Trying to work out which part of going after a stationary car requires being crazy. It does happen quite often and could guarantee other motorsports would be the same if there weren't giant fences around the track.
The Finns are the best I've seen at this.. everyone Rallys, its like a weekend pass time and audience participation is way over the top :) Winter amateur rallies are something else
Yes thank you! And the Best part is that any one can take part In these "every men-rallies". The car is allowed To cost max. 600,- and after the race every car is for sale. So you can by the Best car for 600😁👍😍
People tell me about this dude you can see in many of these videos. He is known as the "Kaljahattumies" which means The Beer Hat Man. He is always the first to run to help cars gone off road. He has the strap they use to pull cars back on road. He is the fastest. He starts moving immediately he sees that the car is going to spin and many times he is already running while the car has not even stopped yet. He seems to be somewhat known among the rally spectators in Finland. One key thing is to find a spot where you will most likely see crashes and drama. If you see the Beer Hat Man in the woods then you know thing will happen there. I love this guy.
You can actually spot a lot of the same people on the "pit crew". One of them is some sort of legend, we call him "Kaljahattu" (beer hat), or some call him "Liinamies" (Strapman). He's the one with the weird red (And other colors) conical hat tha has beer logos on it, he's also usually the one with the tow line ready. He's almost on every rally event, and there are a lot of rally events in Finland :D
I've always thought the States missed a golden opportunity to be the epicentre of rally-racing, look at the available terrain, it's unreal, you could race cars in the deserts of Nevada, then through the forests of Washington State, then the swamps of Florida, the coasts of California, from the city of NY to the state of NJ and back, up to the peaks of Colarado, then a run around the lands of Utah....it's all there!
It's probably the only practical rule. Since a car might have had an 'off' miles from their base. And how would you police it to be sure that nobody had received a bit of an unauthorised push? And sometimes, if the car is blocking the road, it's to the advantage of other competitors to have it pushed safely out of the way by spectators.
The older guy with the bucket hat (usually red) impressed the hell out of me. He was there for almost every wreck. He was running for the car before it actually wrecked. That guy has seen a million rallies. He knew they were wrecking before they did. Awesome video and reaction. I love your enthusiasm. I really miss the SPEED CHANNEL. That was the only place I got to see WRC.
it's like we are watching TWO sports events at the same time the car rally AND the Fans Pit Crew "time evac trials" 😅😂🎉🎉 Totally impressed... what an adrenaline rush
As a one of those Finnish spectators myself, I can tell that you are partially right. The spectating is kinda its own sport, but the goal is to find the right places, corners where the action will be. You kind a compete against your friends and others in this, it is like placing bets on certain places; you need to drive through the stages before the rally and analyze the road, maybe learn old stories etc, then make a plan which places you are believing in and which you can make in time. And during the rally people are all the time hearing news that some one rolled here and there and this and that place 'works' and then you feel shit because of your wrong decision. But when you find the place, nothing beats that feeling. Also most of these rallies are so called "blind" which means there are no recce before hand, so no pacenotes and that means lots of more potential 'places,' but when you find 'a place' in a pacenoted rally, you can consider your self as a Pro Spectator! Of course the most dangerous places are marked on the road for driver's safety in blind rallies also. Finally, I can't explain it to you good enough, you need to experience it!
they propably are a designated group of people with a plan. I can take a guess by the way they speak that they are familiar with the best way of doing that
When it comes to the technicalities of getting a car from A to B stupidly fast. There is no comparison to rally drivers. They'll drive on any road, in any weather with changing conditions and a co driver shouting instructions to them. If you can do half of that, you'd be a great driver in any other motorsport.
Well in Finland, learning how to drift and drive in slippery mud surfaces, gravel, snow, downhill, uphill, etc, are required before you get a basic driving license. This is why seeing rally is just a casual thing and a normal day in Finland.
In Finland they also have these small dirt race weekends, where they race on small dirt tracks, only a few hundred meters long. After racing, anyone can buy your racing car, for something like $500. You have to sell your car then. So these are of course dirt cheap old cars, but still some people use more money on their cars before the race, than they know they are gonna get back. These events are there, so that anyone Gan get into racing, and is probably one of the reasons, why Finland has so many great racers. Even kids race in these events.
Watching this reminds me of an incident I was involved in a few years back. Me and a few friends were taking a group of venture scouts caving. We're in our early 20s and the Ventures are all 17-18. 15 of us pile into a mini-bus and head for the Peak district. We have to go through Wolverhampton and reach a big 3-lane roundabout and see there's a car conked out in the middle of the roundabout. Somebody says: 'That's a major hazard. He needs a push to the side of the road.' Somebody else adds 'Might just need a bump start'. Another voice pipes up 'Looks like he's on his own. Shall we give him a hand?' By this time we're passing him and judging from his face the driver's looking pretty worried about his situation being stuck in the middle of a busy roundabout with a car that won't start. our driver takes us back round the roundabout and when we reach him again 6 of us jump out and start pushing the car before the minibus has even come to a halt. The guys face was a picture as 6 blokes suddenly appear out of nowhere and start giving him a push. Meanwhile our minibus is doing another lap of the roundabout. Just as it reaches us the car kicks into life and we jump back into our minibus. The whole thing is over in about 30 seconds and is like a well oiled F1 pit-stop. We give the bloke a wave as we zoom past him and he's wearing an expression of confusion on his face of 'Who the hell are these guys and what just happened?' Pleased with our good deed for the day. We head off and have a fun days caving. On the way home we reach the same roundabout and bizarrely there's ANOTHER car conked out in exactly the same place. This time the driver is a young lass and has a panicky 'WTF do I do now?' look on her face. Somebody say 'Deja vu guys. You know what to do!' so we leap out give her a push and are back in the minibus before she knows what the hell is happening. Once again her face is a picture of confusion as her rescuers disappear into the sunset. It was one of those bizarre things which gave us a great sense of camaraderie and left you feeling good about yourself for helping these people who would have been in a real mess if we hadn't appeared.
@7:17 Cool looking car is Toyota Starlet. This RWD hatchback has been very capable in national rallies where there isn't too much money to spend and drivers aren't professionals. I'm not sure of current regulations but I guess there are still some classes you can race with 'em.
Thanks again! The drivers usually knows that the fans Will try To help them if possible. Especially In Finland and other Nordic countries and like In Estonia. But the new WRC-rallies are bit different cause the rules are changing every year. But cause rally has so many different "classes" /levels so you still see this kind of Action. And we are used To it cause rally has been a huge part of our motor sport since the early 60s. ❤❤❤. Kalle Rovanperä from Finland just won the WRC-Rally In CROATIA this weekend.
The advantage that NASCAR has is that you can park a few feet away from the stands and you can see all the action from your seat. But in rallying, you are more connected with the action, the cars miss you by inches, spraying you with track debris. Tips for watching, stand on the inside of a turn preferably behind a tree and peek around the side of it 😜
Climb Dance with Ari Vatanen, a Group B legend, is an amazing watch. It's him flogging a Peugeot 405 T16 hillclimb special up Pikes Peak (15.000 feet) and it is filmed so well. It was a short that won prizes on movie festival. He did it 1988, Bobby Unser did it in 1989. watch?v=nvXSXfL4XRc Another great one, although short, is the 1988 DAF Turbotwin beating the Dakar version of the same Peugeot 405 T16, driven by Ari Vatanen, in a drag race across the desert. They're doing 200kph/120mph on sand and it's epic. The truck was an aluminium space frame with 2 engines that each had three turbos, hence the Turbotwin, producing a total of 1.200hp. This was the second generation and one of the fastest trucks ever in Dakar, if not the fastest. The driver is Gerard de Rooij, a Dakar veteran and absolute legend. Unfortunately, the sister truck, driven by Van de Rijt, hit a dune at 200 kph, it rolled 6 times, ejecting the co-pilot Kees Van Loevez, killing him. The other two crew remained in the cab, which had torn off the chassis, and survived. DAF pulled out of Dakar. De Rooij ended up buying the team and race for another 2 decades, until he hit a big dip and his cab broke off the mounts and flipped forward. This was his cue to retire, he was also pretty old. The 1988 crash led to Dakar banning the T4 trucks, which were the Group B of their class. watch?v=AWCNnlk8rkU (The overtake) watch?v=TG0xRdUrkOM This is a French report on the crash, WARNING, they show the dead driver. French people don't give a shit, especially in the 80's. You can auto-translate it to English, which is pretty good, although fast, as French is a fast language. The first 7:20 are them explaining why their helicopter became the medical helicopter. Sand storm came in, the TV chopper had already flown ahead way earlier and was the only available helicopter. They first repatriate a Dutch rider who dislocated his hip, then some aerial shots. After it cuts back to the studio, it goes into the crash. The guy asking "is he dead?" is de Rooij, he was devastated. He gave an interview on Dutch TV on the matter and you could tell he was a broken man. watch?v=ilghtX-tfAA, no English subs though. The last minute is about their being more questions whether the Dakar should continue as it was the 10th edition and 20 people had died so far. It shows a motorcycle rider coming and being absolutely beat. The reason Van Loevez was ejected, was because they used the factory seat rails, instead of bolting it to the frame, like a race car. A second fatality is mentioned, which was a separate crash, this was a Frenchman called Patrick Canado. The Range Rover he was co-piloting had steering problems and swerved into Mercedes 280, the Rover rolled and Canado was ejected. Here's some more links to the Turbotwin in action: watch?v=JgkUo7zWC9U (training day on a military training ground) watch?v=wfuRzunw0NU (another test drive) watch?v=nrQViKCn-OE (a 15 minute compilation, parts in English, parts in Dutch) watch?v=gNgQjCHV0j0 (compilation of weird vehicles that have competed in Dakar)
Ian, check out a rally driver called Frank Kelly. Drives the box off his Escort. His Fast, Sideways and Mental videos are, well, mental! The in-car stuff shows you how important the co-driver is.
Some years ago I went to Finland and had a nice road trip in the finnish lakeland. Honestly, once I took the smaller country roads...It was hard to refrain from stepping on the accelerator and doing some sporty driving :D
That stuff I can watch for hours and a part of me doesn’t know why. That was a great display of human strength, team work and perseverance. You know your heading to the rally when your go pro is strapped to your chest🤣 thanks Ian. Here’s a suggestion, fours and rotaries ‘Jamboree’😅
This is what makes Rally so special. The fans appreciate the risks and skills the drivers take and can truly imagine the same things as it is all done on public roads that we all might accidents on. That's why they rush to help, it could be us on a bad day!
Since you are a new rally fan, if you haven't heard of already, there is a series called "Launch control" produced by Subaru of America. They are following the American subaru rally and rallycross teams. They are now at the 9th or 10th season right now. The image quality, and the quality of production is amazing! I think it's worth watching!
You´d really love the story of Collin McRae (a group A driver from the 90´s), who wasn´t the best of his time, but the one, who pushed his car the most to the limit. Also, the game series Dirt/Dirt Rally began as Collin McRae Rallye. He was a very inspirational guy ^^
Actually i think rallying (ARA) is growing in the US, and there is some good hype around it, like new privat american team in WRC. There is also pressure to maybe get WRC event to US. Its important also for marketing purpoises, brands like Ford, Toyota, Hyundai etc. Money rules, its not charity, and US is huge market area. Mexico is already on calendar, so would be nice to see event in north america.
yeah rally needs to grow in the US, its unacceptable for Nascar to be the most popular, time to introduce the states to the most batshit insane drivers earth will ever see
The fans are what make so many drives and finishes possible for drivers. So much so, that the drivers and co drivers know with certainty, they’ll almost always make it out because the fans are so dedicated to getting those cars back on the road. I’ve even heard some fan interviews where people say they hope no one crashes, but they also kinda do because getting a car out is exciting and brings a lot of reward for the people involved in doing so
1:00 I`m pretty sure, you didn`t notice a guy in yellow shirt and strange fisherman hat. He is like spectators "boss of all bosses", and appears on nearly ALL finnish rally rescue videos. Check it.
i done photography at these events in wales/uk for years and on my camera bag i had a tow rope strapped to it and inside my bag a ton of cable ties and duck tape the amount of events iv saved drivers from with just these 3 items are nuts, and yep iv seen cars drive off with the tow rope still attached lol
Aarne, the dude in the hat is a damn legend here in the nordic countries. He knows where to be on just about every Rally event where s**t happens. I ❤️ him.
The rope guy is so tuned in he's running as soon as the driver gets off line!! And is there anything better then seeing a group of people come together to help someone.
I remember being there as a kid in the 90's watching rally and seeing a couple flips and all these guys running to get them back on the road. Not even a huge rally fan nowadays or anything, but this does make me feel nice. :)
there is a company rallytravel that arrange everything for you to go to a rally anywhere in the world. my parents went to finland (lots of alcohol lol) and spain, they arrange accomodation and transport to and from the best places in the event and even meet and greets with some rally drivers.
The Worst Rally Corner Ever ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qiIYEmpWaaQ.html This is an oldie, but a goodie (low res). You've gotta love the Finns. I've got a feeling that there have been other vidsof this corner since. Oi, oi, oi, yoi.
4:10 The Integra is what many people (especially Honda and track racing fans) would consider an "unusual" rally car due to people being used to seeing it competing on track racing events (Honda is a popular choice to build a track racing car). Any Honda car that has built as a rally car is rare (especially in Southeast Asian countries) but can be really fun seeing it speeding through the rally stage in person when the driver knows its full potential. I believe in your country (USA), there's two rally teams that is competing in American Rally Association (ARA) with an Integra. 1 team drove the Integra DC2, the other a DC5. Really cool to see it competing in the same championship event. I recently drove an Integra DC2 that my rally team has bought from a friend of ours in Japan, I'm still getting used to driving it fast that has 1.8 with LSD as I'm used to driving a 1.3 rally car that has no LSD. It's fast and a fun car to drive for sure especially when I get to hear its B18C screaming to 8k rpm (it's more fun to hear it when you've changed the exhaust so you can hear it from the inside 😜)!
a civic is propably a fun rally car. i dont rally myself but my civic easily loses traction in the rear on snow and dirt with a small flick of the wheel and lifting of the gas and its pretty quick in the corners in general.
If you love seeing Rallying videos, I'd highly recommend The Grand Tour's 1983 Lancia VS Audi. It's a classic, and Jeremy Clarkson tells the story in an absolutely masterful way. It bring tears to the eyes.
Watch this famous clip ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cxDz0Z066NI.html Ari Vatenen driving a rear wheel drive Opel Manta Group B in car camera, he almost crashes at one point going flat out then drives over 120mph with a flat from right tire. The video is know as "Oh, Dear God"
Thanks for the video ! From what I know, there usually is an oil sensor to cut the engine if there’s not enough oil in the bottom of it, at least I know there was one on all the motorbikes I’ve ridden, and I’m almost certain there’s one in my car as well. Of course this might not be the case for certain cars or bikes.
I dont know about the cut off, or is there some sort of dead man switch, but i heard them say in finnish: lets roll it and then you can start the engine again.
the little red car that went into the deep snow is a Toyota Starlet, a really fun, often turbo'd hot hatch. Came with the 1.3 liter 4EFE or 4EFTE when boosted. Same engine that's in my '98 6-speed Corolla G6 as seen in my profile pic Also, I think the one of the main reasons that rally is so exciting is that it's all cars that you feel like you could own as street cars, racing on public roads. Everything about it is so relatable
I agree, and the best thing is, it's affordable compared to a lot of racing. Yeah there's no reason why America haven't got a huge rally scene in states like Illinois, Montana, Washington state, Nevada mountains, Maine, Idaho, Oregon and other places like these has really good rally surrounding's.
Hello... greetings from Paraguay South America (where the rally is on par with soccer)... your reaction is very good. The reason why rally fans help the cars is because the stages are by time and the drivers must lose the least amount of time in each one.
I think a lot of people who follow motorsports see there is "rally" and then there is all the rest. What I love about it is it really does seem to come down to the two people in the car. In formula one or simular sports the car and pit / engineering team can play a huge part, you often here "if they were in the same car then X driver would win" as though the car more than the drive is the critical factor for winning the race. While the car also is critical in rallying there is just so much more opportunity for the drive and co drive to make the difference. You will often see the winner's change as the season moves between gravel, snow and tarmac races. And there are not many "bad drivers" in rally, when throwing a car past trees and rocks at stupid speeds the poor drivers get found out and exit early on. So you really get the feeling that every drive has earnt there place, everyone is a great drive which makes the achievements of the winners even more impressive. Have you checked out Extreem E? EV rally? When Ken block tested out the car his reaction was "there is so much torque i have to be more progressive on the throttle I have never driven any thing with this much instant torque" its a bit like a version of rally cross on steroids. I personal am looking forward to more EV series, over the coming years they are going to wipe the floor with ICE cars. The sound might not be there but the power and speed is.
oh rally is absolutely great for several reasons. Personally what I also find really fun to watch are 90s BTCC races or highlights, just amazing to watch how the drivers give 110% during these short races there and have these cars on two wheels or no one chickening out when they go four wide into a turn, its amazing XD
Here is rally champ Tommy Makkinen crashing. Bad crash, minor injuries to co-driver, but watch at 0:27 as their car flips roof down over a fan who bends over just in time Luckiest man alive! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5MkRZpE-yk4.html
This is exactly what I love about Rally. You might have your favorite team, racer, but when the race started you cheer for any car on the track, and the fan are always rushed in instantly whenever things like this happened
I live in New England and everyone I know who is into racing, likes rally racing as part of it. I think a lot of it has to do with there being plenty of old roads, which are not legally roads anymore. Meaning that you can do whatever on them. But yeah, why the hell isn't rally racing anywhere near as big in the US as it is elsewhere. I think it contains the best drivers of the day and the cars are just as badass as any other race cars (with respect to tiers of course). And that isn't to even get into some of the crazier details like that the Lancia Delta S4 could do 1-60 on dirt in less than 3 seconds (I have heard as little as 1.9 seconds). addendum: The thing that really got me into rally racing, was the Paris-Dakar rally when I watched it the first time a couple of decades back. Maybe more people should have watched that back when it was actually a race from Paris to Dakar.
Driver and co-driver are racing against the clock and every second counts. Faster they get the car back on the road means less seconds are lost. It is part of our culture to help one another no mater what. Greetings from Finland.
I watch a 1972 MGBGT get stolen in Jersey City when I was a kid. 6 guys took fence posts , slid them under the car, put 3 guys per side and simply carried it down a one way street and put it on a trailer like it was a normal everyday event.
Hey man, like to see your Americans enjoying Rally, i did watch your Goodwood vid. Don't forget its on again this year 24th June 2022 all over the weekend. They will live stream it on their RU-vid channel
One last comment: Should you read this I would like to bring your attention to something. Look at how people onboard sailing ships work together. Simply put 2 people working in concert is more effective than 2 people simply doing the same job at the same time. It is not actually a 1+1=3 thing (as that is BS) but it can feel like it is.
Jeez the spectators are so agile and ready to jump in to action they're basically participants. Imagine going to one of these Scandinavian countries and watching a rally in person.
Hey Iwrocker, I'm a fan from Belgium. I really enjoy your content. Love your reactions on all things European. I think a lot of your fellow Americans can learn a lot from your videos. Not that everything European is better but the typical 'America is number one' attitude is blocking knowledge about systems and regulations applied in Europe. One suggestion: seeing that you love European rally, check out the hillclimbing scene in Europe, mainly French and German/Swiss. Groupe B is actually alive and well in the hillclimbing circuit. Looking forward on your reaction 👊 keep up the good work xxx
Most cars in general have a auto fuel shutoff that is triggered in the event of a crash. Fun fact if you stomp hard in the passenger side footwell of a 02-08 Ford Ranger you can actually trigger the shutoff. Great fun if your buddy is driving and it's a push to reset system so no harm done
I agree with you that this is the most exciting form of racing. The people helping the cars is great. Can you imagine that in NASCAR. I just watch the people on the sidelines and I wonder why more are not injured. I am also a fan of tractor pulling. I especially love the mini-modifieds. A small vehicle where the driver has a AA dragster motor right in there laps. If you get a chance check out a video from a couple years ago with a woman named Mary Kehl and watch the wicked flip she does.
Rally in Australia is a bit different. Growing up spectating at different rallies the drivers here don't crash or even spin out at spectator points. The only way Aussies crash in a rally is going out in the biggest crash imaginable. The biggest crash here in Vic that I've heard is a Datsun 1600 (I think) rolled heavily into the trees and caved the car in around the driver and knocked him unconscious. Navigator had broken arm and ribs. I think the driver had to be cut from the car and airlifted to hospital. I think he survived. Love the videos mate!
Love your motorsport reactions dude. I live in the UK and we have the most dangerous road race in the world just of the coast called the TT race. Takes place on the isle of man and 2 wheels only speeds up and over 200mph on street roads
Check out the channel "Racingfail", been subscribed for years and they always come out with heaps of content, first 3/4 of the video are rally fails and then motor sports fails, you wont be disappointed 👌
Something you missed. the guy with the tow line was in just about all corners. in the rally circles known as "piilosa mies" = "hidden man" or "kaljahattu"= "beer hat". He has a song made about him called "Piilosamies- aarnen neuvot". its on youtube. my suggestion to rewiev next is channel called Antti kalhola
That red small hatchback is an old Toyota Starlet. It is a very popular platform in amateur rally series because it's small size and RWD layout. Just chuck a 4A GE in it and it's a winner.
A thing worth noting is that most of the great rally cars were available in a road legal version. In many cases, these are among the most affordable supercars available. Ok, the road versions of the Group B cars may cost almost half a million dollars (I think Lancia built like 70 Delta S4 or so), but a Lancia Delta Integrale (the evolution 2 is the most sought after because it's the fastest), Ford Escort Cosworth or Subaru Impreza WRC will go for way less than that. Small and seemingly unassuming cars that won't reveal their true nature until you floor it on some backcountry road, and leave everyone else quite literally in the dust.
On the note of how they get out: Rally cars are _very_ light. 10-20 people working together along with the power of the car means moving them is not an issue at all (not to mention lots of rally cars are AWD).