I have been a rally fan since my dad work at CPT in Aberdeen (late 70's) and we used to get in to see the cars before the set of on the Granite.
My best memory of them all was on the McRae Stages. I was at the bottom of what can only be described as a set of stairs in the landscape with a left then right kink out of every step. I had seen Colin driving before but this was the first time I really understood the difference between the amateurs and the pros. Colin was the first car thru in the Mk2 escort '00'course car (IIRC) and he came down these mile long steps without once hearing any sign of lift off from the throttle. He was absolutely full tilt all the way, yet the car looked composed and balanced at every step. At the bottom was a tight hairpin left and the car was set up beautifully with a Scandinavian flick and then drifted thru the corner at what appeared to be a pace to match the fastest 4WD machinery.
The only other car that day that was just as impressive, another mk2, was Jimmy McRae. He, again, came down the hill fully committed.
The rest of the day was almost a letdown, with every other car lifting off to some degree coming down each of the series of steps.
Anyway I better stop now as I can feel my eyes welling up
Looking forward to it again this year though with some very big names.
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May only make it service area and one stage, not easy lugging 1yr old and 3yr old around the forests, but very interested.
