Punishing Roger Albert Clark Rally the catalyst for retro challenge
Legendary rally driver Roger Clark was the first Briton to beat the Scandinavians at their own game. Colin McRae followed suit in the nineties, winning the RAC Rally and the world title in 1995. The legendary Scottish driver still competes today and has driven two World Championship events for Skoda this year.
These two great names have inspired two journalists to take up a gruelling retro rally challenge over four days with 220 stage miles. Tony Jardine is teaming up with sponsors Sportinglife.com and BBC Radio 5 Live F1 commentator Maurice Hamilton to tackle the second-ever Roger Albert Clark Rally.
This unique event, which runs from November 19 - 22 and is named after Jardine's rally hero, will give the ITV F1 analyst the opportunity to drive a showroom class Skoda Fabia not dissimilar to the one driven on Wales Rally GB with such great success by his other favourite, Colin McRae. Jardine and Hamilton will compete for Sportinglife.com Team Skoda. After securing the loan of Skoda's Group N showroom class Fabia with Kumho Tyres support, Jardine is as enthusiastic as ever.
"McRae has shown yet again how competitive the Skoda Fabia is," says Jardine. "Admittedly, he has been driving a full house World Rally Car and ours is virtually standard, but they are based on the same car, one which has a great reputation for agility and ruggedness. I've always wanted to compete in a Skoda and it is particularly ideal for a tough rally that takes in many of the classic RAC stages.
"We will follow in the tyre tracks of sixties and seventies legend Clark, navigating off maps much as his famous co-driver Jim Porter did in the days before pace notes were allowed in the special stages."
Maurice Hamilton, a rally enthusiast who wrote the definitive book on the RAC Rally, must keep his head down all the time while reading the maps. "Having been accustomed to pace notes, this is all a bit new to me," says Hamilton. "But that is part of the fantastic challenge presented by this rally as we visit classic special stages in the forests of Northumbria and southern Scotland.
"The schedule is rigorous - much as it used to be - with early morning starts and several of the 29 stages covered in darkness. On top of that, Tony and I want to make amends for crashing out last year as we head north once again on what is set to become our annual pilgrimage for punishment!"
The inaugural event in 2004 drew major crowds reminiscent of halcyon days on the RAC. For 2005, Sweden's Stig Blomqvist - a former RAC winner and World Champion - returns to defend his crown from last year.
Colin McRae's father, Jimmy, (a former British Champion) will compete for the first time. Crowds will once again thrill to the sight and sound of the wonderful BDA Escorts and V8 Sunbeam Tigers. As a further bonus, reigning British Champion Steve Perez will be out for the first time in the amazing Lancia Stratos, a proper seventies supercar with a Ferrari engine which is sure to be a major draw as it blasts through the forests.
The enthusiasm for this superb event stretches to Sportinglife.com Team Skoda members. For experienced rally technician Andy Rogers, who built the Fabia, this will be a step back in time.
"I used to go into Kielder and some of the Scottish stages as a young enthusiast, drawn by the noise and thrill of the great rally cars," says Andy. "Although we will be running in the Open modern class behind the classics, this event will be pure nostalgia. I just can't wait."
Andy will be joined by McLaren-Mercedes SLR supercar technician Andrew Beale and BMW technician Tim Rogers who has previous experience working with Jardine and Hamilton on rally campaigns.
"It's a massive adrenalin rush for all of us on the team," says Jardine. But none of this would have been possible without the help of Skoda and valuable technical support from Kumho. It's a fun event with a serious edge. Like our heroes, we aim to get down to business in the forests and give it our best shot in the true spirit of rallying."
