Not being a rally spectator (yet!), is getting shot blasted with stones and mud part of the attraction? Do you compare puncture wounds after the event?



Full size (big!!!) version at:

 

Chris
I think they actually do it for the beautiful scenery and pit-lane glamour.

Russ

 

The big attraction,chris,is watching complete ********* with more money than talent rolling their evo 3/4/5/6s into ditches and having a good laugh at them (been doin it for 20 years now...)
but after reading in the motoring news that the racmsa is going to charge spectators for walking into the forests,ill probably just set my video for 3.26am to catch the highlights on tv....

regards and happy spectating

 

the answer chris is YES and YES.


Mr Noble, very sad man indeed

 

D.Noble

Where have you been spectating then.

Forestry have charged for years to watch in the forests. Bit jealous of these ********* are you.

Chris B go and watch on this years RAC and youll see what the attraction is.

Cheers

Chip

 

Theres no better motorsport than rallying. Getting covered in crap is all part of it,the rocks sometimes hurt but the injuries are like autographs.
Seriously though something is going to have to be done about the cost of following the Rally of Great Britain (wales).There should be some sort of pass you can buy,for the real keenies who follow it every year trying to get as many stages in as is physically possible. Also get the rally out of Wales,the last two years have been a nightmare if you are trying to follow the top 20 cars.The congestion at places like Sweet Lamb was a **** take this year, and with the whole event in Wales this year I can only see it getting worse, much worse.
The best thing to do is spread it out again,up to Kielder and Grizedale etc.

 

Chris,
You dont know what you are missing!
The sight and sound of some of the top WRC cars blasting past you is one you will not foget in a hurry.
I agree with some of the above points (NOT D NOBELS POINTS....What is he on?)
Hopefully with this years format on the RAC (Oops old habits and all that)The Rally of great britain being spread over all of Wales over the three days the traffic will not be as bad (I too was at Sweet lamb trying to get out for nearly 5 hours).
I keep promising my self that trip to Corsica or Sanremo, with the increasing difficulty to spectate in the UK that trip might be closer sooner rather than later..

Paul.G

 

Right on chunky, the wales stages are classics, and they are essential to the character of the event, but as you say it would lead to less congestion all round if it was spread out more,why cant the msa see that??i know fisa has told them to shorten routes,but just look what happened on the monty??

as for you chip ma boy,of course im jelous i cant afford to spend 50/60 k per year on my rallying,but if i had their "talent" i would be sticking to rwd escorts(im taking about the scottish championship,so dont spit out yer dummy again!!) and to answer yer point about spectating, how long is it before you see charges on all forest events??_i dont begrudge paying a token fee,like on the jim clark,with monies going to the locals for a new church roof,play area etc.
anyway dont take the matter too seriously,my tongue is firmly in my cheek
regards
D

 

It's hell in Wales!

I refer all interested parties to my previos effort to get the RAC, as all true hardened rally fans like to refer to it, back up north!

This Rali Cymru rubbish is just too repetative, and too bl**** crowded on the A470 etc.

Yes I know Sweet Lamb etc. are classics but so are Redesdale, Grizedale, Dalby, Twiglees to name a few.

I know its based in Caerdigg for the next three years, but isn't it about time we had a large National event to replace the RAC now that the FIA has decreed the 3 day, cloverleaf format for WRC events?

In my day you were lucky to get home for a shower between Sunday and Thursday

Bring back the Group B's & chuck out the pace notes!

Chris

[This message has been edited by CharlieWhiskey (edited 17-03-2000).]

 

Hi all !!

You just can't beet getting out into the forests to see the experts work their magic, the sound, smell, atmosphere is fantastic and will not be appreciated until experienced!

The traffic last year in Mid Wales was just chronic and very frustrating as one of the attractions USED to be the drive between stages, not any more it seems?

Even so the forest stages are well worth a visit - ROLL ON NOVEMBER !!

James

 

Last year was my first trip to Wales and the Network Q event... but will not be my last!

The first moment of my first stage I was pelted with rocks as Kankkunen went blazing by... the smile is permanently affixed to my face!

What a great, freakin fantastic time I had!! Although the traffic was just awful and we only made 2 stages and 1 service, I am coming back to do it AGAIN this year!!!

too much fun!!

 

All it takes is a bit of planning.

In 99, we stayed away from the obvious routes, drove some great roads and saw 4 stages a day... including Sweet Lamb, all with plenty of time.

We approached Sweet Lamb from the opposite direction to the other 25,000 people that were there and we actually got radar'd 400m from the car park entrance.

 

Living in Cardiff I was hoping they'd have a stage somewhere in the city. That way a lot of the weekend only spectators could have seen their bit, while real enthusiasts like me could have ventured more easily into the forest tro watch the real action .
Unfortunately the RACMSA havn't seen sense and are just going to snarl up every road within a wide radius of the rally .
Maybe theyll get it right next year.

Cheers

Chip.

P.S. Dnoble whats so wrong with paying anyway.

 

Chip
as i said before, i do not grudge paying to see rallying when either the facilities are there or money goes to local good causes, i pay to go to see single venue rallies at tracks with facilites,support entertainment etc,but i do think it is a bit much to line the pockets of the forrestry commission or msa when i can go walking or mountain biking the next day for nowt using the same provided facilities,ie nothing!!

i dont know maybe im getting too mean or somthing,but i still think rallying is the most exciting spectator sport there is or ever will be , the best part is getting to your chosen spot at 4.30 am and waiting with baited breath to see who is first round that bend.... stones spraying etc BUT this will be ruined if you have to pay INDIVIDUALLY to see your heros at some godforsaken hour in the morn. esp if like me you watch the first 10/15 cars the go of to the next stage it will cost a fortune!! instead of paying per car to park in the field, ill bet the price per person to walk into the forrest is much the same!!! then youll see a decline in spectators, then again maybe that is what the powers that be want ,ergo more armchair viewers= more advertising power=more money to the powerbrokers rambl,ramble,my fingers are now getting sore etc

se ya
D

 

Dnoble

Yeah I agree about it gets expensive when you jump from stage to stage like we do but its still cheap compared to say silverstone for the GP etc.
Maybe we could all park outside the stages this year and jam into one car to save money.

On a more serious note a decline in spectators would be fine by me as the way its going now I can see another Portugal 86 happening soon unlees something is done to sort things out.

Cheers

Chip.

 

Wasn't it the Portugese in '86 that led to the end of Group B

Mind you, several Welsh stages have had to be cancelled in the past due to too many spectators.

Did anyone see Burns comments on last nights Eurosport, when running 3rd through a dark stage in a cloud of dust with spectators inches from the road!

Seem's like the Portugese are destined for a similar result to '86 - Which would not benefit Rallying one bit.

Rant over, be careful out there!
Chris

[This message has been edited by CharlieWhiskey (edited 19-03-2000).]

 

I think you meen Robin Bradbury in a yellow Mk2 escort. It has a 2.4Litre Millington diamond engine fitted. We used to have some cracking battles with him when we had the 16V Manta and he had a RWD MK3 escort.

He has been flying in the last year since building his MK2 up. John Ballinger is also good to watch in his 16V manta and Ex works driver Phil Collins has joined the fun in a MK2 2 litre Millington engined car aswell.

They can all be seen on BTRDA events. They are not competitive against guys like us in the Group A 4x4 cars but look great on the stages going sideways.

 

D Noble,

Hoorah for rwd Escorts!! Make everyone drive a rwd gpb beastie is what I say!!

Do you know who the guy in the (Scottish/Mintex?) championship driving the mk11 Escort (rs?) is?

He keeps wedging it in the top ten amongst all the 4wd machinery of all types. There was some footage of him on Sky a couple of weeks back but I can't remember the event.

Reminded me of Steve Bannister and Simon Paton (are they still going?).

No matter who quick and spectacular the latest spec gpa machines are, (and don't get me wrong I love 'em), the sight of a well driven Ezzy in the forests still makes my heart beat faster

Eh, I remember the days........no turbo's......driver skill.......(repeat to fade)