1985 Lombard RAC Rally

Action from the closing round of the 1985 World Rally Championship. Originally broadcast on BBC Grandstand, and presented by motorsports commentary legend Murray Walker.
Converted from VHS TV recording. For VHS Rallies' exclusive range of classic rallying t-shirts, hoodies and mugs, visit vhsrallies.teemill.com

[@miura67]

My first ever rally. Slept in a Fiat Regata, in freezing temperatures and saw Henri Toivonen steer the Lancia Delta S4 to victory. Great times!

[@deanottley2470]

I've seen that S4 with a supercharger and a turbocharger on one engine can you just imagine I can the pill and the torque,the speed of acceleration must be unbelievable regards Dean

[@odineli6207]

You probably dont give a shit but if you're bored like me atm then you can watch all of the new movies and series on InstaFlixxer. Been watching with my brother for the last couple of weeks xD

[@mathiashunter4129]

@Odin Eli definitely, I have been watching on Instaflixxer for since november myself :D

[@ManxAndy]

Tony pond was such a talent, and always good for a word or two, his drives in the big Rover Vitesse were legendary , his Metro 6R4 drives, even more so...., especially on the Manx 👍🇮🇲

[@wilspu5590]

He has Covid here?

[@laughinclown88]

Murray Walker. Rallying. Doesn’t get better than that.

[@paulbartell8872]

A new diff on the S4 for Henri in 14mins... unsung heroes,those mechanics! Tony Pond..what can one say... Legend.

[@chunder27]

You realise here why Murray was so respe cted, this was not his sport, yet here he is looking right at home!

[@Boatlife1964]

Remember the start well. I lived in wollaton, Nottingham back then and the start stage at wollaton park was fantastic. Great to see Murray Walker following the rally and showing such enthusiasm as he always did. Rip Murray.

[@wilspu5590]

👍

[@voytee1112]

Des, Murray, Tony Pond, Lancia-Martini.. my childhood in 30 mins. Wonderful.

[@emilefarmer8513]

The rally that got me into rallying. Endurance, snow, ice, supercars, Tony Pond.

[@WerdnaLiten]

Great stuff, one of the most memorable runnings of an iconic event! And now we don't even have a WRC event - where's it all gone wrong?

[@hbtm2951]

Formula One, the main rival of this, always have been and look at new WRC cars, everything is so expensive and i'm not even entering the influenza stuff. These old VHS footages are a gold mine of history.

[@Marvdogger2]

One of the few short interviews of Tony after his third place on the rally. If only the car was reliable though in 1986.

[@carcontrolcommitment]

this rally was peak group B

[@gothicpagan.666]

Like a classic all star movie. Great to see from time to time.

[@nigelharris175]

DH Lawrence is Eastwood! Absolutely legend Murrey Walker! Amazing times...

[@LB1973]

Sad how many of the names of my childhood are now gone Murray, Pond, Toivenen, Brookes, Mikkola, Waldegard even Jim Bamber

[@wilspu5590]

Indeed. Wonder where they are rallying now

[@ohgoaway3610]

And no Lancia or MG?

[@stevenmoran4060]

I drove over a thousand miles that year watching the rally. A handy all stages pass courtesy of Lombard Finace helped a lot.

[@621pw]

This is pure gold and duly subscribed - thank you. Only yesterday was looking to source a 1985 Rallypak. Remember reading it avidly and being amazed at the length of the rally and how the drivers had to drive through the nights; the route that year was punishing to say the least. Was 9 at the time. My Dad followed the rally with my elder brother. Remember being gutted having to go home after Chatsworth while Dad and bro went on to the Forest of Dean. Me at school the next morning. Got chances in later years to follow the RAC with Dad but after the monumental events of 1986 I guess it wasn't (quite) the same. Watched this broadcast more than a few times back then, even remember that sequence showing Murray Walker ringing Rallycall. Those were the days.

[@VHSRallies]

Glad to hear you've subbed. There should be plenty more on the channel to keep you entertained.

[@MrHugaKuga]

@13:08 Murray Walker interviewing Pentti Arikkala in his broken Vauxhall Astra ... 🙂

[@Revup1]

Hannu Mikkola, Russell Brookes and Murray Walker, all gone in recent months. I have great memories of them all!

[@animalcol1]

Super quality. My fav rally of all time 👍🙂

[@Qwerty1235945]

This was my first rally too. I borrowed my PE teacher’s motor drive for my Pentax Super A to visit nearby Wollaton Park. 36 years later, that rally is still one of the best things I I’ve ever done in my life. Sadly, I have no idea what happened to the 72 photos I took. :-( Thank you so, so much for posting. You are a hero.

[@Clappers66]

Great footage!

[@ThomasHarrisonLord]

Wow, I put this off a bit because I'd recently watched the daily reports but it's worth it - Murray Walker is superb and it's a completely different set of interviews.

[@VHSRallies]

I hope you're ready for some more 1985 RAC action. Another hour of it coming tomorrow evening!

[@ThomasHarrisonLord]

@@VHSRallies Superb - looking forward to it!

[@Steve-vp8ng]

I dont mind the Premiere feature, but i dont see the point in notifying people this far ahead. I doubt anybody is going to schedule watching a youtube video a week in advance. In my opinion it would make more sense to notify us on the same day, or maybe a day in advance.

[@VHSRallies]

That's an interesting idea. First time I've played around with the Premiere feature and the one-week advanced notice doesn't appear to have gone down all that well. It would be more ongoing once we're into the regular cycle of video releases, which I hope to be three per week (Mon, Weds, Fri) between next week and the end of the summer.

[@VHSRallies]

No need to criticise. I find all feedback useful! :)

[@Steve-vp8ng]

@@VHSRallies Thanks for responding. I wasnt trying to be rude, but english is not my first language so the tone might come out differently than intended.

[@VHSRallies]

Came out fine. You've given me the idea of doing it much closer to 'going live' with the video - maybe the day before. Thanks again for the constructive feedback.

[@rallyesportmediairl]

Great upload. What a rally

[@johnmorrison27]

As always many thanks for posting 👍

[@deanottley2470]

Went to watch that years rally round the next year's where are Carlos Sainz was driving the Toyota 6r4 and it's just a stunner just how fast these boys could go in that type of whether it was an absolute even though it was - 7 ° when we got up at 6 a.m. and at my left foot was frozen and I could not feel it!

[@MrHugaKuga]

Fantastic idea, regular videos with live chat three times a week ... and easier than converting a Deloren 😉

[@VHSRallies]

Not planning on live chat beyond this week - it's just as a 'hello again' after a long break. But yes, three vids per week - and possibly four, if I find left-field stuff that I decide to put live on a Saturday evening.

[@Porkhammer]

Thank you so much for this upload!

[@McLintox]

I'm somewhere In that shot @ Carlisle service halt

[@joe5boost]

top vid thanks for sharing

[@VHSRallies]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@juliom3775]

2:59 automatic gearbox on that Quattro? Wow, german people always innovating, just to think of an automatic gearbox on a racing car back then is amazing. Did they keep it all the way through 85-86?

[@VHSRallies]

I believe the Audi system was, in effect, the PDK that Porsche used in world sportscars. It was used a few times but not widely adopted. And of course, by spring 1986 Audi had pulled the pin on its WRC involvement anyway, so it certainly wasn't used the rest of that season.

[@juliom3775]

25:58 thats so cool

[@ewatt2029]

the anxiety ahhhh

[@julianriley8225]

Does anyone know how to find that artist “Jim Bamba”? Work looks really cool but can’t seem to find it

[@VHSRallies]

His name was Jim Bamber. He was cartoonist for Autosport for many years, and produced his own books and limited-edition prints, I believe. Sadly he passed away in 2014 after a battle with cancer.

[@H7KAL]

The wide ponds rear tires were no wonder the lancia had the edge

[@TinyBearTim]

6 days whyyyy

[@Christian-rj2yc]

Hmm, Audi and electrical problems...

[@flyingdutchy01]

Sorry nothing personal but fuck the premiere feature. Why would i want to wait for a video let alone a bloody week

[@VHSRallies]

Nothing personal here - don't worry! First time I've played with the Premiere feature and it coincides with new 'releases' coming out after a long break. Kinda wondered whether people might like to tune in at Premiere time and say hello (I'll be online then) but I'll look to do much shorter notice periods.