Historic Rallying: The Old, New Revolution

Over the last 10 years, we have seen how the circuit racers have opened their arms to the charm and value of historic motorsport now it’s the turn of the UK’s biggest motorsport scene, rallying.

Modern rally cars are a fine example of how motorsport has changed over the last 20 years. The technical advancements made have been great, we no longer have mechanics we have technicians. No more lifting the bonnet and listening with a trained ear or fiddling with the carbs to adjust fueling. These cars are plugged in and expensive software determines exactly what we change or tweak next.

The whole ‘retro revival thing’ that we have seen develop socially has grasped motorsport. Yes we can admire the technical developments and advancements but we have fond memories of the past. We remember a time of Mark 2 Escorts, BDA’s on full chat, Audi’s, the sounds of popping turbos, the iconic ‘bedroom wall’ Stratos, Metro 6R4’s and all these legendary cars of yesteryear.

Ok so we are nostalgic, but these cars can be built by us, developed by us and we make them fast the old way by lightening components, drilling holes and by years of knowledge gained by experience. Experience, usually a decent story in there somewhere; yeah mate, stick these plugs in it will go like the clappers. Well it certainly did for a few miles…

The last few years have been hard on motorsport with the global recession effecting sponsorship and competitors struggling to find funds to compete. The season costs, fuel, parts, damage etc never go down, then there is the depreciation. Unlike the modern stuff, historic owners can build cars, compete and at the end of the season, if nessersary, they can sell them, and the cars are still worth a good chunk of money, if not most of what has been invested (in the build anyway). In fact if the car has had some notiable finishes or even a prestigious win then the value increases further – it has pedigree. Having said that the whole thing with historic’s is the fact that these cars are not just built and developed for a season or two unlike modern cars which are often replaced when the next ‘latest and greatest’ becomes available. These cars are built to keep and interestingly drivers and co-drivers from decades ago are coming back into the sport and competing in the cars they rallied back in the day – these cars have not been sold but just kept in workshops or tucked out the way waiting patently to again see the light of day.

Colin Heppenstall from the R.A.C Rally Championship who also organise the Roger Albert Clark Rally said “ Yes it has been tough over the last few years due to the economic climate but in the last 12 months we have seen a real resurgence in historic rallying. Interestingly we have lots of young drivers who have turned to historics because they can be run on smaller budgets than the modern cars. Also most historic events are held over 1 single day rather than 2 days which over a season has a big impact on cost”.

Cost wise, well motorsport being motorsport is always expensive but there are no clever electronics in classic rally cars and to have success competing in them, yes you need to invest in the build. However they all look fast and sound good in the paddock but at the end of the day you also need some talent – historics are a more ‘challenging’ drive compared to the modern machinery.

Over the last few years circuit racing has seen many drivers paying teams for drives and to prepare their race cars on ‘arrive and drive’ type deals but rallying remains true to the core with most drivers wielding the spanners and preparing their own cars. Model wise, the field is dominated by mark1 and mark2 Ford Escorts and subsequently their values have increased. Don’t be scared off, many organisers are also seeing Vauxhalls, Datsun 240z’s, Lancias and Alfa Romeos all competing and from a spectator point of view its great to see some variety.

The number of rally cars for sale will clearly grow and prices for complete cars will vary depending on history etc but do remember often ‘ready to rally’ still means 12 months of fettling to get it the way you want it. Building from the ground up is expensive but you do get to know every square inch but it is time and financially consuming, great to start with a bare shell though. Just make sure you know your regulations.

Want to compete? In the UK we have the MSA British Historic Rally Championship, the new R.A.C Championship and events like the recent Roger Albert Clark Rally, along with smaller club rallies. In Europe there are some fantastic events held in some great locations and these include, Legend Boucles De Spa and Ypres Historic Rally in Belgium and Rally Sweden added a historic class to this years event . You can even enter the ‘Monte’ – The Monte Carlo Hisorique, as the organisors run a historic event along with the main field and it has in the past had over 300 entries.

An Historic WRC? Come on how about it?

Many thanks to Richard Crawford Photography, Colin Heppenstall R.A.C. Rally, Jamie Martin at Targa Florio and Damon Milnes at Cheshire Classic Cars. Click the link and take a look at rally cars for sale on Paddock42.

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