Experience: Rallying
Venue/Location: Ti Rally School, Seaton Ross, Near York
Price: £137 (est. RRP)
Duration: Approx 2.5 hours
Recommended: Yes
I recently had the pleasure to attend Ti Rally School for their ‘Introduction To Rallying Course’. It was with trepidation that I set off for the venue which is located at Seaton Ross, near to Elvington Village, York. I never enjoy early starts but the thought of getting behind the wheel of something with a lot of power, not too much weight and rear drive certainly got me going.
The closer I got to the venue, the more it played on my mind. Would I be able to take up the challenge? I haven’t driven off-road before and I was convinced that track and road driving was going to be totally different. How right I was to be proven!
The School was located down an industrial estate/rural track which I was wondering was part of the challenge due to the sign posts seemingly being intermittent! However, a sighting of another would be rally driver got me on the right track. A few cars were already there and I soon found myself in the middle of the pack waiting for further instruction.
After a short time, the group was met by Theresa, one of the extremely friendly team who guided us into the parking area for the School. Without much ado, we were all suited up in racing suits and given helmets! I do recall thinking ‘this is quite quick’, but then Ti really do try to maximise your time in the car. A quick safety briefing from Phil and Mick (the rally instructors) saw us given the finer points of introductory rally control.
We then got introduced to the cars. And what cars they were! Bright yellow, Ford Escort Mark II rally prepped cars with rear drive, plenty of power and no real weight to speak of. The interior consisted of a roll cage, two racing bucket seats, a short ratio, short throw gearbox with a 4 space H gate and an electronics system for the comms system. Oh, and that’s it.
I watched the first few roar off (the cars really did roar) onto the stage we would be using which was muddy, wet and extremely slippery. The first part of the introduction was learning how to use the handbrake to drift around the corner. It was here that I learned the mantra ‘Turn in, Clutch down, Handbrake turn’. Three simple things, but hard to remember when the car is spearing about anywhere but in a straight line…
Before I knew it, I was struggling into the tight bucket seat and being given some instructions by Mick. We advanced toward the stage and in no time at all we were off. The car had a long first gear so it was easy to give it some play – but far more difficult to keep it in a straight line. After several turns though I felt that I started to hook it up a little better and the really positive instruction was extremely helpful to boost my confidence. Before I knew it, I was being guided to the exit posts with a massive smile on my face. The key lesson I learned was that in rallying, you really need to carry plenty of speed!
The second sessions consisted of driving full laps on the stage, which was more difficult than the previous exercise. The challenge here was really to carry speed through the corners in order to have drive to reach the next. Even the attack on the initial easy left then right into a straight was more challenging than it looked when heavy on the throttle.
With the wheel throwing itself left to right whilst attempting even to keep on a straight the rallying session was more difficult than I anticipated – but HUGE amounts of fun! Just for a moment I felt as though I was Sebastien Loeb when I was given some key instructions and it all seemed to come together. It was extremely special.
The final session of the day was a timed lap where all competitors faced the dreaded board. Just who would be first and who would be last? I of course had my sights set on first place – I couldn’t let Car Articles down! The only problem I saw with that plan was the massive rain clouds gathering overhead.
The first laps were set with some extremely competitive times and just my luck – I sat in the car and the heavens opened up. Nonetheless, I wasn’t going to let this get me down. In fact, I saw it as a reason to give more attack rather than less. So, with the countdown from my co-driver, I was off. Launch, turn, turn, maximum power, hard braking into a hairpin right/left…
It was all going so well even with what appeared to be torrential rain slamming into the windscreen. I was doing it. On the second to last corner as my concentration was fading I managed to get the sequence slightly wrong, my approach angle just didn’t cut the mustard. I engaged the clutch, but slightly too late. I hit a stall. This amounted to a two second penalty and placed me second in the wet laps, with a time of fourth overall.
I couldn’t complain or begrudge my fellow drivers. We had a great group and everyone was enthusiastic. The challenge was seized and the fun factor was massive. A big thanks to everyone at Ti Rally School for making it such a memorable experience and it has definitely made me come away with much more respect for the sport of rallying. However, next time I will come first!
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