NATIONAL MOTOR MUSEUM / NEWSPRESS |
• Think: distracting your opponent, making them nervous, or throwing off their rhythm
So instead of playing better, you make your opponent play worse. My father continued:‘ Some of his critics decried his methods which could be seen as pretty ruthless, on the grounds that they were‘ not the way things were done’; perhaps they would have been judged so 20 years earlier, but methods had changed and Stuart was one of a new generation of professional rally drivers. I don’ t feel that Stuart really thought that his methods would bring him into prominence so quickly, and he paraded a somewhat bewildered air, rather like a professor who found himself being publicised on the discovery of a new scientific breakthrough. I was sure that he would make a success of his job as my successor at BMC, and I wished him lots of luck, little realising what a tremendous impact his tenure in my old chair was to have on the whole rallying scene’.
Time would show that his new style of professionalism would bring unbounded success, pitting the Mini Cooper S against the Goliaths of international rallying using astounding gamesmanship and inventive strategies. Hearing stories at his memorial from speakers including Gunnar Palm, John Taylor, John Wheeler and Mike Pilbeam to name just a few with their stories of the evolution of the all-conquering Escorts, the mercy killing of the C100 sports car and RS1700T to make way for the RS200 Group B car made for a fascinating afternoon. Stuart was a game changer.
It is well known that Stuart had a lifelong interest in‘ Safety’ related matters, and the emergence – initially from the
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British Racing & Sports Car Club( BRSCC) of whom he was a long-standing board member – of the Motorsport Safety Fund provided many such opportunities. As Stuart said:
“ Experience in motorsport teaches you one thing very quickly: accidents happen. Preparation decides what happens next.”
He was deeply involved in the training of our officials. One particularly significant milestone was when he ran mandatory training sessions with Allan Dean Lewis for rally marshals following the Carlos Sainz incident at the 2001 Rally GB. At the time, rallying itself was at real risk. Stuart and Allan successfully delivered these sessions to thousands of officials, helping to satisfy our insurers and ultimately protect the future of the discipline.
Stuart was also co-opted by the RAC MSA( now Motorsport UK) onto its Motor Sport Council, with the specific brief of helping the‘ grass roots’ of the sport, and which resulted in the first‘ Motor Club Manual’, providing advice and guidance for all registered clubs across a range of topics, and its later regular‘ Wheels’ supplement which was issued free to all UK clubs.
Typically, when the Motorsport Safety Fund closed, Stuart – with the support of the Chairman( Ian Roberts) and all the trustees – made over the remaining reserves to the British Motorsport Trust, which continues to this day in grant aiding safety training initiatives for volunteer officials, and other associated safety improvements. I am very proud to be a trustee of the British Motorsport Trust, which continues to help keep both the sport and our community safe.
But for many, the original‘ Fund’ as it
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became known was most evident at the Autosport International Show at the NEC each year when the‘ Watkins Lecture’ was delivered by significant motorsport people of the day – all arranged by Stuart of course through his amazing contacts list. Professor Sid Watkins, Jackie Stewart, Max Mosley, Bernie Ecclestone are immediate names that come to mind – and there were many more. Once again, my world connected with Stuart’ s when in July 2017 it was announced that David Richards would take on the role of Chair of Motorsport UK. I had been a partner with David at Prodrive in the glory days of the Subaru World Rally Team and was delighted to be drafted in to help write what became the strategy for the future of motorsport in this country. The question was how to give such grand ambition a launchpad; and in a plan hatched by David, it was decided that this new blueprint would be delivered via the‘ Watkins Lecture’ at the Autosport Show in 2018 – I think that Stuart found this a very fitting platform to continue the legacy he had created.
As Stuart once said: Whether it’ s rallying or life – the goal isn’ t just to finish, it’ s to finish with a story worth telling – I am sure we all agree that he did just that and with one of the best ones!
Finally, I hope you enjoy this refreshed edition of the magazine – and as always, thank you for everything you do for our sport.
Wishing you a great month ahead, wherever you’ re competing, volunteering or spectating.
HUGH CHAMBERS CEO, Motorsport UK
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