A Brief History Of Rally Driving

Rally driving in the motorsport sense dates back to 1895 when the race took place on roads that were still open to the public, a potentially dangerous idea but considering that that year's winner's top speed averaged at 24km/h and it took 48 hours and 48 minutes to complete the track the danger element seems to be reduced dramatically.

Just eight years later, over the same roads, Fernand Gabriel took just under 5 and quarter hours to do the 550km to Bordeaux with a top speed of 105km/h the risk seems to increase as it was still done on roads that involved them dodging pedestrians, other non-rally car drivers and even farm animals. As the speeds of the drivers had now exceeded the safety limit following numerous crashes and injuries and eight fatalities, the French government banned this style of event. In the years later, the speed junkies still got their hit by racing on closed roads that were often miles of motorways. Then in 1907 the first purpose built rally track was built in England and rally driving went in it's own direction.

Rally driving is now one of the most popular motorsports, particularly in Sweden and Finland. The races take place on a combination of asphalt, gravel and even snow or ice. The drivers use a combination of handbrake turns, hill jumps and other techniques in order to manoeuvre around the increasingly demanding courses.

As the public interest surrounding rallying has grown, major car companies have started creating cars specifically designed for rally driving; initially standard cars with only slight modifications where the only cars allowed in races as it was thought that it made the event fairer. There are, however, some limitations such as the weight restriction of a minimum of 1230kg and the displacement of the engine can be no more than 2.0 litres. In addition to these, safety measures are employed to ensure the risk factor to the driver is at a minimum such as the strengthening of the chassis to increase rigidity so that a roll cage can be installed.

If the popularity of rally driving escalates as quickly as it currently is then it seems that boys' dreams of being Formula 1 drivers may be replaced with dreams of being rally drivers instead. Provided that it is done in a safe manner, with the safety requirements being met, there is no reason that people can't enjoy rally driving in the years to come.