Sep
16

Wales Rally GB

Yesterday I had the pleasure of going to Wales Rally GB. My first time ever at a rally event of this scale. I’m used to going to the Pirelli International, and the Malcolm Wilson, but this was an entirely different scale.

It was also my first time seeing WRC-level drivers on stage.

Jari-Matti Latvala went on to win the rally today. He came in to SS8 with a huge lead, and acted like the thick fog that was covering the jump section didn’t even exist. Luckily, it cleared up after about half the cars had ran through, making my job much easier.

Sebastian Loeb went on to take the second spot from Petter Solberg on the last day of running, but actually looked quite slow on Halfway, in my opinion. I’d love to see him drive on a day where he’s at his fastest.

Matthew Wilson looked quick over the jumps. I guess growing up in Cumbria has some advantages for this event! He came home in eighth once the event was all over.

 

I decided to play around with slow shutter speeds partway through SS12. I think some of them came out really well. Recently I’ve been shooting much faster than normal.

 

I blame the 70-200 2.8, and it’s gorgeous bokeh.

 

This Skoda, driven by Hayden Patton, was probably one of the most photogenic of the bunch. One of the simplest liveries in the entire field.

With any luck, my full coverage of Wales Rally GB, as well as a tour of the M-Sport and Ford World Rally Team HQ should be coming soon on MotoIQ! Stay tuned!

 

Apr
29

Pirelli International Rally

So, I went to the Pirelli International Rally yesterday. Blown away by the crazy Scandinavian talent!

I wish rallying still featured as many 4WD monsters. Though these DS3’s sounded incredible.

I really didn’t expect a huge, rock lined quarry in the middle of SS3. Or the drivers to be so balls out and barely missing massive boulders at the side of the road. Incredible.

There were a few AWD cars too. You can tell when an Evo is coming because it pops whenever the driver feathers the throttle.

This guy. Kieth Cronin, the eventual winner of the rally. Insane! Even the AWD cars weren’t jumping on this kink over a sharp crest, his pace was incredible.

The kink was an awesome, but scary place to be standing. Every driver cut it tighter, going on to the bark and frankly, massive rocks. More than once there was a dangerously big stone kicked in my direction.

Historics! There were a ton of Porsches on show. I’ve never seen a 911 on a rally stage before, quite an impressive sight. The historics mainly consisted of these an the Mark I and II Escorts. As usual in British rallying, those things are everywhere.

I was excited to see the iconic Martini livery out on show, but then I noticed it was slightly modified. Grr.

Right, I think that’s about it for the Pirelli. Good event, I have to say.

BUT!

I have something rally-related in the works that could be absolutely amazing in May. Something tenuously related to that image above. Watch this space!