Go For Finish - The Network Q Rally of Great Britain

[ First Published in Label Magazine, December 1999 ]

As an avid motorsport fan, Formula 1 no longer holds my interest. Like wrestling, it's all about the show rather than the sport. The pinnacle of motor racing just isn't convincing any more. It's biggest problem though, is that it isn't accessible to the fans. The cheapest tickets to the British Grand Prix are, for many, prohibitively expensive and the chances of ever meeting your favourite driver if you get there are virtually nil.

In absolute contrast to this is the World Rally Championship of which the Network Q Rally of Great Britain is the 14th and final round. Attracting over 2 million people over three days it's also Britain's biggest sporting event. Many of its stages can be viewed for free and those with entry fees are usually no more than a few pounds. Also, at the Loughborough Services last year world champions like Colin McRae, Tommi Makinen and Juha Kankkunen were all approachable for autographs and all, with the exception of a miserable Mr McRae, would chat happily about how they were doing.

The British Rally is set apart from the rest of the championship in that it is the only round with a mixture of surfaces including mud, tarmac and gravel. Add to this the threat of rain, ice or snow and it requires some spectacular driving, the best of which can be found on day two in the forests of mid-Wales.

Travelling to the freezing Welsh hills the day before, we camped overnight to make an early start. The first Special Stage of the day started at 7:40, but we opted for a more reasonable time and made our way to SS09 in the forests of Crychan. By this point, Brit Richard Burns was leading the rally for Subaru with McRae's Ford down in sixth.

For anyone who hasn't experienced it, motorsport is best viewed in the flesh. Always. TV just can't do justice to the drivers or the cars. This is more true for rallying. On TV, the rally coverage over fast forest sections is invariably from helicopters with the cars seeming to glide effortlessly along the track in a peaceful, Scalextric-esque manner. At ground level this all changes. In Crychan, the noise starts a long way off, a thrashy snarling engine echoing through the trees. When the cars appear they still appear to glide, such is the speed that they carry and the apparently limitless grip they hold on the greasy mud tracks. But it doesn't look effortless, and it certainly isn't peaceful. The noise is simply awesome, the turbocharged engine note coming in waves from a low roar up to a shrieking howl, punctuated with grating, thudding gear changes and the exhaust popping and banging at each corner. This, over a background of mud and grit rattling off the car, the trees and anyone standing nearby makes for a stunning aural experience. And that fact that you can stand nearby - very nearby, means the rest of the senses are getting a work-out too. Having World Rally Cars pass within feet of where you're standing at improbable speeds and without safety barriers make this a truly unique viewing experience. Even being on the pit wall at Silverstone doesn't compare.

When the last of the front runners had passed we made our way north to Sweet Lamb for Special Stages 12 and 14. Sweet Lamb's huge bowl section provides a different experience entirely, allowing a much longer view of the cars as they tackle several hairpins and a water splash. This made for good viewing, but the combination of Wales and winter meant it was bitterly cold so we watched the end of SS12 in the sheltered forest section further uphill.

When the night had drawn in and the last of the 160-odd cars had completed Stage 12, the front runners were back and ready to start SS14 and this is when things got really good.

The several thousand fans who covered the entire banks of the bowl section had been setting off, largely home-made, fireworks almost continually all afternoon. Then as Tommi Makinen set out for his second run over Sweet Lamb, the event organisers unleashed a fireworks display of epic proportions. This, along with the thousands of torches in the crowd, the huge spot lights fitted on to the cars tracked by camera flashes and the music blaring over the PA system created a carnival atmosphere which was almost magical. The cold no longer mattered. All the fans were getting exactly what they'd come for - world-class drivers on the ragged edge, seeming even faster in the dark. The cheering for British drivers Richard Burns and Colin McRae was fantastic and practically drowned out everything else. It was motorsport at its very best and when we left Sweet Lamb we were more than satisfied with our day's viewing.

As we drove home, the well-informed Ralli Radio announced "McRae's 24 minutes late for his stage 15 checkpoint. I think we can assume he's crashed." He had done so in spectacular fashion, leaving Richard Burns, as top Brit, to dominate day three and win the British Rally for the second year running.

Same time next year? I'm counting the days.

Dave Stokes