What was the very FIRST RALLY YOU CAN REMEMBER WATCHING

[Skids]

Thanks for the photo Martin 85 RAC when Henri rolled the Lancia Delta,and went on to win the rally.A little story here.I was walking into one of the North Yorkshire stages on the 86 RAC ,I heard the Delta coming ,but was unsure weather it was Markku or Henri.I waved and as we got up to the holding point before the stage start,Henri was in the queue.I was going to walk past and let him get his brain into gear for the stage as I had had chats with him 2 or 3 times on that rally.Just as I was walking up the left hand side of the car Henri opened the drivers door to block my path.HE said Ba**y,you were not going to speak to me.( I explained ,that I was going to let him concentrate before the stage)You are my freind never walk past me without speaking to me again.
Skids it was 1980 when Henri won the RAC in the Talbot Sunbeam,the youngest driver EVER to win a world championship rally,which stood for 28 years untill last year when Jarri Matti Latvala took that title

Driverace
Thanks for the correction 30 years ago takes some remembering, great character Henri was would always acknowledge the speccies whether it was a hello or just a knod of the head, another icon who has been greatly missed.

[Chris]

1985 Lombard RAC, Ollies Mount Scarborough and then onto Dalby Woodyard in dark. Still got the ticket somewhere. I would have been 7 years old and was Escort mad back then. Went with my dad, older brother and his mate in his mate's Mk2 1600 sport. Rememeber getting back to the car in freezing cold in Dalby and someone had knicked his spotlights off the Escort
The sound of the Quattros was absolutly awsome. Have loved rallying ever since then.

Chris

[KL]

Another RAC later in the 70s,I can still remember seeing Harry Kallstrom coming down Dalby forrest towards the pub at the bottom in a red Lancia Fulvia HF with all four discs glowing red in the night.

I was a fan of "Sputnik" - and in fact kept him going to win in 69 or 70 by taping up his cracked distributor cap in Kielder. Must have been 72, we were early enough servicing (about 20 yards after the stage finish, as you did then...) to walk into Dalby and see first cars. Coming through fairly equally spaced, until the bark of the Fulvia and HK appeared but with original Stig V4 Saab right on his tail. OK a long stage but no one else had closed much on the car ahead.

[KL]

I Missed out on the start of the 1979 Rally of Great Britain out side the Grosvenor hotel in Chester as my dad knows FA about cars and we only live 3 mile way in Saltney...
But I think it was 1984 ish when they had a over night stop in chester and a gang of us from school and watch them coming in, at the northgate arena.
Hey the good old days....

Northgate Arena, 84, hmmm. We were quite late because of traffic and coming into Chester in "PHF" I was chased by a panda car after overtaking - so I continued on to the arrival control/ramp to get our time, working on the assumption the spectators would hang the copper from it if he did me for anything. He didn't...!

[miles]

My first event was 74 RAC Wythop

[jallen85]

1990 RAC was only 5 at the time, but my dad had already instilled in me the belief that it wasn't a patch on the days of group b. He did change his mind a little when McRae Jnr showed up mind

The first rallying I ever watched was this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BYbEG0Xzt8

I still know the mikkola interview (part 2) word for word! One of the few videos I still own. The guy on youtube has the whole season of bbc coverage, which is worth a watch to brighten up this lovely evening!

[driverace]

The original

Stig Blomquist.jpg
Is this the man in the SAAB 96 V4 Keith,Not many guys were better than him on his day,not even Per his team mate could stay with him!

[Martin]

A few more from the RAC Rally

[Rallyman72]

72 Welsh - the start was just outside the back door of my Uni digs!

[68 Bullit]

1990 RAC was only 5 at the time, but my dad had already instilled in me the belief that it wasn't a patch on the days of group b. He did change his mind a little when McRae Jnr showed up mind

The first rallying I ever watched was this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BYbEG0Xzt8

I still know the mikkola interview (part 2) word for word! One of the few videos I still own. The guy on youtube has the whole season of bbc coverage, which is worth a watch to brighten up this lovely evening!

1986 Welsh was a sad event for me , Harri had flown home as we had just received the news about Henri. Harri , David and myself had just been having lunch and joking the day before, then Henri calls in the middle of lunch to tell us he is leading by a convincing margin, but not feeling too good. It was very difficult carrying on with David , then he gives us a big scare when he and phil go and have a 200 foot off.

[KL]

72 Welsh - the start was just outside the back door of my Uni digs!

Cold Knap Point? What a God-forsaken hole that was! (my first International as a competitor).

[KL]

[ATTACH]6670[/ATTACH]
Is this the man in the SAAB 96 V4 Keith,Not many guys were better than him on his day,not even Per his team mate could stay with him!

Yes, confirmation in 72 that the car had really fallen far behind in the power stakes, so all the more impressive. Eklund was the real wild animal but Stig was not the singing-voiced quiet one he is now remembered as. Lying down in the road in the Kielder snow (1969?) pretending to be hurt to force the next car to stop and help him back on - that was rallymanship!

[driverace]

Stig

I have ridden with the original Stig,but it was in a lift.We were going up to our hotel room (838) in the Kalastajattorppa hotel in Helsinki,and just about to close the doors ,when this voice shouted to us to wait.he hurried across and shared the lift with is to his room.In those days 1980,his english was not as good as it is now ,as he had great difficulty telling us that the oil pipe to the turbo ,on his Saab 99 turbo had split starving the turbo of oil,and putting out of the Hanki rally

[rsash]

1979....RAC....Halfway.



Ash

[RSMEXICO]

The first Rally I remember going to and actually spectating was the 1992 RAC Lombard. Particularly the Grizedale Forest stages. No MK2's, though a few people took there RS2000's on the track when all the 'official' action had passed (me included!). I spent 2 nights sleeping in the damn thing..