As title says, does anyone compete in the art of road rallying?

and i dont mean scatters/12-cars etc, i mean the proper stuff

If 4 cannonballs & a Furball count then I do but I guess thats not what you mean.

If you mean tarmac rallying then Ian Godney at Godspeed is a bit of a Mystro at that

I've done a few as I thought I'd follow the traditional route to stage rallying.

Not done one since last September though which we didn't finished due to fuel starvation troubles.

Been road rallying for 10 years on and off started on full on through the night road rallies, but to be honest with you these days a 12 car is enough fun and Im not shattered the next day how "real" 12 cars are depend entirely on the organiser, 12 car permits can cover a whole range of very different event styles, some somewhat faster some very easy some with some very complex plot and bash navigation.

Fortunately my Nav and I "grew up" on plot and bash so can plot on the fly, Ive actually heard some newer comers complaining that its impossible, and anyone who drives away instead of stopping to plot is cheating, but my nav could get me through even if we were working on gridlines and spot heights on the run.

Personally if im handed a map my eyes glaze over .

Done stage rallying as well although mainly in the forrests on the BTRDA done the odd tarmac event as well, I actually felt more at home on tarmac but forest stuff is in my opinion more of a challenge.

Plot and bash certainly takes some getting used too but I prefer it as it's much more of a challenge.

Have done a fare few in my time, myself and a m8 had 2 cars, 1 stage rally prepped and 1 road rally preped and we took it in turn to drive/navigate. Best road rally (if you can call it that) was the welsh enduro rally a couple of years ago, was a great laugh.

Problem is we had to sell them both and have never had the time to get back into it :(

I always liked the idea of road rallies. Sounds like alot of fun but never looked into it.

I did a few stage rallies some years back, but I was in the passenger seat shouting out the pace notes.

Didn't have faith in the driver, so I hung up my nomex suit for good.

Enduro rallies come in two flavours theres the road rally with trials type and the tamed stage type, Ive only dont the tamed stage type, good fun not as fast and flowing as a real stage rally - hence not so much need for full safety gear like a stage rally, but definetely good to be off the public road, and in daylight.

Road rallying can be a lot of fun and you can compete in a standard car without any modifications. Navigators though win more road rallies than drivers , at least on a good event, the drivers have to do their bit but without a good nav you wont get anywhere, stage rallies but more emphasis on the driver.

I used to back in the late 60`s through the 70`s

and early 80`s

they used to start around 11pm and finish about 5am

route was about 200 to 250miles and quite often 100

to 150 cars taking part..... it was like flat out driving

for most of the time all on public roads with a few

farm tracks added for slowing you down.... timing was

done by Targa Timing some sections timed to the second

called selectives ( or if you like special stages )

Motoring news used to run a championship every year

with events all round the country ..... this was before

the 70mph speed limit came into force ..... although they

did continue after that ....they used to attract the top

names in those days ....... cars included Porche 911`s

lotus cortinas.. twincam escorts... mexico`s ....cooper S

even JP nicholas the ferrari boss man came over in a

Renault Alpine and took part in our local event the

TAUNTON Annual Rally as a shakedown for the RAC rally ..........

those were the days my friends

( sounds like a song )

I drove a Mini Cooper S with a works straightcut gearbox

engine tuned to 1293cc spectators used to go out all

night to watch and listen to the cars ..you could hear a

tuned motor racing through lanes 5miles away

well I could go on for hours but you have probably gone

to another post by now

sorry if this is an old thread but only just found it and it

started me of remembering my rally days / nights

sorry if this is an old thread but only just found it and it

started me of remembering my rally days / nights

Nah, it's fairly new..

unfortunately the sport isn't as good as it used to be and spectators are generally not welcome anymore and rarely get provided with speccie info.

The local club 12 cars down here are mucht he same as they were 10 years ago, but certainly things have changed since the 60's-70's and the fabled MN championship.

Endurance Road Rallying is an interesting formula, not so much flat out on the competetive road sections but the selectifs are there (at least on some of the events), They also have plenty of spectators out . Last time I remember seeing enthusiastic spectators on a road rally must have been 8 years ago though. Had the odd spectator with a shot gun down this way though. Livens up the evening no end...

Last road rally we did has loads of speccies out.

We considered endurance events but the safety aspect is a bit iffy in my view as marshalling in Dyffi proved on an event last year. Competitors going for it through the forest flat out then slowing right down for the last bit to avoid time penalties - not good in my view if it all goes pear shaped.

Ah, Targa timing (nostalgic tear).

Used to do a bit of road rallying in the late 70's. Had to stop it after I yumped my 2-litre Vitesse at high speed at an unexpected Kinrosshire humpback bridge :eek::eek::eek::eek:

When we eventually landed several hundred feet further on (or so it felt :D) the impact cracked the diff casing :mad:

As it was my daily transport it made getting to work difficult until I got a new diff :O

My only experience of enduro is the south west, certainly didnt feel there were any safety issues there, it was a well run and enjoyable event, but Ive heard that enduro events vary quite widely.

Whilst certainly you put your foot down on the selectifs the cones stop lines code boards etc etc all keep the speed down in the right places to stop it ever getting to stage rally speeds never approached a big corner at stage rally pace, but still enjoyable. Personally as a driver I like things that flow the longer the stage the better, but I found the event enjoyable especially for the money compared to stage rallying.

I found the selectiffs very well managed and marshalled, less issues with safety there than on any road rally Ive done.

My mates organising an event in the Yorkshire region if anyones interested in coming out of retirement and having a bash....

regs and details are here;

Sheffield and Hallamshire Motor Club - Jackson Trophy Rally 2007

i agree with ugluk, it's a brilliant cheap alternative to the stage stuff and it's where co-drivers are made and get the credit they deserve.