Features:
 Project
 History
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The Team:
Driver »
Morten Eskildsen
Lives in Roskilde, Denmark
Email: morten@rallyferrari.com
Codriver »
Flemming Schleimann
Lives in Lyngby, Denmark
Email: flemming@rallyferrari.com
Background »
After quite some years away from rallying, I have decided to start driving again. Frankly, I find modern rallysport not as relevant for me anymore, and will join the historic rallying instead.
The considerations about which car to use, was more difficult than expected, as you really have to consider many aspects like competitiveness, availability, budget etc. No doubt that many very fascinating cars were used in the late seventies and early eighties.
As you have discovered already, my choice ended up becoming a Ferrari 308 GTB in the group 4 category. This car is a rather unknown rallycar for most rally enthusiast, however the Ferrari 308 GTB showed a very successful appearence in European rallies during the period 1978 to 1985. |
What is rally?
Rallying is a form of motor competition that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars. This motorsport is distinguished by running not on a circuit, but instead in a point-to-point format in which participants and their co-drivers drive between set control points (stages), leaving at regular intervals from one or more start points.
Rally is also unique in its choice of where and when to race. Rallies take place on all surfaces and in all conditions: asphalt, gravel, or snow and ice, sometimes more than one in a single rally, depending on the course and event. Rallies are also run every month of the year, in every climate, bitter cold to monsoon rain. This contributes to the notion of top rally drivers as some of the best car control experts in the world. As a result of the drivers not knowing exactly what lies ahead, the lower traction available on dirt roads, and the driving characteristics of cars, the roads are much less visibly than circuit tracks, regularly sending the car literally flying over bumps, and sliding the cars into corners.
A typical rally course consists of a sequence of relatively short (up to about 30 km), timed “special stages” where the actual competition takes place, and untimed “transport stages” where the rally cars must be driven under their own power to the next competitive stage within a generous time limit. Rally cars are thus unlike virtually any other top-line racing cars in that they retain the ability to run at normal driving speeds, and indeed are registered for street travel.
Some events contain “super special stages” where two competing cars set off on two parallel tracks, giving the illusion they are circuit racing head to head. Run over a day, a weekend, or more, the winner of the event has the lowest combined special and super special stage times.
Thanks to L. Miller for the explanation. |