Rally of the Tests 2024 - The One They All Want to Win!
In just a few days’ time the RAC Rally of the Tests 2024 will begin. Three days of rallying, plus an evening prologue, that will include night sections, forestry, kart circuits and hill climbs, all spread across 34 tests and 24 regularities, and a pair of Sporting Time Control sections, just in case anyone was left wanting for more. Rally of the Tests isn’t like your average rally, it’s relentless, it demands complete concentration and is an adrenalin fuelled adventure ride that will leave competitors under no illusions that they have just had the time of their lives.
79 crews will take on the challenge this year, including 18 taking part in the Lite Event, a slightly easier ‘Tests experience’, that whilst still a challenge, isn’t quite the full on experience of the full Rally of the Tests. Within the entry there are 11 different nationalities and a total of 50 competitors hailing from outside of the British Isles, signaling ‘Tests’ as a truly international event. No doubt they will all be excited, but perhaps there will be none more excited than Clerk of the Course and route planner Andy Pullan. Andy was of course one of the crew once, a pretty good navigator, even if he says so himself, and knows a thing or two about what a decent event involves. This is the second year of his tenure at the Helm of ‘Tests’, and I’m sure his excitement is matched in equal measure by nerves, driven by his desire for a successful event.
This year, the rally will begin near Darlington, and Andy has plotted a route that travels up through Northumberland to Edinburgh, across to Carlisle via the Scottish Borders and then down to Windermere. Along the way the rally will visit plenty of traditional venues, and some new ones, such as Otterburn Ranges, Kershope Forest, Jim Clark territory around Dunns and Warcop.
Andy is excited about the depth in variety across the numerous competitive sections, “it won’t favour one particular type of car” he says, “so the eventual winner will have to prove themselves across a multitude of different types of competition. There is forestry, tarmac, fast sections and technical stuff. Oh, and the night sections of course.”
The night sections are where this event can really be won or lost, do well on those and you’re setting yourself up well for a good result. It’s easy to get sucked in though, the night plays tricks on the mind and sometimes, our eyes are worse than we are willing to admit. As Andy rightly says, “the night sections can throw the leaderboard upside down. When things go wrong in the dark, they go wrong quickly”, time can be haemorrhaged in front of your eyes, and with a foray into the famous Kershope to look forward to on Saturday night, crews will need to keep concentration levels to maximum.
Quite rightly this is the event the drivers really look forward to, but the navigators are under pressure as well, with advanced navigation and map work involved and accurate instructions vital, as changes of direction appear quickly, especially in the dark. Their contribution is just as important as the drivers, although there is only ever one person who takes the blame when the errors occur! Both however, will need to maintain serious levels of concentration throughout the event.
Errors there will be though, and with the competition continuing right up until the last minute, with the final afternoon being played out in the famous Warcop training area, it is unlikely that our winners will be known until almost the final time control.
Who might taste success though? Well, on their day the fight could be split between a fair number of competitors, but the bookies favourite must be the continued partnership of Dan Willan and Niall Frost, who are multiple winners and have been unstoppable across the last two years. The night sections in particular suit these two, but with a chasing pack that includes last year’s runners up Paul Dyas and Martyn Taylor and 2023’s third placed Paul Crosby and Ali Proctor, victory will be far from guaranteed. Dyas and Taylor will be pushing hard in what is a new car for the competition and hoping that the premature exit they experienced in the machine on a recent rally isn’t repeated, whilst Crosby is well known for his competitive side and is driving again in his proven Mini. Belgian pair Kurt Vanderspinnen and Bjorn Vanoverschelde could also be ones to watch in the Lotus Cortina, with Kurt finishing third earlier this year on the Per Ardua event, and experienced crew Angus McQueen and Mike Cochrane will also be an interesting prospect, this time in a Ford Cortina, rather than the BMW they are synonymous with.
Last year’s Lite winners, Steve and Julia Robertson are entered into the Lite category again, as well as 2023’s second placed David and Melanie Roberts and third placed Malcolm Dunderdale and Anita Wickins. These three crews are all capable of winning, and will be competing alongside three pre-war Chevy Fangio’s, the competition between those and the more modern machinery of last years podium will be a compelling watch, with the famous Fangios extremely capable in the right hands.
So then, an intriguing concoction of a challenging route, a variety of venues and a great mix of machinery and competitors that ought to offer up a vintage ‘Tests’ year. But what is our Clerk of the Course most looking forward to? Over to Andy Pullan. “The variety of venues should make for an interesting spectacle and offer up a competition that doesn’t suit one person entirely. It’s going to be great to visit some new venues, as without prior knowledge the playing field becomes much more level, and I think the sections on Otterburn will be particularly enjoyable. Whoever wins this year will have proven themselves across such a diverse series of sections, they will truly be worthy winners of the crown and will have worked extremely hard for the win.”
A good year in prospect then, and a captivating competition on the horizon. It all kicks off on Thursday 7th of November, and we cannot wait.
