Long shot wrc rally trip questions

[boosten lebaron]

I know this is a long shot but is anyone planning on attending the wrc rally championship in wales UK in November? I'm working out there during that time and was wondering if anyone wanted to join up. From what I hear it's crazy and camping is pretty much the way to go.

[MHenry600]

Wow... you lucky dog. Wish I could give you some pointers, but no experience at a WRC event myself.

Look up Chris Duplessis. He's an awesome and friendly guy who ran a few international events a couple of years ago when the junior feeder series was called the WRC Academy. If you follow American rallying at all, or if you've watched Easier Said Than Done, you might know the name. He ran Wales one year and if you shoot him a message on Facebook, he would probably be willing to give you some good information on the event. If that doesn't work, look up Kitty Smiles Rally Adventures (yeah, seriously) and try that way.

[number9]

If you go, figure out if you can rent a bike or not. Wales has some truly spectacular roads. But watch out for Welsh road signs!

[boosten lebaron]

I'm not sure I want to take a bike during that time. I spent the last week in cardiff and it's really nice but I don't get a safe feeling riding bikes on any of these roads. I'm getting a small bike to keep at my london place but it's going to be a small cc bike like a yzf125r or a duke 125 and they aren't going to be able to make the m4 trip without me being miserable. Even at slower london speeds I'm very concerned with my bike safety, they drive like madmen over here. It's literally a free for all with motorcycles. They share a lane with cyclists and it's just nuts. Huge packs of bikes, cars and cyclists all traveling as one unit and motorcycles are free to do anything.

[boosten lebaron]

Well I hooked up the factory Michelin team to tag along with them Saturday and Sunday. I basically park my car at their service paddock and go where they go and do what they do. I'm going to use their corner worker sites to leap around a few of the special stages so I'm not stuck watching from the normal areas. Lunch and dinners will be with them as well. Should be a really interesting couple days. I officially can't wait. Not cheap but it's a bucket list item. Bring an extra suitcase for all things wrc I'm gonna pick up.

[theducman]

Wow this is awesome. My wife is a huge rally fan. She works for the Canadian Rally Championship and does the timing. Take pics so I can show her!

[boosten lebaron]

5 days to go. took a trip up to wales the other day to get more familiar with it. on my own im screwed up with gps im fine. about a 4 hour ride from my doorstep. i got all sorts of gear packed and ready to go. its been pouring here the last week or so and i dont see it stopping so im prepping for rain.
I also booked a full day class at a rally racing school in the area for when i come back. They have a bunch of them out here. maybe i can find a way to race when i get back to the states.

[boosten lebaron]

For those interested in my exploits i arrived in wales about an hour ago. Only 4 of us are on this trip with michelin. I have been split off to join the citroen factory team at there service park. Im heading over in abit once the team has finished breakfast. I will probably stick with them both days but hyundai is here as well so thats an option.
Its a swag fest for sure. i have a trunk full of gear already. Got shirts, hats, sweaters blankets, a backback, umbrella, binocular's
and all sorts of books and nick nacks. Im told each team has stuff for us as well.
My main goal out here is to get a piece off a wreaked car. It's super muddy out here and a lot of accidents have already claimed a few cars. My task is going to be finding good spots. I will probably head out with the mid stage mechanics since they have the best spots already.

[MHenry600]

That's wicked cool. I've been following the last couple of days like usual, and yeah, sounds like typical Rally GB weather. I hope I can make it to a wrc event one of these years.

[theducman]

Super jealous of you. Grab some free swag for us!!! I hear Sebastian is leading by a good amount

[boosten lebaron]

he is pretty much unstoppable right now. a marker worker got hit by a car this morning and they have to move a special stage so i have no idea what that can do to the standings.
im on my way to ss16 right now. its a woods run rather than the rallyfest castle run i was just at. castle was cool but not big or to high a speed. the woods should be interesting.

[boosten lebaron]

my bad. im going to ss15. its gonna be a sweet ass night run too. gets dark at 3:30 here. After that i head to the citroen service park and hang with them. i hear rumors they will allow me to ride along on a short shake down run tonight. OMG.

[boosten lebaron]

now im at the wrc party. i have media access to every single thing in this place. center stage on the michelin arena- done.
eating with the citroen crew- doing it now.
hyundai and ford tents next. i had to get another backpack to carry all my loot.

[boosten lebaron]

what a great time i had. couldnt have gone better. im looking forward to doing another one sooner rather than later. im talking to them about doing the monte carlo wrc opener and they are doing moto gp events this year too.
i will hopefully post pics tomorrow once i can dl from my camera.

[tls25rs]

What is the name of the organization that you used to make this trip happen?

Probably out of my price range but might be worth looking into.

Joel

[MHenry600]

I'm still super jelly. So, how did you get hooked up with Michelin and the teams? Through work or something or on your own?

[boosten lebaron]

sorry guys, i never did update this. I lost track of it with my other forums.

Anyway to answer the trip questions i went through a company in belgium that does this all the time for all sorts of events. I can't remember the name off the top of my head but i will look into it. You can also do this off the Michelin website but its not easy to find on your own. Took me half an hour to find this.

https://www.michelin.co.uk/high-perf...nd-offers-pass

That one is for monte carlo rally next week. Sadly i can't go due to the distance and timing but i am talking to them about another one. I just go through the belgium company.

Here are some pics and yes i suck at photo's. Im getting better though.I have thousands of them and only a few on me right now.




Not a great car shot but shows the terrain and how how close i could get. He was doing an easy 100mph. Long straight with crest then 6 left.

[boosten lebaron]

this is the company that does it. Your essentially buying a spot on the team they are hosting with. I choose Michelin and citroen was my team pick. I probably could have done vw or ford but Citroen has better food and nicer people I was told.
It was great hanging out at the Citroen tent. I got to meet the drivers and was right next to the cars getting repaired at night.
When I do this again I will be more prepared. They really do everything for you once you meet up with them. They don't give you a lot of details in the description or even the day before the event and that bothered me so I over prepped. Once I parked my car at the meeting spot I didn't lift a finger to do anything myself again. Between the 4 stages I took either a helicopter or a team truck. I went from the low lands in the central part of the country to the forest in the Snowdonia MTS to the coast at Llandaff never having to worry about time, travel, sleeping or food.
The price may seem a little high but I don't think I could have done it cheaper camping and eating ramen noodles, the little things would have killed me. Plus I could go literally everywhere. no one could stop me with the media pass. I would simply walk by all the crowds and enter any area. Gates would magically open for me only to slam shut on the people trying to follow me.

European Sport Communication - Présentation

[MHenry600]

That is seriously awesome, and I'm sure for the money it was well worth it.

I would love to see Finland or Sweden one day. Those are my favorite events stage wise, but I'm sure any of them would be an absolute blast.

[boosten lebaron]

I'm really trying to line up Poland for an event. Finland is my next choice. They are relatively cheap and close to get to from my place. The Monte Carlo one which would be at the top of my list is just to hard to get to. I have to take a plane to someplace in France then a helicopter to the rally then back again. I just can't find the extra time to do it. if it was closer I would be there in a heart beat.

[boosten lebaron]

I'm bring this thread back from the dead because I'm doing it again this year. I am going for the cheaper version were I will most likely be camping along the routes with other spectators. I learned enough last year to give it a go on my own. I'm going to buy tickets to the stages I want to see as well to keep the cost down. I'm basically being a cheap prick this time to try to some of friends to follow. Last year was just too much money for everyone to do. I think I can do the the whole weekend for a couple hundred bucks.