Hope you're all safe and well. I've been a bit quiet recently. Sorry - busy converting. Here's a short example of what I've been working on. Juha Kankkunen,
@nickygrist
, 1993 RAC, Chatsworth, GpA Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD (ST185).
Bit of fun for a Saturday morning. Arild Martinsen's '700bhp' rallycross M3 always looked like it could do with a day's work on the chassis set-up. And forget the tyre smoke - it's just rubbing on bodywork. But goodness, did it pick up and go when he pressed the throttle pedal.
It's the Galway Rally this coming weekend. Wonder how the crews would cope with conditions like 1978. A little example of the type of footage we're trying to save, right here...
Missing the nightly RAC reports already? Don't. 1985 starts tomorrow evening with the preview (on the correct day). And here's a taster of Sunday's first-day action - Henri T getting the hammer down in the first stage in the Lancia Delta S4.
Hi everyone. Sigh - a first full week of lockdown ahead. So to lift the Monday blues a little here's Colin McRae going through the live TV stage on the 1993 RAC. Burble. Pop. Burble. Pop. Exhaust flame.
#WRC
#Subaru
#Impreza
That said, the 1982 Manx report isn't short on Mk2 Escort action. Only the then-reigning World Champion Ari Vatanen, on his way (in a hurry) to the mother-and-father of all accidents. Volume up.
Remember the
@AriVatanen
1983 Manx video? Here's the follow-up, filmed on the 1983 RAC Rally. Only the 'stately-home' stages, but they're hairy enough in a Manta 400. Also love hearing Ari telling Terry Harryman he's not listening to him, then going off 15 seconds later.
Another bit of (rare, I think) MG Metro 6R4 action to share. Interest in the car was sufficiently strong that BBC Breakfast Time appear to have covered the 1984 York National Rally, the 6R4's rally debut. Picture not perfect on this but very much worth saving anyway.
#GroupB
It's almost Christmas. Have a bit of
#GroupB
courtesy of Timo Salonen on the 1986
@WalesRallyGB
(Lombard RAC). Who doesn't like a bit of exhaust flame in the cold November gloom?!
"My mum won't like this!" - Tony Pond and Ian Grindrod explain their bizarre exit from the 1979 RAC, as their Sunbeam Lotus is dragged away. Nice bit of candid footage of a demob-happy Pondy (who was going to British Leyland for 1980). Happy Sunday morning, folks.
#WRC
Been busy working on continuing a certain theme that we started earlier in lockdown. This should give you a taster: Markku Alen showing his Delta no mercy.
#WRC
Head into your weekend like Didier. (This report may well exist in the depths of the smokeandrubber archive, so hat tip at this point to
@FrontPanelPhil
)
#WRC
Happy Wednesday, people. Hope you're all doing okay in these strange times. Here's a bit of fun - from that time
#WRC
star Armin Schwarz turned up on a Northern Irish championship rally, using it as promo for his sponsor Toshiba but also to prepare for that year's RAC.
Who remembers the days when the RAC
@WalesRallyGB
made the national news every evening? Like this report from ITN at the end of the opening day in 1986.
#WRC
Rallying is still the first love, but I've been playing with a few old rallycross videos recently. Great seeing old Mk2 Escorts racing like this. Right on the edge. And over it. Classic Murray Walker too!
Interesting little ditty for a Saturday morning. Some quite rare news footage of the Audi Sport National Rally in 1985, including test outings for Tony Pond and Marc Duez in the MG Metro 6R4 ahead of its
#WRC
debut.
#GroupB
Well now. Quite an exciting discovery this evening - some more of this footage, in usable form. Very obliging of the marshal to give Juha and
@nickygrist
an apex marker at the 37-seconds point.
#WRC
I've been quiet, I know. Early days of the latest, biggest batch of conversions. Don't expect much for a while, but here's a little taster: from a promo film for the RED team. When Didier Auriol was on it, he really was "on it", wasn't he?
#6R4
#Sierra
#Cosworth
#WRC
Amusing little ditty from the 1983 Belgian Championship round-up vid, originally produced by Paul Hargreaves at VTV. Synth soundtrack and everything from a flaming Nissan 240RS to a 308 GTB.
Have been playing around with 1986 Circuit of Ireland stuff. Ciggie money had really kicked in, with the event (and three leading cars) sponsored by Rothmans. So they even fired up the helicam for the RDS spectator stage. Doesn't sound like Billy Coleman rated it much, mind.
Delighted to have tracked down the original producer of this old Irish footage, from the 1984 Donegal Rally. He lives in the US now, but is willing for his reports to feature on the YT channel. It's all coming soon, but in meantime, just look at the crowds!
Still giggling. Captures going well. Here's a little taster. The 1980 RAC finished on a Wednesday, so the Beeb dispatched an OB unit and Murray Walker to capture the final day's action - and interview the winner...
#WRC
Nice little segment for a Saturday evening here. Dickie Davies introduces the new MG Metro 6R4 on World of Sport. Possibly of interest to
@6r4net
and other
#GroupB
#WRC
fans.
Hi everyone. A very different Christmas lies ahead for lots of us, so I've prepared a blitz of videos that will hopefully keep people entertained for a minute or two during the festive season.
Happy mid-week lunchtime. Occasionally a tape turns up for conversion where the material and quality get me excited. And then I have to share a taster here. Like this. Cheesy translated narration, but dig the footage.
#WRC
#GroupB
@Peugeot
Ah, Sunday evening. Time for a little sneak preview of one of the bits and bobs that has come out of that box of tapes I posted a picture of here last weekend. It's looking promising - that's all I'll say right now!
#WRC
@WalesRallyGB
@AudiUK
A very sad day, rally fans, as we hear of the death of Barrie Hinchcliffe, the legendary TV producer whose rally reports are, without a doubt, *the* reason why the VHS Rallies project exists. He was in a class of his own when it came to building a 12min report for ITV/BBC. RIP.
Blimey, it's windy out there. Drown out the noise by turning up the volume on this: Pentti Airikkala ragging, of all things, a Talbot Sunbeam Lotus. He only drove this type of car once, from what I can ascertain. But he wasn't exactly slow in it.
#sidewayssaved
#rallysprint
Good morning. Have been pottering away on bits and bobs, including a bit of in-car. This one gives you a good idea of the violence of a Metro 6R4, even in club spec. Tony Davies & Brian Hardie, 1998 Jim Clark Memorial.
Planning to run a stage of this every evening next week: the 1993 RAC Rally with Juha Kankkunen and
@nickygrist
, in-car in the Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD. These stages don't look 'mickey mouse' to me. This is the very first mile or two in Sutton Park.
#coldtyres
#lively
#
#wakeupcall
Hey, it's July. Things are getting better, right? I sure hope so. Here's a little snippet of
@DuezMarc
doing his thing on the 1989 Rallye de Portugal to help things along a little.
#WRC
#M3
@prodrive
It's been a desperately tough week for rally fans, with the devastating tragedy in Croatia.
@Craig_Breen
was easily the highest-profile supporter of this project - he gave it a shoutout in a Dirtfish interview during lockdown.
Morning, everyone. Spent an enjoyable hour yesterday afternoon getting a refresher on Da Vinci Resolve. And with some footage that I should have processed a long time ago. This clip will give you an idea...
HI all. Well, that's your lot for now - 31 'new' videos in the past 18 days. It's time for a break - to catch up on captures that I'm not able to share, the dreaded admin (I have spreadsheets like you wouldn't believe), and to just take a breath and catch up on life.
The most exciting bit about this project is sticking in a humble VHS tape with a hand-written label and then finding it actually contains... well, study this clip carefully and you'll hopefully get the idea.
@TopGearWoollard
Sadly, here's another one that's got away. Betamax source of this BBC report on the 1985 1000 Lakes - full 205 T16 and S1 E2 glory - has degraded just a bit too much. Picture breaks up badly at the end. I'll continue to play with it, but suspect it's too far gone.
Bit of fun for a Wednesday morning. In-car with Dr Jonathan Palmer in John Welch's Ford Escort Xtrac, 1987 Rallycross GP B-Final. How good does the Zakspeed lump sound?
Tidying up, final few bits and bobs. Remember being excited to see this - rallying featured in a mainstream TV ad. Couple of thoughts, with hindsight - they nailed the casting of the young Colin. And totally screwed up the timeline by suggesting a Sierra would win in 1980.
Every so often, I end up just watching 10 mins of vintage rally footage when I really should be converting and editing it. Here's a prime example - snorting Quattros and on-the-limit Mantas. Not to mention Pondy in the Rover Vitesse!
A quick reminder that the RAC
@WalesRallyGB
wasn't the only event to get daily coverage, back in the day. The legend that is
@DejaVuKillarney
and his team used to produce nightly reports on the Circuit of Ireland. Smashing titles sequence, too.
Still mopping up various bits of RAC coverage over the years, probably to go live around RAC time in November. Weapons-grade Wollarding in this preview for the 1990 event. Deck shoes, leather bomber jacket, log - it's got the lot.
More odds and sods. Here's Malcolm Wilson ragging a Pilot Escort Cossie at an unknown venue (back end of Kirkbride Airfield, perhaps?) for a Ford 'stock footage' vid.
Wow, More than 28,000 views of that little snippet of the snowy 1978 Galway. My Patreon supporters are able to watch the whole report now via . Here's another example of the sort of stuff I'm trying to save - an even earlier Galway report (1975).
So I'm capturing and converting again. It's been a while. First evening with the deck fired up has yielded a few oddities, including this. They most certainly do not make TV ads like *this* any more!
After all those RAC nightly reports, I'm having some fun delving through a real 'mixed tape' at the moment. This softly-spoken chap popped up on one report. I reckon he shows promise.
#WRC
Have been capturing various bits and bobs over the past couple of weeks. This is work in progress - some quite rare footage of the final stage of the 1976 Circuit of Ireland.
When team orders go bad, chapter 2398. Mark Lovell didn't go quietly when told to pull over and let his team-mate Russell Brookes win the 1989 Manx. Mark never did get a win on the island - shame, for he was an ace on asphalt.
Wow, is it Friday already? To get you geared up for the weekend, here's a taster of some Lydden Hill European rallycross mayhem I've been piecing together recently. Quite chuffed with the quality on this.
Frankly astonished to see that the YT channel smashed through the 10,000 subscribers mark yesterday, having added more than 3500 over the past 28 days. Thanks, all, for watching (and hopefully staying in and staying safe).
Morning. Have some Escort Cossie action to see you through a Friday and into the weekend. Found this music sequence on an in-house promo vid.
@MSportLtd
might like this one...
Small achievement in the past 36 hours - the VHS Rallies YT channel reached five million views. Thanks to all fellow bobble hats who've tuned in over the past couple of years!
Hi all. I've been working on this footage this morning. Enjoy a bit of
@DuezMarc
at the wheel of the big Rover SD1. 1984 Austin Rover Rallysprint, including the Montego Turbo race (!), coming soon...
Lovely little
@AriVatanen
interview on the eve of the final day of the 1987
@RallyFinland
. Plus whistling wastegates from two Sierra Cossies in a great livery. Lots more of this report to come very soon.
#WRC
Every so often, a tape turns up something that I just didn't know existed. That's been happening a lot recently. Like this HTV live outside broadcast from the opening stage of the 1985 Welsh Rally! Jimmy McRae knew he had to grab every second he could from the Audis on tarmac...
So here it is - NEW RELEASE, specially for
@Craig_Breen
and anyone else stuck at home! Long before Jean Louis Mourey made 'Climbdance',
@Peugeot
got him to film the 1984 debut season of the 205 T16. And here it is: 'Challenger'. Hope you enjoy it.
#WRC
Caution: YouTube Wormhole ahead. ⚠️
VHS rally tapes are a dying breed, but one YouTube channel is hard at work digitizing and uploading tapes containing mostly British coverage of rally events from the 1980s–2000s.
Wow, so much kindness shown since my post yesterday evening. Some of the t-shirts I never thought would be bought have indeed been bought in the past 24 hours too! Have spent an hour just tidying up the channel as it exists, including making some playlists.
Here's a Tuesday oddity for you: the 1985 Gwynedd Rally. Featuring an early 'aero-spec' MG Metro
#6R4
taking the car's first rally win with Tony Pond (and his 'tache). Same reg as the York National 1984 car but not sure if it's the same vehicle - maybe
@6r4net
can help clarify.
Happy Monday. Here's one of those clips from stuff that won't end up on YouTube - go to
@DukeVideo
and buy this on DVD. The final-stage showdown of the 1997 Rally Australia was pretty epic. McRae.
@nickygrist
. Impreza. Bunnings. Love the whine as they fly through the air!
Nice to see
@Craig_Breen
out recently enjoying his new purchase, the ex-
@PatrickSnijers
Escort WRC. You need to ramp the anti-lag up a teeny bit further, Craig, to get it to full 'hot lava pouring down a drainpipe' levels. As seen here...
To be fair, even in pre-pacenotes days, the size of the crowd at this 1980 Cork '20' junction should have been a warning to crews! I give top marks to the red flyer (is it a Peugeot 104?).
Good morning, everyone, and Happy Monday! Have some snorting Lancia Delta Integrales and Toyota Celica GT4s to start your week. Anybody able to identify the Welsh-language commentator on this?
#sidewayssaved
YouTube channel numbers would suggest lots of you are tuning in to catch up on old rally footage. If that makes self-isolation and social distancing a bit easier, then great. To give you an idea, Saturday two weeks ago had 5000 views. Yesterday was 15000.
Lovely bit of early
@vauxhall
footage here: Pentti Airikkala, back in the days when rally cars could still have tartan door trim. Also note the brown Opel Kadett C that the Finnish importer was presumably happy to sacrifice for signwriting conversion to a LHD 'Chevette'.
Who else remembers this amazing stage from the 1997
@BRCrally
? Freshly saved from decaying VHS, it's Alister
#McRae
pushing his F2
#VW
Golf kit car to and beyond the limit. Tip: it doesn't end well...
It's Sunday. Have a bit of Pondy at Donington - in 1979! Was excited to see footage from that year's Eaton Yale Rallysprint on a tape I captured yesterday.
@RaphaelOrlove
@greatistheworld
It's the 1986 Circuit of Ireland, again by Barrie Hinchcliffe for BBC Grandstand. YouTube doesn't allow it to be uploaded because of a global ban by Chris Cross. But here's the sequence.
Little bit more rallycross to help you start the weekend. Here's Matti Alamaki wringing the neck of his 4WD Porsche 911 to keep John Welch's Xtrac Escort behind at Lydden in 1985. You can see why Matti won everything once he got a Peugeot 205 T16...
Or perhaps you'd prefer 'Our Nige'(l) Mansell ragging, er, a Triumph Acclaim through some autotest cones? Anyway, coming sometime soon, the (not-on-YT, I don't think) 1982 Austin Rover Rallysprint.
@nigelmansell
A little Monday-evening treat for you. Quite pleased with the quality of this 1978 Scottish Rally footage, produced by BHP for Esso. Full report to come on the various channels, in due course...
Small whiff of pride as I notice that, at some point this afternoon, the YT channel passed through the 17,000-subscriber mark. I know that's nothing in YouTube terms, but to me it's a useful number of people interested in the project to Save Sideways.
Is everyone indoors? Stay safe and sensible, people, and let's get through this. Here's something to watch: the best I can do with *that* 1988 Manx Rally report on Grandstand. Worked hard to get Snijers' M3 sound particularly crisp on this one.
Had a tear in the eye last weekend when I saw a VHSR compilation on the telly behind the excellent display of cars on the Rallying with Group B stand at Race Retro.
Amid the whole covid thing, I missed the fact that the VHS Rallies YT channel had its first birthday a few days ago. Stats for year one: 1.5 million views, 242,300 hours watched (27.6 years!), 11,800 subscribers, 5,000 of which in the past 28 days.
Happy Saturday morning, people. Stay well. Shortest teaser ever but there's an easy clue in here! I was giggling excitedly when this came on screen on the latest tape to go into the VHS deck. Back this evening with a bit of a YT announcement.
#sidewayssaved
#WRC
#Walter
I find this sort of stuff now and then on old tapes. It's a BBC Wales news report on Alain Prost doing early tests of a
@McLarenF1
MP4/5 mule at
@PembreyCircuit
. In a lot of rain. With
@PlanetGMD
. Remember when
#F1
teams used to do this sort of stuff?!
I guess I missed this recently, but the upsurge in channel traffic over the past month means that the VHSR YT channel has now passed the point of half a million views during the past 28 days (currently 536,000). Thanks to all for watching - love reading comments and feedback.