this one it is well worth a watch especially for the "Can we borrow your diff" moment.



Oh, and Tony Pond in a silly hat and Sprint.

a great channel for old rallies is VHS rallies (https://www.youtube.com/c/VHSRallies)

a wonderful way to wind down

as for why it became crap, i think a lot of it (and this also goes for BTCC & F1 (f1 more imo) is that it went off of proper telly (i.e. BBC/ITV) and was put onto C4/other channels where the coverage just aint the same.

JimH wrote: ↑Tue May 23, 2023 4:23 pm
Oh, and Tony Pond in a silly hat and Sprint.

Pat Ryan!

Great video of the footwork of Audi Quattro driver Walter Rorhl


And look at the spectators. Nutters too.