What is it that makes rallying special for us?

[WRCfan]

I was grabbing a couple of happy hour drinks tonight and met a Finnish pilot who was on a lay-over with a couple of his colleagues. Aki (the pilot) was a big rallying fan and after being engrossed in rallying talk for a good 15 minutes one of his colleagues asked us the question "what is it that makes rallying so special for you?" The colleague did not follow rallying however was interested in it, therefore he asked.

It was a hard question to answer. I have been thinking about it a bit tonight and narrowed it down to 3 things.

1. It's a sport which even people who do not follow it can appreciate. Anyone who witnesses it live is taken back by the skill of our WRC boys.

2. Something about standing in the forests at night to hear the sound of a BDA screaming down the road can't be explained, it just DOES give you goosebumps.

3. It is an accessible sport for fans, drivers are friendly, and in my experience rallying is very down to earth and has left a very good impression on me.

So how about the rest of us? What is it that makes rallying so good?

[urabus-denoS2000]

Hmm,great thread

I think it's the idiocy of waking up in 3 in the morning,driving for 4 hours,standing for hours and to see a car pass by extremely fast for a few seconds :D

And I enjoy when people don't understand me ;)

[gloomyDAY]

WRC is just so insane. Suits me very well!

Odd hours, ballsy drivers, the "unknown" factor, and best of all the friendly people you meet along the way. I've not seen a single rally fan on stage that has been rude. There of course those poseurs who just go to get drunk, but for the most part it's just a lot of happy people having fun.

[Francis44]

The party and people around a rally is what makes rally's uniques, plus insane cars and drivers :D !!!!

[Juha_Koo]

Excellent thread. :) Your timing could not have been any better because today I woke up bit before five o'clock in the morning, drove for three hours to spectate the first day of the final Finnish rally championship rally. Then spending some seven hours in the forest and very narrow (and rocky, I'm glad that my mom's car is still in one piece :D ) roads. Then again the three hour drive back to home. Insane? Hell no!

The thing that appeals to me in rallying is it's complex nature. Even if you're just a spectator, you need to plan things: how to get there, how to get to another stage, maybe doing some "spectator recce" and checking out some places, etc. etc. And I love planning.

As for the competition itself, there are also many variables. The driver-codriver relationship, the pacenotes, mechanics and their assistance, everything is in the mercy of mother nature, stages and rallies vary from each other, etc. The list is almost infinite. WRC speeds and skills are almost superhuman. I didn't fully understand the precision needed before I saw helmet-cam video from JM's tests. We can't forget the codrivers either.

And ofcourse, you can't forget the speed, the adrenaline rushes, the action, the overall feeling and the awesomeness of this all. It's just so...what can I say...phenominal. The love of my life. :)

[Daniel]

I've not seen a single rally fan on stage that has been rude.

Go to Finland and you will change your mind :p

[BDunnell]

Just as with my other enthusiasms, I have no particular reason for my love of rallying, other than it being part of my interest in motorsport that developed through it being a long-time family interest. The particular appeal of rallying I find impossible to quantify if asked.

[Daniel]

Just as with my other enthusiasms, I have no particular reason for my love of rallying, other than it being part of my interest in motorsport that developed through it being a long-time family interest. The particular appeal of rallying I find impossible to quantify if asked.
I'm quite the same actually. Quantifying my love of rallying is like trying to explain to someone why you love someone else. You just do, it just works and that's why you like them. That said my relationship with rallying isn't going too well at the moment.

[BDunnell]

I'm quite the same actually. Quantifying my love of rallying is like trying to explain to someone why you love someone else. You just do, it just works and that's why you like them. That said my relationship with rallying isn't going too well at the moment.

Excellent post!

[cut the b.s.]

Days like today! I've been a Kris Meeke fan since I saw him in the Puma on the BRC. Its been a tough road for him, made harder by his desire to drive the nuts of the car every inch of the way, and not to be a pay as you go. To see him get a break this year, and to win the IRC today, its just brilliant.

[OldF]

Days like today! I've been a Kris Meeke fan since I saw him in the Puma on the BRC. Its been a tough road for him, made harder by his desire to drive the nuts of the car every inch of the way, and not to be a pay as you go. To see him get a break this year, and to win the IRC today, its just brilliant.

Are you in the wrong thread??

[OldF]

My passion for rally started 1965 when Timo Mäkinen won Monte. Things that attracted me then was the cars looked little bit different from those cars used on roads. In those days the different wasn’t so big, different wheel rims with no hubcaps, different painting and extra headlights. Of course the best was how the cars was driven, throwing gravel or snow in the corners. I’ve always admired the skills of the drivers that can handle a car in those ruff conditions. In those days there was no youtube and every time there was a few second of rally in TV I was very pleased. In those days in Finland motor sport wasn’t considered a sport at all. The second time I felt really excited by a look of a rally car was when I saw the Audi S1. It was so different and I still love the sound of the 5-cylinder engine screaming at about 7000-8000 revs.

[Tomi]

Earlier i did follow and spectate many different motorsport, RR, motocross, trial, rallycross and rally as well, but nowdays almost only rally on national and WRC level, the whole package is good, the planning what spots to spectate, to see friends, to be outdoors and the excitement.

[WRCfan]

I have always spectated the NZ round on a regular basis and it's a lads weekend out. 3 days of hanging out with your mates, having a good laugh, being outside with nice weather (for the most part) and being able to get away from cellphones, TV's, and the other annoying things we are sometimes controlled by. haha.

[L5->R5/CR]

Rallying is an adventure and an experience unique unto itself every time you go to one.

The fact that as a fan you get to feel like both a part of and a witness to something awesome only makes it that much more addictive...

[A.F.F.]

For me it's a combination of the sport I love and the socialfactor which is actually been build stronger since I joined this forum.

Take NORF weekend for instance. It's an adventure where you don't get to sleep well, eat well and yet you love every second of it. To witness how fast the big boys master the gravel roads. It's just insane. To listen the sound of the cars and smell the air after they passed by delivering huge rain of rocks :D

And to meet a fine people from around the world during the rally. I have made some very good friends from this forum only. :)

Yep, you could say that the annual NORF alone is a charge of my personal batteries. I could imagine it happens every rally around the world.

[N.O.T]

for me its peter solberg

[Daniel]

for me its peter solberg
:rotflmao:

[WRCfan]

for me its peter solberg

Something about that blonde hair and the streak of Viking in him eh.... ;)

[N.O.T]

exactly

[Hartusvuori]

Yep, you could say that the annual NORF alone is a charge of my personal batteries.

Amen. It's ridiculous how passionate I've become towards NORF in last few years. This year was perhaps most memorable weekend of all (my 25th time at 1000 Lakes also), because me and my friend choosed not to miss a day - and through shakedown to Pirelli shootout to all three days of rallying it was escapism from the every day life at best. The planning - starting before Rally Guide 1 is even published to arranging holidays to recceing stages is just as important as is the actual event witnessing from close distance (but of course safely) how rally cars pass you with high speed, jumps, etc. giving an adreline rush you get addicted to. And it is not about seeing offs or close calls, those are just bonuses, if you allow such expression. This all combined with the tradition of attending the event every year makes it definitely one of the most special things in my life.

Why to love rallying so much is hard question to answer because we/I hardly ever question it at all. Okey, it's clear that 10 years ago or 25 years ago there were more competetive drivers, longer rallies, more sideways, more whatnot - but if you complain about that all the time you don't wake up at 4 AM or whenever too early to stand in the rain and wait for the leader - because that moment, the second before you see the car in the corner, is what defines the love for rallying: the excitement and the effort from both, the spectators and the drivers (and the organisators), a life-long passion.

I'm not a regular rally-goer apart from NORF and perhaps few odd event every now and then, but following rallying through internet has been made very easy for enthusiastic fans because of rally radios and online live stage times. In that way following an international event through internet can be an experience in itself as well.

[MrJan]

2. Something about standing in the forests at night to hear the sound of a BDA screaming down the road can't be explained, it just DOES give you goosebumps.

:up: Or the noise of a 6R4 or Andy Burton's 306 Cosworth approaching, sends a wave of excitement through me.

It think it's a combination of the assault on the senses for me, you get the smell of Castrol R (or used to :( ), the noise of the car and the crazy visual spectacle of someone driving a car on the ragged edge. The knowledge that the driver doesn't really know where he's going or what lies around the corner.

That said I'm probably like Daniel and Mr Dunnell in that I can't be too sure, sometimes you can be stood in a forest, wet through and being subjected to miserable weather yet it's all somehow worth it for those brief moments when a car comes by you. It doesn't really make logical sense but that doesn't stop me.

[AndyRAC]

:up: Or the noise of a 6R4 or Andy Burton's 306 Cosworth approaching, sends a wave of excitement through me.

It think it's a combination of the assault on the senses for me, you get the smell of Castrol R (or used to :( ), the noise of the car and the crazy visual spectacle of someone driving a car on the ragged edge. The knowledge that the driver doesn't really know where he's going or what lies around the corner.

That said I'm probably like Daniel and Mr Dunnell in that I can't be too sure, sometimes you can be stood in a forest, wet through and being subjected to miserable weather yet it's all somehow worth it for those brief moments when a car comes by you. It doesn't really make logical sense but that doesn't stop me.

It doesn't always make logical sense - but we still do it. I don't know how many times I've driven 200+miles, to get wet through watching a Rally, and not know who is winning, until I get home. But I'll continue to do it, hopefully. It's something that can't be explained to a non-Rally fan.

[MrJan]

It doesn't always make logical sense - but we still do it. I don't know how many times I've driven 200+miles, to get wet through watching a Rally, and not know who is winning, until I get home. But I'll continue to do it, hopefully. It's something that can't be explained to a non-Rally fan.

The invention of a Blackberry and the boys at NERS Results have put this to a stop for me in the last year or so :D It's magic being able to follow a rally as it goes on :up:

[WRCfan]

Remember back when there was "rally radio" which could be tuned into on your FM tuner. Anywhere around the city or service park it was great, although as you headed out anywhere near the stages it went to constant static haha.

Good ol Rally NZ! Love it!

[AndyRAC]

The invention of a Blackberry and the boys at NERS Results have put this to a stop for me in the last year or so :D It's magic being able to follow a rally as it goes on :up:

Yeah, it's a bit different now. Depending on the reception, mind you.

[Iskald]

Exactly 30 years ago I sat in a rally car for the first time as a codriver. The car was a somewhat beaten up Volvo 142. The driver was already then very experienced and successful, but he is actually still active today!

I didn`t know what to expect. I didn`t know how a rally car was being driven. I had seen a few hillclimbs and rallycross races, so I knew the drivers used to slide the cars, but I didn`t have a clue how it would feel.

This was a snow rally on newly ploughed roads on a military range. The first stage was quite mickey-mousy and the Volvo felt rather cumbersome and not very fast. But then came the second stage with some fast and flowing stretches. Even without pacenotes my driver just floored it and put the car into some marvellous long slides. It was just unbelievable. We were maybe doing 120-130 km/h sideways on snow and ice, and I had never experienced something like it before. It became clear to me that the driver was actually in control - even when the car was sliding. It felt absolutely great.

I have been hooked on rallying since then. Mostly sitting beside some lunatic driver reading maps and pacenotes. Sometimes shuffling cars out of snowdrifts after going off or leaving a wreck among the trees in the forest. I have sat in all kind of cars, the slowest being a Lada Samara 1300, it nearly wouldn`t spin its wheels even starting on loose surface. The fastest have been a number of WRC-cars, barreling down tight forest roads on snow and gravel in excess of 200 km/h. Nothing has ever convinced me that there is a better sport on earth than rallying. It just occupies your senses in a way nothing else can do. It has been that way for me anyway, during 30 years.

[Barreis]

WRC?

[Doon]

:up: Or the noise of a 6R4 or Andy Burton's 306 Cosworth approaching, sends a wave of excitement through me.

.

Andy Butons 306 cosworth....that is the peak of rallying excitement for me!

Better than anything in the world, beer, clunge.....anything!

Here is my film of my passion for Burtons car...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYZTvsJsYYA&feature=channel_page

[Almeidafoto]

But I miss those long nights, despite the weather, waiting for the cars to pass.
In 1980 I´ve been under the strongest rain to see the 131 Abarths, the 450 SLCs, the Escorts, the Talbots, the TR7s, the Celicas.. in a night in the North of Portugal. That time people rushed to 'Serra de Sintra' before 9 p.m., the see the cars at 9.15 a.m. the next morning.
But those days are quite gone, Rallies could be won or lost depending on a service strategy, nowadays this is limited to Service Parks.
Before we had Rallies that could go all the way though a whole country, now, thei're limited to a restrict circle around its basetown.
At least, next year we may have mixed and four day Rallies back. FIA's new decisions seem promising for the Sport. Let's wait and see...

[J4MIE]

Yep, it just can't be explained and people that work around me think I am totally and utterly crazy. Maybe they are right though? :crazy: You must have to be to get up at 3am to drive to an event, to stand in the freezing cold, rain, fog, darkness only to get completely covered in mud helping pull some poor driver out of a ditch. For me it's the wait for the next car hoping they will go for it 100% round that chosen corner and leave me wondering how they can do such a thing, the noise of the cars and the spectators cheering, the smell of the hot brakes after they pass. Plus I have managed to see some incredible countryside when travelling about going to stages, that I would never otherwise have seen.

The best thing though, the one thing that I love the most, is the smell of bacon cooking away in the middle of a cold forest. Nothing is better than that :D

I wouldn't change a thing :up:

[noel157]

Bacon cooking in the morning? To paraphrase Robert Duval - "I love the smell of Castrol R in the morning".

[AndyRAC]

Bacon cooking in the morning? To paraphrase Robert Duval - "I love the smell of Castrol R in the morning".

What team did he drive for....?? ;)

Though I've heard of his 'son' Francois...... ;)

[Juha_Koo]

The best thing though, the one thing that I love the most, is the smell of bacon cooking away in the middle of a cold forest. Nothing is better than that :D


:D

I've noticed that coffee and sandwiches taste a whole lot better in the middle of forest.

And as it was brought up earlier in this thread, I'll have to mention that rallying is in my blood, inherited from my father's family. I can't remember a time when I wouldn't have been interested in rallying. My great-grandfather was an entrepreneur who ran a small Shell gas station in a small town and sold motorcycles. My grandfather used to compete in car orienteering races during the sixties. His son, my father, has been a rally enthusiastic all his life, mostly as a spectator but he has some experience as a competitor too (just like his brother too). The "new generation", me and my cousin, are continuing the tradition. :) I really believe that there is the word "rally" coded in my DNA. :D I'm just daydreaming that at some point in my life I could experience the competitor's side in this great sport.

[MrJan]

I've noticed that coffee and sandwiches taste a whole lot better in the middle of forest.

Never have I enjoyed luke warm baked beans more than when I was stood in Resolfen waiting for first car on Rally GB :D

Except maybe during the Roger Albert Clark last year at the forest of Ae :D :D

I too love the smell of Castol R in the morning....smells like Escorts :cheese:

I also take an unbelieveable amount of pleasure and pride in finding a spot to stand and making it more comfortable, usually by digging with walking boots to level the ground, stamping to flatten and then searching for a tree stump to sit on. Or the now traditional act of throwing things at my brother or Dad when they nip off for a pee (pine cones are the best missiles)

[WRCfan]

Your right Jamie the coffee and sandwiches do taste better in a forest!!

Although our crew of guys trades the sandwiches for pickled onions. Nothing better to warm you up on a cold day! Funnily enough, crack the jar open and people give you all the spectating space you could ever wish for....not sure why though..haha

[tmx]

Corners and gravel. I get bored watching cars going around the track 100 times, although F1 car doing a tarmac hill climb are more fun.

[Iskald]

:D

I've noticed that coffee and sandwiches taste a whole lot better in the middle of forest.



But Juha, you are from Finland...!

So then it should be Makkara, with that wonderful strong Sinappi! Nothing beats it!

[Daniel]

But Juha, you are from Finland...!

So then it should be Makkara, with that wonderful strong Sinappi! Nothing beats it!
I think that's proof enough that he's NOT Finnish :p

[Tomi]

But Juha, you are from Finland...!

So then it should be Makkara, with that wonderful strong Sinappi! Nothing beats it!

thats true, makkara alone makes it worth to go and watch rally.

[Juha_Koo]

But Juha, you are from Finland...!

So then it should be Makkara, with that wonderful strong Sinappi! Nothing beats it!

:D How in the hell could I forgot that?! That's true! There's just one small problem. Eat too much makkara and walking speed drops to a half. :p

[A.F.F.]

The problem is that in some stages, the village communities have decided to suck up foreign spectators and have totally forgotten why they have arrived in the first place, which of course is makkara, so they serve kebab and other not so traditional Finnish delicacies. :mad:

Makkara kehiin dammit.

[Tomi]

The problem is that in some stages, the village communities have decided to suck up foreign spectators and have totally forgotten why they have arrived in the first place, which of course is makkara, so they serve kebab and other not so traditional Finnish delicacies. :mad:

Makkara kehiin dammit.

In what stage? I will boycott that one for sure. :(

[J4MIE]

Armchair Rallying:
http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v110/125/80/529115611/n529115611_996938_586.jpg

Up-close Rallying:
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v136/125/80/529115611/n529115611_1595934_8230.jpg

Scenic Rallying:
http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v113/125/80/529115611/n529115611_1147072_8602.jpg

Irish Rallying : :p :
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v113/125/80/529115611/n529115611_1146987_3687.jpg

[J4MIE]

Commited Rallying: :up:
http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v284/125/80/529115611/n529115611_3142496_8736.jpg

But above all.................
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v1862/125/80/529115611/n529115611_5319899_6514.jpg
..............SIDEWAYS Rallying! :bounce:

[WRCfan]

Brilliant post!!! hahah

[A.F.F.]

I'm definately all in for Irish rallying from now on :eek: :up:

[Brother John]

I'm definately all in for Irish rallying from now on :eek: :up:

I know you want plenty of everything, just like me. :D

[MrJan]

But above all.................
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v1862/125/80/529115611/n529115611_5319899_6514.jpg
..............SIDEWAYS Rallying! :bounce:

mmmm, I do like sideways rallying :D

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3006/3037997139_90326161e1.jpg


And I need to watch some more Irish rallying :cheese:

[Cloverleaf]

I'm definately all in for Irish rallying from now on :eek: :up:
Maybe we can ask for help of a demonstration of Czech Rallying :)

[Mirek]

ehmmm.... can You see the beautiful... red painted cylinder head? :D

http://fotogalerie.autosport.cz/albums/wpw-20090707/zz_atmosf%E9ra_2.jpg

[dimviii]

i can t see any cylinder head.
Any closer photo? :D

[Barreis]

I like last photo very much.. :)

[Daniel]

]ehmmm.... can You see the beautiful... red painted cylinder head? :D

http://fotogalerie.autosport.cz/albums/wpw-20090707/zz_atmosf%E9ra_2.jpg
By the looks of it the cylinder head is annodised, not painted :p

[MrJan]

I am also worried that I spotted it was annodised, although it wasn't exactly the first thing that I thought of.

[Mirek]

And I thought that You miss it even if I say it's green ;) :D

[urabus-denoS2000]

:D

[Cloverleaf]

]ehmmm.... can You see the beautiful... red painted cylinder head? :D

Any other pictures of different parts, such as differntial, gearbox, turbo, etc... :)

[MrJan]

Any other pictures of different parts, such as differntial, gearbox, turbo, etc... :)

phwrrrooaaah, not sure that's suitable for a family forum ;)

[urabus-denoS2000]

The most recognizable element of Czech rallying - the famous Czech holky! :D

Photos on eWRC.cz ;)

(Edit by J4MIE: sorry guys, that was a bit too far :) )

[raybak]

What makes Rallying special for me is the ability to be able to compete against the worlds best. Also being able to compete in 20+ events a year and the after parties at each event. It's a great for making new friends as well.

Ray