The appeal of rally racing

A rally soars through the air during a race.
Photo credit recently.rainweb.net.

Since there have been cars, people have wanted to race them.

This has resulted in a great many forms of racing. For those unable to do anything other than turn left, Nascar was invented. F1 was created for the major speed freak and physical specimen who could also handle corners.

But the craziest of the crazy, who wanted nothing more than to hurtle along gravel, dirt, mud, and snow at insane speeds while risking death at every turn something even more exciting was created: Rally racing.


An internet search revealed that rally racing is often traced back to France in the late 19th century. The competition was called the "Paris-Rouen Horseless Carriage Competition." It attracted people to come out and watch and thus rally racing was born.

The sport has come a long way since then having grown tremendously in its fan-base and--obviously-- with the incredible advances in technology that have lead to faster, grippier, and overall better vehicles.

Rallying has it all: insane speeds, tight bends, and drifts all in an area with close environmental hazards (think trees), and there is no automotive racing sport that has a combined airtime total as high as rally racing's.

I would have to say the best way to describe rally racing that it is the modern day equivalent of Star Wars Pod-Racing. I'm pretty sure that everyone who saw The Phantom Menace left the theatre saying "That wasn't as good as the original ones," to which their friend would reply "well no, but the Pod-Racing was awesome."

A Lancia Delta taking a corner during a rally race.
Photo credit carfreaks.info.

And the best part is that pretty much anybody can do it. 

There are countless many clubs for people with any kind of car who want to race on the loose dirt. In other words, find a $500 car on kijiji that still runs, and you're well on your way to becoming a racer.

I think one of the most appealing things about rally racing comes from the fact that the cars used are the same as the kind that you might see on the road. It allows fans to connect to the sport in a way F1 and Nascar just can't. When you see a WRX-STI rolling down the street you just can't help but think "that right there is a rally car."

There is something about seeing a car round a corner spitting up a cloud of dust just before it hits the top of a hill and takes to the air only to land and drift through the next corner while creating a tsunami of mud which, to the pleasure of those being showered, drenches them.

The combination of talent and balls that rally drivers have is truly incredible. Any small mistake can spiral out of control at any moment and end up being fatal.

Maybe it is this danger factor, but one thing is for certain: Rally racing has an appeal that is unrivalled by any other motor sport.