Friday 2nd December 2011

Time for Tea? Manx action in a Rover...

...and it's not the one you expect

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Our Rover-tastic SOTW was inevitably going to throw up some chat about the late, great Tony Pond’s 100mph lap of the Isle of Man TT course, but our YouTube wonderings have today taken us to a rather different place.

It’s still the Isle of Man, it’s still Tony Pond, and it’s still a Rover, but this time it’s the 1985 Manx Rally, and Mr Pond is campaigning a Group A Rover SD1 Vitesse (in classic Computervision livery).

It’s possibly an even more bizarre sight than the TT lap, and almost certainly one of the most peculiar rally cars ever, but as the first two minutes or so of the video show, Pond could hussle it along at a fair old lick.

And if that isn’t amusement enough, stick around for the rest of the video – Mantas, Quattros, T16s, it’s 80s rally heaven.

 

[Greg_D]

Why can't rallying be like that any more?

I think it is just that the cars are just so damned competent and the drivers so professional that the excitement has been developed out of the sport

It's a shame really!!!!

[Greg_D]

ChrisJ. said:

Greg_D said:

Why can't rallying be like that any more?

That's exactly what I think, every time I see an old World of Sport BHP production like this, and each time I come back from watching the Roger Albert Clark rally.

Maybe copy the super touring formula but with a twist.

Space frames, bhp/ton limits to keep things sensible, rwd, na given legislative advantage to encourage screamers!!!

Should keep budgets half sensible and running repairs affordable