Friday 6th January 2012

PH Blog: Harris goes retro rally nuts

The Welsh Rallysprint was like Pike's Peak, transplanted to 1980s Wales and our man wants a time machine

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If watching rally videos on YouTube was an A-Level subject, these would be at the core of the curriculum.

This event was organised by the Welsh Counties Car Club, and yet contains more quality drivers than you could find on a modern round of the WRC. Waldegard, Mikkola, Ekland, Brookes and McRae Snr. to name but a few. Plus Murray commentating.

It's a kind of gravel hillclimb, like a mini Pikes Peak in the middle of an uncharacteristically dry Wales but run with an aggregate time on an uphill, then a downhill time.

But why is it so significant? Well, it brings together the most disparate collection of cars imaginable for a competitive, contemporary event. Honest front-engined RWD machines in the Chevette and Ascona, the loopy 290hp Rover SD1, mid-engined Stratos and then the 4WD Quattro.

This is the sport's past, present and future on display for a single, brief moment. It's like having Senna, Schumacher and Vettel in the same race.

It also represents a time when works machinery couldn't stop the likes of Terry Kaby, British champion in 1980, beating people like Bjorn Waldegard. Terry never quite made it to the very top level, not for lack of talent, and he's still coaching, testing and immersed in the sport today. What a legend.

I know these are quite long, grainy vids, and the dust is an issue. But the angle and language of the cars is mesmerising.

Chris

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

 

 

[dave stew]

I was a big rally fan in the 80s and went to all the usual events including the Manx International in 85 and 86. It was a truly great era of the sideways RWD heroes and the staccato banging, flame spitting quattros bullying the forests into submission.

My personal heroes were Jimmy McRae and Tony Pond (plus of course Michelle Mouton!)

Great times, great cars. Oh, and I drove two Opel Mantas and a MK2 RS2000 in that period!

[namnol]

This is a rally vid that gets me laughing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBsmG7mO3Dc

[phast]

best lunch break for ages, loved the SD1

[phast]

Namnol that link is brilliant, "F***ing show off"

[J4CKO]

Cool stuff.

Do any of the rally games for the various consoles get anywhere close to simulating these kind of cars, all the racing games do seem to have a fixation with Subaru Imprezas, very nice but I want a Manta or HSR.

Also, was thinking about unsung rally cars, ok these are crowd pleasers of old, wonderful they are too but my favourite was the old Audi 200, the quattros dowdy sister that still went like the clappers, will never forget seeing one go of the road in some rally and I though it was curtains for his race but it just span all four wheels and buggered off sharpish, in a similar vein the old Legacy never seems to get much love compared to the Impreza, maybe its worth a thread of its own at some point, not now perhaps as this has a fair ways to run yet.

[Gravy]

namnol said:

This is a rally vid that gets me laughing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBsmG7mO3Dc

That is brilliant!

[AllNines]

Ooh, that Sunbeam looks familiar! A perfect demonstration of the benefit of 4wd - most of the 2wd cars within about a second of each other, only spoiled by that blooming Audi. Those were the days - the event took place on a Tuesday in April, and was shown on Grandstand over May bank holiday weekend. Then you had the end-of-year rallysprint at Donington where these drivers were joined by Mansell, Rosberg, Watson, etc. Class.

[LotusOmega375D]

Ah what nostalgia.

Is it really 30 years since the last time the sun shone in Wales?

Happy days....

[Paul.B]

Great find. Proper cars, proper blokes and proper racing. And a refreshing lack of corporate cobblers and branding.
That Audi was bloody quick too. No wonder they all went 4WD within a year or so.

[mightymouse]

Hmmm good those

Looking forward to Race Retro at Stonleigh on 25 & 26 February where there will be the usual Rally cars having a little thrash

[Paul.B]

phast said:

Namnol that link is brilliant, "F***ing show off"

We have been giggling like a bunch of school kids here. Fabulous find.

[Don1]

namnol said:

This is a rally vid that gets me laughing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBsmG7mO3Dc

Thank you for educating me - great stuff.

[Dave Hedgehog]

namnol said:

This is a rally vid that gets me laughing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBsmG7mO3Dc

i wants it!!!

and to monkey boy, what next? 6R4s rallycrossing? gawd damn it I came here to watch videos of yet another 911 going sideways ....

[soad]

Gravy said:

namnol said:

This is a rally vid that gets me laughing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBsmG7mO3Dc

That is brilliant!

Those two are having brilliant fun!!

[Sivraj]

Gravy said:

namnol said:

This is a rally vid that gets me laughing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBsmG7mO3Dc

That is brilliant!

Hahahahaha!! love that!!...

[300bhp/ton]

What else is there to say, but bloody magnificent!

Love to see the big Rover in action too

[thiscocks]

Shows the advantage the audi had over everything else at the time! Probably the least spectacular to watch though.

[LotusOmega375D]

mightymouse said:

Hmmm good those

Looking forward to Race Retro at Stonleigh on 25 & 26 February where there will be the usual Rally cars having a little thrash

Mightymouse: don't you find the RR stage a bit Mickeymouse though? They barely get out of 2nd gear. It's all 90° corners from what I remember and not at all suited to the Group B warriors. I didn't go last year but did previously a couple of times. Has it changed?

[briancorish]

Have girlfriend, 28, low mileage, will swop for Lancia Stratos..

[300bhp/ton]

LotusOmega375D said:

mightymouse said:

Hmmm good those

Looking forward to Race Retro at Stonleigh on 25 & 26 February where there will be the usual Rally cars having a little thrash

Mightymouse: don't you find the RR stage a bit Mickeymouse though? They barely get out of 2nd gear. It's all 90° corners from what I remember and not at all suited to the Group B warriors. I didn't go last year but did previously a couple of times. Has it changed?

I've been to it once, it was ok and nice the see the cars moving, but I wouldn't call it that great.

Get yourself along to a proper historic/classic rally and see them in proper action.

Lacking the Grp B's I admit, but with free admission this is good bit of rally car spectating: http://southdownsstages.co.uk/