Living in the US and being a follower and participant in rallying can be tough work sometimes. We don't get the WRC on TV, and most people have never heard of the sport. This involves a lot of 'splainin'. However I've figured out a solution, and it came to me as I watched the footage of this weekend's Rally Finland that I'd gotten hold of.
The solution: Figure out a way to show people 15 seconds of Rally Finland footage.
The bottom line is this: the best rally in the world is Rally Finland. The one event that communicates the thrill, the speed, the sheer freakin' insanity that is driving along gravel forest roads at average speeds over 100mph, is Finland. There's a reason they call it the spiritual home of rallying. It's because the essence of what makes stage rallying what it is will always be found in its most concentrated form in Finland.
Finland takes the prize for all of the following categories:
- Fastest rally
- Biggest injury-free crashes (Dani Sordo on Day 2 this year is a prime example)
- Longest / highest jumps (Moksi and Ouninpohja)
- Biggest crowds
- Most spectators dressed as Santa Claus
- Fastest "local" drivers (Janne Tuohino, Jussi Valimaki et al)
- Largest field of pukka WRC-class cars (outside of Ireland)
- Fastest stage (Ouninpohja - the section where it turns from the left/right lumpy country road onto the "main" road is simply sick - see below, it's after Phil Mills says "faster now"!!!)
1 comment:
No doubt they'll be fast, but I have a feeling that the wide gravel of Finland will still show higher average speeds than the tight country roads of Sligo and Fermanagh. I guess time will tell, and I can't wait to find out...
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