I don't know my Colin McRae from my Tom McRae and must admit I don't usually pay any attention to the Wales Rally but, this year, I was curious about the state of play regarding the nearby
travellers' encampment.
Haven't seen this many Citroën fitters since Slater's closed. They did seem to be over-staffed. Perhaps that says something about their cars...
The rally arrived in Rhuthun/Ruthin this morning, for manœuvres in Clocaenog. Teams took over Park Road car park and some support vehicles parked on Crispin Yard (though the travellers were still there at the back). There was considerable activity during the day, as vehicles left clean but returned caked in mud from the forest stage or trial.
The rally's had a long association with Rhuthun. As time has passed, looking back over the Lombard RAC Rally, there's been quite some changes. Once, rally cars all seemed to be of British manufacture. All seemed to have banks of spotlights on the front. Things change, I suppose. What hasn't is the positive economic impact on the area even though, in honesty, it's all just a waste of precious fuel.
What hasn't changed is the noise these vehicles make. They punctuate the stillness around them with harsh, abrasive discords of spitting, high-revving fury. Pity the poor people who live on Mwrog Street who had to endure these cars all day long. Ultimately, though, it isn't the rally drivers who cause problems, it's those spectators who hang on to them: often they think they're rally drivers, too, but cannot always control their vehicles or their right feet in quite the same way.
