Wales Rally GB 2018

Wales Rally GB. Cold, muddy and damp but SO MUCH FUN!

In a busy few weeks of motorsport I capped off 2018 by seeing the WRC at Wales Rally GB. I chose the Sweet Lamb complex to watch from. As a complete novice to watching live rallying I went on the advice online which said it was a spectator-friendly stage, and they weren’t wrong. So many vantage points and a real variety of sections to see the cars in action – jumps, hairpins, fast flicks, the lot.

I finished work early and got up there ready to make a night of it as the car parks opened on the previous evening to the stage. If you’ve ever tried to sleep in a car, it’s not easy! I was surprised to see the number of people who were already setting up when I arrived – it was busy. What was funny was seeing the many open fires around and all the fireworks going off – both of which were allegedly ‘strictly prohibited’…!

The whole thing had a party atmosphere despite the cold, dark, wet weather. Mercifully on Saturday morning there was no rain, just low temperatures and plenty of mud. This year the rally was about a month earlier than previous years, and no longer the season finale, so God knows what the weather was like for the rallies of years past! Long queues for filthy portaloos set the tone for the day. That’s not a complaint by the way, I quite like lack of polished facilities which therefore keep away those who perhaps don’t really belong in this setting. This isn’t the sort of event you attend expecting home comforts!

Finding a good spot to watch from wasn’t hard despite the crowds. The WRC cars came through Sweet Lamb at about 9am and despite the cold it was an awesome spectacle. Proper raw motorsport with everyone keen to get a sight of the action.

After the low photo counts for my trips to Silverstone for the British Superbikes and the BTCC, I was keen to make sure I didn’t miss out at Wales Rally GB. With only 10 or so top line WRC cars coming through, there’s only a small slot to get photos. The benefit of the cars doing the loop twice means there’s a second opportunity later on, but it pays to use the time efficiently. I took a ludicrous amount of photos in the end, probably too many in hindsight!

The National Rally competitors came through at lunch, with vehicles from a Freelander to old Beetles and many Mk2 Escorts. Full credit to the guys either hiring cars or putting their own through the strains of top level rally stages. That’s proper commitment to the sport. And what a setting to do it in. Beautiful cars and beautiful backdrops to go with them. They offered a pleasant change of spectacle, and although not as fast as the big boys, provided great entertainment.

Tanak retired not long after passing us on the second loop of Sweet Lamb which was a real shame. Four consecutive victories would have been mightily impressive and would’ve really upset the title fight. For the second loop I stood on a sweeping left, the cars passing metres away, showering us in gravel. You can’t get that anywhere else in motorsport. If you can stand a bit of rough sleeping and minimal facilities then I highly recommend visiting a rally stage. Prepare for all weathers and you’ll enjoy it regardless, though the weather played a part this year in making it so enjoyable. Consequently, I fully intend to try and do it again next year.

After the doldrums of a few years ago, how refreshing it is to see the WRC in such rude health. A great title battle during the 2018 season, four genuinely competitive manufacturers and fresh new talent coming through. It was a delight to watch all of this at Sweet Lamb.

The Flickr photo album for all my shots from Wales Rally GB 2018 can be found here.