Can I become a Rally Driver?
When people ask what you wanted to be when you grow up as a child, almost no one is able to say they have achieved that goal. Astronaut, Pilot, Policeman or Race driver are probably some of the most likely child answers you will get and will most likely continue to get for many years. My burning desire was always to be a Rally Driver, the speed, the excitement and the spitting gravel of an off road track in Wales has always caught my eye. I grew up watching Colin McRae dominate the world of rallying and when my father bought a Subaru Impreza P1 from Prodrive I suspect the bug well and truly took hold.
Clearly the world of Professional Rally driving isn’t something I am going to be snapped up into, but perhaps there is a way I could get a sniff of that world as a fat middle aged guy by entering some off-road adventure style rallies and gently building up to somewhere resembling the big boy stuff? I have already started by using my own car with some light upgrades (basically new suspension) and enter a series of increasingly difficult and adventurous Rally Raids’. Couldn’t I?
After a bit of research it seems I need to get a licence and getting it in the UK is the seemingly the most simple solution. So onto Motorsports UK to get myself an RS Clubman entry level race licence, and then I will enter myself into the BARS rally system and lets see where this new endeavour takes me!
Clearly I will also need a suitable set of wheels to go rallying in, something fast, reliable and strong that can also qualify for historic rallies must be the way forwards….maybe a Lada Niva? or a Lancia Delta? The Porsche 959, the ultimate classic rally car…what could lie ahead?
