CLUB CORNER
sure we can put on plenty of events that do not upset the residents but also that feeds the appetite of the local club members who do like to participate .
“ There is a good crossover of people that compete in the events of both Clubs and that is all part of it . When officials and Marshals and even competitors are in relatively short supply , if you can cooperate with your neighbour , as we do , it can boost all three – and that is partly where the plan for the Plymouth Rally came from .”
Rally Resurrection
The idea of resurrecting the Plymouth Rally was first raised in the Autumn of 2023 , but plans foundered when a suitable route could not be found , and the idea was shelved . It was discusssed over Christmas drinks in the Locke household and he recalls : “ There has always been an appetite to do that sort of thing here in Plymouth , but as with everything , it takes somebody to want to do something for it to happen …
“ My son-in-law , Rich , and I we were chatting , and he said , ‘ Do you think that we could resurrect the Plymouth Rally if we moved the area to somewhere like Launceston ?’ I said he should give it a go and so he has pushed it and pushed it and now it is about to come to fruition . All credit to him for the amount of time and effort that he spent sorting it all out .”
The Club ’ s Chair , Simon Heywood , who is very active in Road Rallies in the South West , put his weight behind it , and thanks to the positive collaboration with South Hams that had already been established through the 12 Car events , the Club started to seriously think about putting on another bigger Interclub event .
The success of the Hill Climb events it is involved in put the Club in a favourable financial position and it was able to take a punt on the resurrection . With enough money in the coffers to cover putting on the event , they decided to go for it , with the mindset that it did not matter how many entries it attracted .
“ We saw a gap in the market where there was a space in the calendar in March that we could run the event ,” continues Locke . “ We had to wait a year , because it takes a lot of time and effort to organise a Road Rally , there are lots of different aspects to it and lots of people you have to talk to .
“ We ’ re running it as our Club but working together with South Hams . They are providing us with assistance to get the job done and in turn , we will be helping them with the Road Rally that they run a bit later in the year . And that is how it works . Their members will take part in our events , and vice versa .
“ We have a very good working relationship with them and with the Route Liaison Officer ( RLO ) of the region , and we have had people from within all parts of the club step up and get involved . We have got a Stage Rally participant as chief marshal and people from within South Hams are doing some of the PR work .
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Revolution - March 2025