Roger Albert Clark Rally 2023
Discussion
EVO575 said:
Unbelievable event.Coverage is fantastic.Real rallying and great to watch.Real people,Real trials.Real stories.If rallying is to survive as a spectator sport,this is the event that is going to secure it.Best 4 wheel motorsport event on the planet.
Becoming a victim of its own success with turning spectators away and car parks full a day early, never an issue in the mid late 80s and I’m fairly sure there were more spectators out then , heyho . Never expected young Solberg to be leading , and taking it to the regulars , fair play to him .Yes,but mid-late 80s was the epitome of rallying.Its all been somehow so much less engaging since the Subaru/Evo era, when the public could buy roadgoing versions of the rally winning cars,and there is no more modern incarnation that is ever going to grab the public interest any more than that did .So it’s looking like is the future.And it looks rosy..
Ranger 6 said:
....Some lovely comments from the foreign crews (and their families and teams). .
That was good to see on Matt's interviews, they seemed to thouroughly enjoy it, particularly the night runs.EVO575 said:
Unbelievable event.Coverage is fantastic.Real rallying and great to watch.Real people,Real trials.Real stories.If rallying is to survive as a spectator sport,this is the event that is going to secure it.Best 4 wheel motorsport event on the planet.
You maybe on to something there, it's not just the top 5 or so, the original RAC was also about the clubmen too.This event and the brilliant live streaming/interviews tells the whole story and experiences virtually as it's happening.
I'm still astonished as to why this time people are flocking to see it, be it live or on the Web ?
One of the many clips I've found, high speed & noise with press on regardless at the end !
fttm said:
EVO575 said:
Unbelievable event.Coverage is fantastic.Real rallying and great to watch.Real people,Real trials.Real stories.If rallying is to survive as a spectator sport,this is the event that is going to secure it.Best 4 wheel motorsport event on the planet.
Becoming a victim of its own success with turning spectators away and car parks full a day early, never an issue in the mid late 80s and I’m fairly sure there were more spectators out then , heyho . Never expected young Solberg to be leading , and taking it to the regulars , fair play to him .Take a look at the comments on the RAC Facebook page. Jeees!!
EVO575 said:
Yes,but mid-late 80s was the epitome of rallying.Its all been somehow so much less engaging since the Subaru/Evo era, when the public could buy roadgoing versions of the rally winning cars,and there is no more modern incarnation that is ever going to grab the public interest any more than that did .So it’s looking like is the future.And it looks rosy..
That was the basis, being a competitor from the 70s and 80s.The proverbial man in the street be they just an interested spectator or already a member of a club could stand in the forest, watch cars that were relatable, maybe even the very same model they drove in basic spec, and think "Hmm, you know this looks fun, one day."
And there was an identifiable and available progression, maybe they never got beyond marshalling and the odd 12 car. Maybe they made it all the way through restricted to nationals. Even internationals.
That's what got me. Already competing and enjoying area championship events. Yes had spectated on the RAC, but seeing Timo Makinen drive at a speed on an icy Coed-y-Brenin track that was difficult to stand up on without landing on your arse made me realise there's a whole different skill level. Which is obvious I know, but occasionally something smacks you right in the face that makes you have to do it.
These last couple of comments make think that the ‘Roger’ should be framed as a muddy Goodwood revival?
But Goodwood is a small but high ish profile section of racing that has its place, but isn’t the only place nor the future.
But from what I can see ,that this event is rallying in the UK. Like it’s a point in time or a style of event that can’t me moved on from.
It’s not green, nor can it be greenwashed, and appeals to an aging demographic and possibly that demographics sons or daughters.
Rallying will continue to shrink in both size and importance if this is it.
The endurance and the opportunities for club drivers to compete is important, but for me it’s also about the top level drivers competing ( as that’s what I want to see) in cars that mean something to me. I am too young for 70s rallying and too old for hybrid.
It’s a weird secular branch of the sport. But I used to love it.
But Goodwood is a small but high ish profile section of racing that has its place, but isn’t the only place nor the future.
But from what I can see ,that this event is rallying in the UK. Like it’s a point in time or a style of event that can’t me moved on from.
It’s not green, nor can it be greenwashed, and appeals to an aging demographic and possibly that demographics sons or daughters.
Rallying will continue to shrink in both size and importance if this is it.
The endurance and the opportunities for club drivers to compete is important, but for me it’s also about the top level drivers competing ( as that’s what I want to see) in cars that mean something to me. I am too young for 70s rallying and too old for hybrid.
It’s a weird secular branch of the sport. But I used to love it.
Dynion Araf Uchaf said:
It’s not green, nor can it be greenwashed, and appeals to an aging demographic and possibly that demographics sons or daughters.
Just a quick comment on that last bit. I see names that I recognise and sometimes used to compete with and against. I know that some are sons and daughters, maybe even grandkids, who knows I have lost touch. Daughter keeps pestering me to get back on it so she can co drive but her map reading leaves a lot to be desired. Me? Too old too slow. 
Anyway I see those family names on Roger Albert, and events of various levels, including WRC.
Some of the names I used to compete against, though to be honest whilst some we were swapping times, others only in my dreams, they are no longer with us, some still are and involved in the sport directly or supporting their kids.
The basic point is that the sport really can have solidly founded generational connections, but how do we build on that?
Edited by FiF on Saturday 25th November 10:04
Dynion Araf Uchaf said:
These last couple of comments make think that the ‘Roger’ should be framed as a muddy Goodwood revival?
But Goodwood is a small but high ish profile section of racing that has its place, but isn’t the only place nor the future.
But from what I can see ,that this event is rallying in the UK. Like it’s a point in time or a style of event that can’t me moved on from.
It’s not green, nor can it be greenwashed, and appeals to an aging demographic and possibly that demographics sons or daughters.
Rallying will continue to shrink in both size and importance if this is it.
The endurance and the opportunities for club drivers to compete is important, but for me it’s also about the top level drivers competing ( as that’s what I want to see) in cars that mean something to me. I am too young for 70s rallying and too old for hybrid.
It’s a weird secular branch of the sport. But I used to love it.
I wish I could disagree, but there’s a lot of truth in that most of the younger people I know have a family connection. Damn, even I do and I’m in my 60’s! Though I did start very late.But Goodwood is a small but high ish profile section of racing that has its place, but isn’t the only place nor the future.
But from what I can see ,that this event is rallying in the UK. Like it’s a point in time or a style of event that can’t me moved on from.
It’s not green, nor can it be greenwashed, and appeals to an aging demographic and possibly that demographics sons or daughters.
Rallying will continue to shrink in both size and importance if this is it.
The endurance and the opportunities for club drivers to compete is important, but for me it’s also about the top level drivers competing ( as that’s what I want to see) in cars that mean something to me. I am too young for 70s rallying and too old for hybrid.
It’s a weird secular branch of the sport. But I used to love it.
I he e no idea how that can be fixed.
velocemitch said:
I wish I could disagree, but there’s a lot of truth in that most of the younger people I know have a family connection. Damn, even I do and I’m in my 60’s! Though I did start very late.
I he e no idea how that can be fixed.
It all started to go wrong in the early 2000's when the organisers and rights holder chased TV money and chased away the traditional spectators, charging for car parking, blocking off all access points to stages except the official car park and penning people into crap viewing points. It was a deliberate hostile policy. At the same time they changed the schedules to make it TV friendly and killed off night stages, turning the events into sprints and killing the sports DNA.I he e no idea how that can be fixed.
I used to arrange my limited holiday time around the RAC, following it for every day, sleeping in the car, i was also service crew chase car on BTRDA. That all ended 2003, i haven't been back since and hundreds of thousands of others haven't either.
Without the grass roots support bolstered in interest by the casual once a year RAC spectator building a pool of potential fans and participants for the club level, the sport has died a death with future generations. It was all so predictable and i argued this point with people i knew making money out of the new formats at the time, they didn't want to know.
We now have a dying WRC, the current 23 year old champion cant even be arsed with it and has decided to only do a few rounds next year, and he was pretty much a guaranteed champion next year with the dominant car in a very small pool of teams, it's a damn shame.
Off topic a bit I know,but one of the worst developments in modern rallying is the introduction of the shuttle trailer.When I was a kid at Circuit of Ireland time I used to spend time at the local roundabout where a lot of cars had to come through on their way to the start just to se all the rally cars coming through in hunt trailers,and give the crews a wave and they would beep the horn back.And then pass them on the road in convoys etc.It just added so much colour and glamour/intrigue than the processions of identical shuttles that we get nowadays . It’s what got me involved and in love with the sport since about the age of 8,but won’t happen these days sadly.
EVO575 said:
Off topic a bit I know,but one of the worst developments in modern rallying is the introduction of the shuttle trailer.When I was a kid at Circuit of Ireland time I used to spend time at the local roundabout where a lot of cars had to come through on their way to the start just to se all the rally cars coming through in hunt trailers,and give the crews a wave and they would beep the horn back.And then pass them on the road in convoys etc.It just added so much colour and glamour/intrigue than the processions of identical shuttles that we get nowadays . It’s what got me involved and in love with the sport since about the age of 8,but won’t happen these days sadly.
I watched a lot of the cars drive in to the start and all set off on the public road for the 30 odd mile drive to the special stages. They’ve only been trailered from north wales to Carlisle
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