With a mixture of classic rally sections, exciting and very special special stages and an enjoyable social atmosphere, the 14th RAC Rally of the Tests celebrated its return from November 5 to 8, 2015, an event that is known around the world and steeped in tradition. A total of over 70 crews with cars from 1950 to 1970 battled it out on a challenging route from Newcastle to Blackpool to win one of the best rallies in the UK.
Impressive history since 1932
The event is actually a must for all historic rally drivers, as it brings the original RAC Rally back to life. The rally was already a great success when it was first held from 1932 to 1939. After the war, the foundations for the modern rally as we know it today were laid in 1951, with the first rally taking place in 2001. Since then, large crowds have flocked to Great Britain every year to watch the spectacle on the sometimes very difficult routes with very different weather conditions.
Over 70 crews and many former winners
The numerous teams had to master two different types of challenges. The speed tests, where the only thing that mattered was the fastest time, were held on private land. The regularity tests, where the exact average speed was required, took place on public roads. But the real challenges were the well-hidden timing points, where the participants had to secure their time stamps, and the runs at night. Here the participants were able to get a taste of the real rally air of the past, where real navigation know-how was required.
The event featured many well-known names from the British rally scene, including 2014 winner Paul Signall in an Alfa Romeo Giulietta, Howard Warren in a Porsche 356, Roger Powley in a Porsche 911, Kevin Hassenden in a Mini Cooper, Jan Ebus in a Porsche 356, Robin Eyre-Maunsell in a Ford Escort, Frank Fennell in an Alfa Romeo Giulia and Dermot Carnegie in a Volvo PV544. The rally was also the final of the FIA Trophy for Historic Regularity Rallies. Christian Crucifix from Luxembourg, who competed in the 1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta, was 25 points ahead of Paolo Marcattilj and was therefore the absolute favorite for this title.
Three challenging rally days across Great Britain
Traditionally, the event began on Thursday evening with some introductory stages to get the crews in the mood for the rally. This set the bar for an exciting and challenging Rally of the Tests 2015.
Friday started cloudy and foggy. After the start at 7.30 in the morning, eight special tests, five regularity sections and a time control followed, during which the participants had to contend with the extremely slippery roads in particular. The fastest teams reached the first stage finish at 8.00 pm.
This marked the end of a long and exhausting rally day, during which the crews had to cover almost 280 miles over many historic sections of the RAC Rally, before they were allowed to make their first well-deserved overnight stop in the historic market town of Dumfries in the evening.
Saturday took the participants east to Darlington. Before that, however, they had to pass another nine special tests, five regularity sections and a terrifying time control.
Well-deserved victory
After the overnight stay in Darlington, the final day of racing began across the Pennines to Blackpool, where a "black-tie" dinner awaited the exhausted rally drivers on Sunday evening. Before that, however, a number of challenging tests had to be completed before the finish in the coastal town of Blackpool was reached.
The team that best mastered all these tasks was Tullie/Warren.
They crossed the finish line ahead of Wilson/Vokes and Morgan/Taylor, who were beaten into second and third place respectively. The special "Best of the Tests Trophy" award went to Peter Naaktgeboren and Paolo Marcattilj triumphed over Christian Crucifix in the FIA Historic Regularity Championship.
The next event will take place in 2016. As usual, on a new route that will start in Bournemouth and lead to Chester.
