Roger Albert Clark Rally covers over 300 miles
Standing in Carmarthen’s Town Hall Square, I could barely see the ramp set up for the entry procession because there was a huge crowd around me. It was snowing, but the cold showers couldn’t dampen the energetic crowd.
Parked a meter away from me was a long line of historic rally cars, stretching up the hill out of sight. As their engines started up, especially that of a roaring Lancia Stratos, a distinct buzzing sound grew in the surroundings.
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Well, it’s not a typical Wednesday night in the middle of town: it’s the official start of the Roger Albert Clark Rally.
Named in honor of a British rally great, this grueling five-day event recreates the spirit of the RAC rallies of the 1970s and 1980s, forcing competitors to tackle classic stages across England, Wales and Scotland.
I’m here as a server for my godfather, Charlie, to go behind the scenes to see what really happened at the historic rally. He drove past me on the ramp in his 1984 Peugeot 205 GTi.
On the other side, 35 stages and 313 competitive miles await.
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part of the crew
Our team consisted of Charlie, co-driver Steve and service guy Andy, Stuart, my dad and me. Our job is to take all the maintenance stress off the guys in the car who have to worry about racing lines and pace records. Tinkering with stuff is only half the job, though: We’re also morale boosters, baristas, and cooks.
The service personnel are divided into two teams: one drives the chase car, which follows the rally car from stage to stage, and the other drives the service car, driving it to the various service areas.
It’s actually a mobile garage, complete with spare parts, tools, a refrigerator and plenty of brownies.
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all on deck
Each crew member is only given 25 minutes to service their car, which usually includes changing tires, refueling and dealing with any mechanical issues.
When our Peugeots pull into the pits, we work like a hand-picked Formula 1 team. Of course, we can’t change a wheel in two seconds, but everyone knows their job.
I leave the mechanical tasks to others and instead prepare hot drinks and food (lots of coffee and carbs), clean the car, and, as the youngest member, do all the literal heavy lifting.
Just as we were getting ready to take the car out for service, we pulled the wheel stud out of the wheel hub while trying to replace the wheel. They made crazy, quick substitutions and got to the rest of the stage in time.
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RAC spirit
The service area was a wild, chaotic place that captured the true spirit of the historic rally, with teams both big and small showing camaraderie and refusing to quit. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Czech team’s 1961 Skoda Octavia Super.
It crashed early and appeared to be badly damaged beyond repair, so you can imagine my surprise when I found out the crew had hoisted the inner wings back into place the next day and were in the pits repairing the engines.
Incredibly, they got Skoda in time for the Scottish stage of the rally and went on to complete the race, which for many of the smaller teams is as satisfying as winning the rally itself.
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hot pursuit
Our chase car followed Charlie’s Peugeot to each stage, ready to provide support in case of any breakdowns. They’re like physios who run onto the pitch to help an injured footballer, but often real problems arise during a rally and they can’t simply spray a car with Deep Freeze and send it off – they need to be able to repair the car on site without wasting any time.
Driving a chase car is more time-consuming than working in a service area, requiring lots of road miles and lots of waiting. The good news for us is that our Peugeot is flying smoothly and only needs tightening of the wheel nuts at every other stage.
The car chase also gave us a look at this year’s hot-shoes roaring through the unforgiving Sweet Lamb complex. The headlights flash, the revs soar, the car reaches incredible speeds: the fearless spirit of the rally drivers is on full display.
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Kilde bit back.
My service duties end in Wales and the crew will head to the Scottish Borders for the final three days. I followed Charlie via live stream as he continued to excel and placed second in his class.
The exciting finish was in sight, but the rally was brutal, and on the penultimate stage he went too wide, stabbed into the bushes and bent the Peugeot’s chassis.
It was a tough way to go so close to the finish, but it was a heroic effort from the drivers and crew and that fighting spirit is the essence of the Roger Albert Clark Rally.
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