Do we have any Lombard RAC Rally fans in here?

[Spiny Norman]

Anyone here ever do any night navigation stuff?

Usually organised by a local MSA registered car club and taking place in the middle of nowhere in the wee small hours, you got a series of cryptic clues to work out your route from and had to go round noting down markers at the side of the road, winner was the one who got all the markers, or most of them.

 

Great fun, I even have a small trophy for winning one event.

[Slappy]

I used to love the coverage on the BBC for the rally when I was a kid (early-mid 90s). There would be no other motorsport on (in my 5yo eyes) at that time of year, so anything with cars on tv was cool. I really liked the fact they went through the line-up, so there wasn't just the top 2 or 3 that you would see, but the F2s and the Group Ns, and David Llewellyn in his Astra GSi.

 

I also had a Network Q sponsored PC game which I think revolved around the 95 or 96 rally, and had every special stage from that year. Was pretty good actually, and came with 6 cars, including a Felicia and a Proton!

 

I think Mr Evans still runs Ford Dealerships. His son competed last weekend in a WRC Fiesta and I believe came 6th overall if my scanning of headlines and things was accurate!

[CreepingJesus]

Was Gwyndaf Evans not a bus driver at one time? Or am I getting mixed up again?

[Spiny Norman]

Pretty sure he drove the Post bus down in the valleys.

I liked Gwyndaf Evans, not only was he one of these really nice unassuming types who became a demon in a car, he has a name it's utterly impossible not to say in a Welsh accent.

 

[Pete-M]

Anyone here ever do any night navigation stuff?

 

Hah! Yes. As a navigator in a Peugeot 305 diesel van (on Koni shocks), an Alfa Giulietta fitted with most of the running gear and suspension from an ex-Autodelta GTV that ended up being cut up and a couple of Mk2 Escort RS's, naturally.

 

One year it got a bit daft. People were bringing stupidly fast and not strictly road legal things out to play. A big block AC Cobra replica, a race prepped Porsche 928 and an ex-Italian championship Alfa 75 Turbo were a few of the fire-spitting lunatic things that were out in the middle of one night around Northwich trying to find clues in Phone boxes and taped to random wheelie-bins. Every time I drive around there now I have to grin at the silliness of that night. We gave "Nav runs" a bad name. The lad who set the run up that night was a sadistic bugger, he'd leave clues in the quietest places possible knowing that some of the cars being used idled at something like 90db. Allegedly some car alarms went off when certain cars rumbled past.. allegedly the Police were called. By which time the clues had taken us to Delamere Forest.

[Junkman]

£20 PER STAGE!

 

You gotta be fucking joking!

 

Who do those clowns think they are?

[Pete-M]

Used to be £5 per car, some farmers were charging £5 per person last time I went.

 

£20 per car is just daft.

 

Small wonder The sport is dead.

[panhard65]

I went for a few years during the 90's. It used to be a great few days chasing around the country. You had the mickey mouse stages on the Sunday for normal spectators then into the forest's on Monday morning where it used to be only the proper fans who all kept a look out for each other. There would be an excellent atmosphere always better up north than the welsh stages. I stopped going when it stayed in wales and they stopped letting you find your own spot to spectate. £20 a person !!!! no wonder the forests are empty now at least back in the old days you could stay in one spot all day and see the whole field (usually about 200 cars) I never forget seeing a guy in a pink Renault 4 running last and about 3 hours behind the first cars he got such a big cheer just for keeping going.

Le Mans is also not as good as it once was but seems to be getting better again. The modern LMP cars all look the same and the diesel's sound awful but they have improved it for the spectators. You even have women there now !!. Unfortunately some of the fun has gone though. The police have cracked down on all the mental driving, but it was getting a bit out of hand. Even the funfair is reasonably safe now. The shooting gallery where you used a 12 bore to knock over tin cans has long gone complete with it's top prize of an AK47. They have even got rid of the strippers. Now that was an experience 200 hot sweaty drunken brits in a small tent watching some tart put household items in new and interesting places. I would recommend it to anyone but make sure you get one of the better campsites as it makes all the difference

[e287yba]

I was a Radio Marshal in the later '90s on the RAC, in a Montego 1.6L along with the rest of the local Police Motor Club (I wasn't even a civvie!) in various Subarus...

 

Tyically... Sunday was Tatton Park, Monday was a painfully early start to get to Pundershaw before Car 000, then Tuesday was a reasonable start from home (Madchester in those days) to drive to Cardiff for an overnighter ready for Resolfen on the Wednesday. Getting home from the Severn Bridge in two hours was the final highlight... And all on expenses, as the driver of the most economical car I made a few quid here (the hotel was paid for by the club too).

 

900 miles in 4 days?? Driving a mucky muddy Montego around after 50 stage miles certainly got some funny looks !

 

Nowadays, I believe that the FIA insists on all rally stages being withn 100 miles of the base, or similar - and so the days of the Lombard RAC have been replaced by the RAC Rally Of South And Mid Wales .

 

Bring back the old times; they were the halcyon days .