IN MEMORIAM : MARTIN HOLMES FAREWELL, RALLY HOLMES

MARTIN HOLMES, THE MAN WHO SAW ALL AND KNEW ALL OF RALLY SPORT, IS NO MORE

- VAISHALI DINAKARAN

The word “doyen” is one that ought to be used sparingly, because there are very few people for whom the adjective is appropriate. To describe the late Martin Holmes as the doyen of rally journalism, however, is completely and entirely fitting. His passing, on the 11th of June 2020 at the age of 80, is a huge blow to the rally community and to motorsport fans around the world, many of whom were introduced to the finer points of rallying through Martin’s words.

When I arrived at OVERDRIVE in April 2013, Martin had already been the magazine’s WRC editor-at-large for several years. To say that I was a little intimidated at the prospect of having to deal with “the” Martin Holmes on a regular basis is an understatement. But my interactions with him quickly proved that I needn’t have worried. Once I got to know him, I realised that Martin was friendly, humble, ever-so-slightly eccentric, and blessed with a great sense of humour. Sometimes I’d sit there scratching my head, wondering what he’d meant by something he’d said, and as if on cue, an email would arrive in my mailbox assuring me that whatever had been said, had been meant in jest.He certainly was perceptive.