1986 Rothmans Circuit of Ireland (day one)

Action from the first day of the second round of the British Championship and Irish Tarmac Championship. Originally produced by RTE and UTV, and presented by Alan 'Plum' Tyndall, Gary Gillespie and George Hamilton.
Converted from VHS TV recording. There are occasional image glitches in this footage. For VHS Rallies' exclusive range of classic rallying t-shirts, hoodies and mugs, visit vhsrallies.teemill.com

[@MattyC_96]

So many iconic drivers, cars and liveries

[@samueldowney2806]

That accident was horrific, but otherwise just spectacular footage of some of the best rally cars ever. The in car shots from Billy Coleman's car are amazing.

[@barrygoodman2997]

Fabulous memories. I was at that rally on the Friday and Saturday. Took lots of photographs. Still have them somewhere. Competed on most of those Friday stages since on the Circuit and the Ulster Rally. Glendun and Ora Lodge are fantastic.

[@jasonmeehan1269]

I remember this first time around, I was 10 years old. The last proper five day rally. I even remember that lad getting knocked down. Thanks for uploading.

[@GoingSidewards]

Love the music

[@bikenavbm1229]

great stuff thanks for posting, horrible accident never seen that one before hope his recovery went well. what a cracking mix of charismatic cars a feast for the spectators, if it were on tomorrow I would be on the Irish Sea tonight.

[@jasonmcmillan4373]

Awesome. I hope you are able to upload the rest of the rally too, this is great.

[@VHSRallies]

That's the plan!

[@Sarah-JaneR32]

So pleased for these videos, brings back memories, thank you

[@XJ220NJ]

Gee! Seems like all bad incidents the RS200 had were caught on camera. Poor guy! Also, Kalle/Benny must have been seriously shaken. That having said, absolutely brilliant footage! The roster of cars is excellent. Metros, RS200s, a Sport quattro with seemingly enhanced ALS, a 205 T16, an R5 Turbo even. Not to mention the great 2WD contenders. Very fine coverage, thanks for the upload!

[@adammercer6004]

Jesus how that Boy survive that my word what an accident!

[@eddiec438]

Proper Circuit of Ireland in those days.❤

[@Joop.23-2-63]

Agree, 9 hours+ of competitive rallying.

[@chonglers1513]

Adding a camera to the outside of the car is very high-tech!

[@insertchannelnamehere570]

FINALLY! Been looking all over for this. Much appreciated!

[@josebrito6519]

Absolutely wonderful, thanks for sharing this, it really made for a worthy watch 👏

[@PescaraProductions]

I think this video encapsulates the true problem that Group B had all along, and that was the spectator control problems more than the fact that the cars were 'too fast' as most videos on the topic of Group B's demise will shove in your face.

[@tarransanders21]

I mean, by this point it really is one and the same, no? Fast cars, with OEM's pushing the envelope on speed and performance in search of an advantage, coupled with tight public roads and crowds that want to get as close to the action as possible.

[@feliperc4805]

Any of the Quattros are just so spectacular in any instance 10:35

[@AndrewNeilBaird]

@11.56 Colin McRae changing tyres on dads car 😊

[@huwzebediahthomas9193]

Fabulous! MG Metro 6R4? Did it win this? I remember something... ummm, let's see.

[@ELUSIVEJIM]

What a rally. Unbelievable. So sad how rallying has changed for the worse.

[@piotrmalewski8178]

Just like in normal driving, there is always an idiot who walks through the road not looking if any cars approaching.

[@TheTruth-ht7qm]

Calm down Son. Its someone's Kid.

[@HMoyn215]

5:48 - Hello? Have you the Spuds down ?

[@kiddoduke2103]

Manta 400 peak rally car for me - RWD, NA and remotely resembling something average fan could hope to own.

[@leandrosomvintageconsertos]

❤❤❤

[@christineayres7199]

Sadly why Group B got banned , too many idiots running into the stage and getting hurt or killed , 550bhp Metro 6R4 was the fastest there that day scary fast

[@paultaylor5502]

Metro was around 400bhp, no idea where you got 550. The most powerful car is the Sutton Sport Quattro at 450 bhp

[@christineayres7199]

@@paultaylor5502 Says 550bhp online

[@germanCrowbar]

Vauxhall Cavaliere 400.😁

[@paulboyle6857]

When rallying was for "MEN"!!

[@testicat8462]

Nobody gets hit by cars anymore. It ain’t a real event if everyone makes it out unscathed

[@BogattheMoon]

Who would have ever imagined that a Group B rally was going on that day? You know, with the crowds and all, the media, Helicopters overhead, the sound of 500hp+ rally machines brapping the rev limiter. Sounds like a good day to walk in the fucking road.

[@VHSRallies]

I've always wanted someone to track down the lad in question and get his side of the story, to be fair. I'm sure there was a lot of ambient noise around that day, with various rally cars in the surrounding countryside - and I have often wondered whether the helicopter in the sky also made it harder to hear an approaching RS200.

[@BogattheMoon]

@@VHSRallies that's interesting, I was thinking the same thing, what became of him. What sucked was the narrator, redirecting to the 'accident' over and over that this is something that everyone should be concerned about. Well, no, it isn't something that everyone should be concerned about. I wasn't concerned about it at 16 or 17 and savored rally highlights when they would be shown practically a week later here in the United States. I refused to be suckered in by that same doom and gloom tone when highlights were played, repeating bullshit like 'tragic event' and 'measures that must be taken'. All of that is horse shit and Groupe B was the last flash of unbridled purity in racing. I don't think it takes a child of 5 or 6 to come to terms of basic principles of physics and if something appears dangerous it probably is. It takes just a second or two for that child to completely understand Group B, or anything unbridled and wild in the vein of B. Was the driver of the RS genuinely upset or was it suggested he was? Was he so upset that he didn't want to talk about or was he actually pissed off? Did we hear from him? Was his answer genuine or a crafted response or script to follow or be punished? I believe he didn't give a damn about hitting kids or adults, I believe most rally drivers wouldn't give one. I wasn't a driver, just a fan. I didn't give a damn. Didn't give one watching a 959 plow into a crowd. Wasn't depressed watching faint footage of a Delta on fire after a cliff dive or an RS smashing a tree then in flames. You can't give a damn. You can't be behind the wheel if you're concerned about fan safety, blah, blah. You have zero concern except for a bit of luck that you and your Co make it to the next checkpoint or stage. You won't feel any guilt or convictions about hitting a kid, rolling spectators under your car or barrel rolling into a crowd of them. Why should you? What was so terrible or heartbreaking about Group B? Should I be concerned or worried or feel ashamed that x,y,z happened? What can be done? Who cares? What are you going to do with fans whose only link to Group B madness is getting that close to the action; their favorite driver; getting your tooth chipped by eating a rock spat out by an angry Peugeot? That is part of risk, the allure of man and machine, race fan and circuit. I don't want to live in a nanny state, have direction decided for me, relinquish my command over an automobile and give the keys to autonomy. I will always cherish Group B and look back on it with great fondness, my only connection to it watched through a little box in another country. It was the last real connection we had to the insanity and debauchery of a Roman sporting event. If we have such a deep connection with something, please get the hell out of my way and let me get right beside that energy and a moment of connection with something we enjoy. I won't be pissed if my brother loses his life by getting slapped by a car coming out of a bend a little too hot. He died doing what he loved. I can't find fault in that, it seems somewhat poetic and I expect that driver to have zero guilt and win the stage. Thank you for the great memories we have of a special time and the hope that someone else may capture a bit of it by watching great footage provided by this channel. Thank you for sharing Group B. It was one hell of a ride!

[@VHSRallies]

You have to remember that the narrator is Irish, and the British Championship was arguably second only to the WRC in terms of profile back in 1986. So in a year that had already claimed lives in Portugal, any accident involving spectators was seen as a serious development. Personally, I thought the incident was dealt with extremely sensitively by 'Plum' Tyndall and his TV production team; they even left Kalle Grundel alone for a while to gather his thoughts before speaking to him on camera again.

[@BogattheMoon]

@@VHSRallies yes okay, obviously that is an area which I have no insight into, but of course that's interesting that there were underlying layers of tension which I wasn't privy too. I'll dive into the energy and tension regarding the political/National climate at that time that go deeper than just the state of the relationship between the two countries (which I do have knowledge of) and delves into tension on a more local/regional level, that obviously would be an additional stressor on drivers representing their homeland. Interesting.

[@huwzebediahthomas9193]

05:35 - oh for f'k sakes! A bluddy 1G phone. Daft paddy!

[@H7KAL]

What is your point ? It was fking 1986

[@martinbyrne6643]

Great video