…and it’s not over yet!
Rallycross is so important. So much so I am sure there’s no need for me to tell you about this, the best motorsport there is…..and how it began for example. Ironically given this last year, due to pandemic!
That is at least, according to legend. Let’s stick to that legend irrespective, which states that, due to an outbreak of foot & mouth the British Rally had to be cancelled and so was withdrawn to Brands Hatch and manipulated into a series of circuit races.
Well, it started due to television…cut a long story short through the late 60s and the 1970s it was shown World of Sport of a Saturday morning blocking the way for Gran’s much anticipated wrestling to come on!
Take a look here to see an excerpt of those early days where it all began at my once second home of Lydden Hill Race Circuit just up the road from me here in Kent.
Brands Hatch at one point even considering a legal dispute to Lydden’s claim: “Home of British Rallycross” saying it started here…cobblers said Lydden, “you don’t even want to run it and we do tens of meets every year” (add here, the sound of a raspberry being blown!)
These days they call it “going viral”…whatever, but like Covid, Rallycross spread throughout Europe, there wasn’t a country not infected….France, Belgium as far as Italy in the south and naturally to the nuts from that certain rally crazy region we know as Scandinavia, up near the Artic Circle in the north. Bizarrely as far afield as, unbeknown to many, extremely popular behind the iron curtain where there inhabits another bunch of rally nuts!
Why? Easy answer, but not the only answer: Accessibility
Divided into several classes it was the most accessible of those that drew me into Rallycross, was financially available to more people than any other serious motorsport.
SPC or PRX (Standard Production Car aka Production Rallycross) did exactly what it said on the tin….with only suspension, exhaust and safety modifications permitted of course no other modifications ever occurred (righty ho 😉 ) so it was as low cost as motorsport can be….great when you have little by way of currency resources.
So this is how it started…
Working independently, with a chap called Mick “The Wick” Wickham, another refugee from “Son Number One’s” evil empire (as described in the background of the “As it is when it was” article on this very website)…Mick had been racing in this amateur group for a number of years with old Datsuns, one of which he passed onto another refugee from that same empire, one Anthony Reene.
Together Mick and I built and raced that old Ford Fiesta on the left there…coinciding with being also dragged into the family photography business, restarted after Dad became the main refugee from…yes that same evil empire…so naturally my trusty Pentax MX came racing.
Some of the memories are a bit blurry….as are some of the photos!
Leaving that place for another day job me and the lads mentioned parted company but by then the business was doing more work for local press and thus the joy of the sport melded with the required accreditation so I spend the new XX number of years photographing Rallycross and other not nearly so brilliant motorsports with work published in loads of local papers, Kent Messenger group, Adscene and others around the country specific to their local drivers.
A lot went nationally to Motoring News, Autosport and others I forget the names of but mainly through a magazine called Pro-Rally where Rallycross played a supporting roll via my works…one of the better known that I did happening in the banner picture there…stolen from a bit of footage showing Will Gollop burying Martin Schanche from the off.
Let’s take a look at that magnificent and ballsy drive:
Some of my work, (I’ll show some articles in future posts)…even went international with occasional photos published by demand in Germany and Belgium but also in the former Czechoslovakia oddly as a guy there got hold of an underground copy of Pro-Rally and emailed the editor to get in touch with me, Miroslav Podzimek and I corresponded as mates for a few years, he and his nutty team aka “The Drinking Commando” and their little mag, through the fall of the Iron Curtain but eventually losing touch in the mid 1990s. Wonder if he’ll find this? 🙂
Family values
The paddock is a special place…wandering around gathering info for magazine articles and offering prints to drivers means meeting a lot of people and often, that’s how you make friends.
In Rallycross that means special friends. That’s how it is…when Mum passed away so tragically in 1990 these people, AND their families gathered around. I was well looked after, something I appreciate so very much to this day. Some became like actual family, there’s no exaggeration in that statement.
Briggsy
It’s well know that Terry and I were the best of friends. It was 1990, the job was to photograph and record the British Championship round in Ireland…one in the north at Nutts Corner, the following at Mondello Park.
Photographers would always try to bum a lift with one of the teams, I arranged with Guy Williams but at the last minute he dropped me but kindly arranged alternative transport for me and that is how I met Terry Briggs. One of those rare people you meet in life where you just hit it off….not reason for it, you just get along.
It was following Terry’s tragic passing that left me out in the cold psychologically and I actively tried to push Rallycross into past history…that is until the months prior to writing this.
More on that later, meantime let’s pay tribute to a great Rallycrosser with some photos from over those years featuring my terrific friend Terry Briggs
Do you know what? Sometimes when I answer a telephone I still hear his voice; “Hullo Mr Taylor….”
Wonderful people…..other close friendships that endured those years including my absence I am proud to say, include great mates like Denis Biggerstaff, Will Gollop, Pat Doran (his son Liam also), Greg Boarman, Andy Grant and of course, the ever effervescent John Cross, whom this year celebrates fifty years of motor racing as does another Rallycross legend, one Rob Gibson.
There are many within this wonderful sub-culture that more deserving of mention believe me, but I’m not about to list all those lovely people…loads of them 🙂
Oh, come on…I have to mention people like Jim Cooke and family, Val Briggs, Adrienne and Arthur Debenham, Eileen Moloney, Linda Gollop and so on and so on….one must of course include oh so many of those guys in the orange suits that make motor racing even possible, loads of great people who voluntarily give up their time for the benefit of all
…and of course the photographers and journalists, yes like me, who do so much to support the sport’s good name, people like Kerry Dunlop (also for KM), John Clewer, the maestros Eddi Laumans and Johnny Loix & spouse and of course me old mucker Barry Ambrose who was always pointing the right way for a crash! (Wonder if he’s pointed the right way now and will find this?)
Too many words…..let’s have a look at some more photos
Spoiled you there with a set of twenty randomly selected shots from over the years. I’m sure you’ll be able to name the racers but it leaves me here with just two sections to do in order to finish this intro to a this personal life within the greatest years of Rallycross.
The Greatest Years?
Oh yes. Considering the timescale I accidentally described above, it was a the time that where something exceptional in the early stages of happening.
Courtesy of the FIA and a year later RAS MSA, the Group B monsters and their Group S offspring were effectively thrown out of international and national rallying, banned for being way too fast in real terms, having too much power.
Rallycross became their natural refuge, they found a far better home here, best of all, their evolution took on a more open pace once in the hands of privateers, folk with engineering skills that collectively exceeded any works team with factory support.
We, I use that collectively, put them on a diet. Fitted sticky tires and made them handle too….also, we gave them even more power, a lot more power explosively delivered.
Electric times…little me being a small part of that, involved in my own small way with some legendary drivers and some legendary cars, individually legendary…or that was the plan for this next gallery but it expanded so let’s show off and have a look at some more photos, sit back, enjoy the ride!
Richard! Come and photograph the new car, first test 
2.3lt Twin Turbo…up to 750bhp 
For the King of Kuwait 1991 
Denis Biggerstaff 
John Cross, May 21 
Trevor Hopkins 
Vic Moyce 
Jonny Milner 
Barry McGuigan, Mark Howard & Chris 
Yes it’s a Yugo….good race car too 
Terj Schie 
Arnesson 
Martin Schanche 
Rob Gibson 
“Richard! Look after this….I have to be somewhere” (podium)
Did you like that? Bring back any memories?
If so, do use the comments section at the foot of the page and let me know.
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Retrocrossing!
I said it wasn’t over…but we’re nearly there!
My archive is quite substantial, not finished going through it yet but we’ll come back to that with more features later on.
Did you notice there that two things happened in that gallery? Crossing, excuse the pun to old into a couple of the new with the photos of John and his sexy Lancia Stratos.
I’m not really sure how to write this but I know the photos to use…and a bit of footage from May 19th and my first visit to Rallycross in some twelve years….persuaded by John, Rob Gibson, Liam Doran how could i not?
And it was lovely so, before a few shots from that day how about a note about my reunion with Rallycross superstar….Rosie?
Photographed below in 1991 for The King of Kuwait according to Pat…although retaining the Q8 colours beneath, she looks stunning in that thermographic black on black, and chromium purple party frock.
Just like it ever was….
Notice I keep using lines from songs? It’s not part of the act you know…..just the way my head works!
Anyhow, as you can see Rosie is every bit as vicious, she’s at the peak of her powers as I remember them…cars like Rosie are something that you need to see to even comprehend…photos, footage don’t convey the experience, the adrenaline nor do proper justice!
Whole grids used to be like that, thousands of horsepower restrained but readily to be released. From what I witnessed last weekend those have been much missed…leaving me with an amazing impression and perception that is quite clear:
Retro Rallycross is the way ahead. The new stuff cool too but the category for these older cars….well, it’s brilliant. Lovely already, in fact whilst catching up with folks, I am hearing tales of other rapid stuff coming back, including one rather well known Vauxhall Astra. Can’t wait….never though I’d see that one ever again.
So I am going to wind this up now with some photos, snaps, snatched from public areas last week (done my time the other side of the barriers!)…and yes, I go full retro…all shot on 35mm film, processed and reproduced here at Nik & Trick.
Here’s endeth todays lesson
(Dave Metcalfe on our testing day, Swindon 1991)
We shall end here before this turns epic. There may be some that may not like some of the words here, doubt it but if so…Hard Luck! It’s been my life and I shall say what I like about it! So there.
Now however we shall end here, as Martyn Tinker ended his day that time, launched from Mabb’s Bank, but be assured, now I’ve started this, there will be more to come, when, I can’t say, as there is a mountain of work to go through from all corners of what you can see on the index page.
