Bringing The Mojo Back To Rallying

Paul Lawrence talks to those at the heart of the R.A.C. Rally

- Paul Lawrence

Two years ago, Roger Albert Clark Rally manager Colin Heppenstall had cancelled the 2015 event as a low entry made it financially unworkable. Many organisers would have given up and walked away, but Heppenstall is not a quitter. In equal measure determined, stubborn and full of energy, he worked away for 18 months to rebuild the event. It came back two weeks ago as a bigger, tougher and longer rally and it was a massive success.

For the first time, it went to Wales and that was a canny decision. It brought entries and interest from a region that had never seen the rally before and Heppenstall broke new ground by running a transport section on Friday night as the whole rally relocated from Leominster to Carlisle. It worked well.

Although the final start list was down to 91, still close to a record for the rally, it was important that over 140 crews initially lodged deposits. It was clear that four days, three countries, 280 stage miles and 30 special stages had grabbed the attention of crews more used to under 45 miles in little more than half a day. This was nearly seven BTRDA rallies in four days.

However, this was not just a rally about the crews. Spectators, marshals and organisers were all part of an adventure that took everyone completely away from their normal life for four days. Instead of unrelenting coverage of Donald Trump, Isis and Brexit, it was a blur of forests, service areas, lights across the night sky, Ford Escorts sideways, two-stroke Saabs ring-a-dinging, time controls, the noise of the Lancia Stratos, stunning scenery, wonderful humour and camaraderie, with the occasional visit to bed when time allowed. Everyone had a ball.