Kirkby Lonsdale Motor Club

Name? ALEX WILLAN.

Age? 32.

Home Town? KIRKBY LONSDALE.

What are your earliest memories of motorsport? I HAVE MANY, BUT THE MOST SIGNIFICANT WAS WATCHING 1985 RAC RALLY IN GRIZEDALE FOREST, OR THE BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIP ON GRANDSTAND ON A SATURDAY AFTERNOON.

How did you get involved in Motorsport? JOINED KLMC AT 18.

How long have you been competing? 14 YEARS. (!)

Are you a Driver, Navigator or Both? DRIVER. TRIED A BIT OF NAVVYING BEFORE I WAS 17, I'VE NEVER GONE BACK !

What was your first event? DID A FEW AUTOTESTS AND QUARRY BASHES AND A 12-CARS. 1ST NIGHT RALLY WAS THE 1996 GORDON MUSGROVE (NOW THE MEMORIAL) RALLY. I HAD SOME YOUNG GUN CALLED STEVE HEAD NAVIGATING, I TAUGHT HIM ALL HE KNOWS.....

How many events have you done? MORE THAN I CAN REMEMBER.

What’s your Best Result? 1ST O/A ILLUMINATIONS 2008. 3RD O/A ON THE 2006 RYEMOOR ALSO STANDS OUT DUE TO THE SIZE AND QUALITY OF THE ENTRY.

What’s worst Result? ANY RETIREMENT.

Do you have any Sponsors? www.kirkbylonsdalecars.co.uk

What is your biggest off if any? ONCE DID 2X 360'S ON A DUAL CARRIAGEWAY AND WENT BACKWARDS DOWN AN EMBANKMENT COLLECTING A ROAD SIGN ON THE WAY. I WASN'T EVEN ON A RALLY !

ON THE MORECAMBE RALLY IN 2006 I WAS STILL SUFFERING FROM THE 'NIGHT BEFORE'. WE GAVE THE GATEPOST A BIT OF A CLOUT IN CURWEN HALL FARM THEN HAD A LOOK AROUND A FIELD SOMEWHERE BEFORE PETROL. I THINK THE ONLY STRAIGHT PANEL LEFT ON THE CAR WAS THE ROOF.

What is the strangest thing that has happened to you on a rally? NEARLY GETTING STUCK IN SNOW ON THE WAY TO THE VK RALLY IN DERBYSHIRE 2006. THEN WE LOST THE SPOTLAMP LENSES AFTER A HEAVY LANDING IN A FARM YARD. THE MARSHALS WERE KINDLY CLEANING WINDSCREENS AT THE NEXT TIME CONTROL SO I ASKED THEM IF THEY'D CLEAN THE SPOTS TOO, THAT'S WHEN WE REALISED THEY WEREN'T THERE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT WAS FUNNIER, THE MARSHAL SPONGING THIN AIR OR THE REALISATION THAT THE 'JANGLING CRUNCH' WAS ACTUALLY MY OWN LAMPS THAT I'D RUN OVER !

What’s you favorite event? THE VK OR RYEMOOR RALLIES FOR THE ORGANISATION AND COMPETITION; THE MORECAMBE RALLY FOR THE ROUTE AND IT'S ONLY 10 MINS TRAVELLING.

What’s you favorite stage or section? THE 'WRAY WHITE SECTION ' ON THE MORECAMBE RALLY IS AN ABSOLUTE BLAST.

Which event would you like to do but never had the chance? I DID THE 1998 JIM CLARK RALLY, I'D LOVE TO HAVE ANOTHER GO, OR INDEED ON ANY STAGE RALLY. ANY-ONE WANT TO LEND ME A CAR ?

What would you improve in modern day rallying? AT THE TOP LEVEL THE CARS JUST AREN'T EXCITING ENOUGH TO WATCH. SURELY LESS TECHNOLOGY WOULD COST LESS AND POTENTIALLY MAKE THE CARS MORE EXCITING. LOWER DOWN THE SCALE IT'S JUST SO EXPENSIVE TO GET INTO STAGE RALLYING, PARTICULARLY IF YOU WANT TO BE COMPETITIVE.

Name? Dan Willan

Age? 26

Home Town? Kirkby Lonsdale

What are your earliest memories of motorsport? Grizedale Forest, RAC Rally
1988? Or 1989. Either way Lancia were winning. Then watching my dad compete
on the 1990 Illuminations in his lurid green LAD Sunbeam Imp.

How did you get involved in Motorsport? The initial interest for my older
brother and I came from our dad. Once Alex could drive we would go out
watching and marshalling, then when he did a few events I'd help out/get in
the way. A lot of our friends were into rallying too, so that's what we did
with our weekends.

How long have you been competing? 4 years

Are you a Driver, Navigator or Both? Driver! Although I did dabble with
navigating on one or two 12 Cars before I was old enough to drive.

What was your first event? Navigating for Steve Head in a mk1 Fiesta van on
a Spadeadam 12 Car, which we won! First event as a Driver was the Harry &
Ivy in 2003, which led to my first National B start on the Shaw Trophy in
2004.

How many events have you done? Approx 30 National B's, plus maybe 20-30 12
Cars

What's your Best Result? 2nd Overall on the 2006 GPMC Memorial & Shaw Trophy
rallies

What's worst Result? Retirements! Especially when you've been leading.....!

Do you have any Sponsors? Nope, just myself and my understanding wife

What is your biggest off if any? Probably the 2007 VK Derbyshire. It wasn't
really an off, but could have been very nasty. Braking heavily after a long
downhill straight a bolt sheared off from the nearside wishbone, causing the
front wheel to jam up into the wheelarch. The car veered into a grass bank
on my side then nosedived off the verge as the road beared round to the
right. We managed to get stopped on the corner, the car wasn't too badly
damaged, just needed a new wishbone and the driveshaft popping back in.

What is the strangest thing that has happened to you on a rally? One unusual
event was taking a monumental wrongslot and finding a competing car stuck in
a ditch after trying to turn round. If we hadn't wrongslotted and found him
he would might been there for hours!

What's your favorite event? Too many, but I have fond memories of the
Memorial and the Shaw. The Whites in Derbyshire are mega too.

What's your favorite stage or section? I seem to go well over Tan Hill,
despite not knowing it. Haylots is good, likewise Bretherdale. Basically
anything with a good mix of tight and twisty separated by quick flat out
blasts.

Which event would you like to do but never had the chance? The Carpetbagger

What would you improve in modern day rallying? Fewer events! Rallies are
struggling for entries, so why not run fewer events to get better entries?

If you would like to fill in the below questions and send it to me i will include it on the page you can include a few photos as well.i will change it every month or so.
Send to: paulwhitelock@heaves.freeserve.co.uk

Name?

Age?

Home Town?

What are your earliest memories of motorsport?

How did you get involved in Motorsport?

How long have you been competing?

Are you a Driver, Navigator or Both?

What was your first event?

How many events have you done?

What’s your Best Result?

What’s worst Result?

Do you have any Sponsors?

What is your biggest off if any?

What is the strangest thing that has happened to you on a rally?

What’s you favorite event?

What’s you favorite stage or section?

Which event would you like to do but never had the chance?

What would you improve in modern day rallying?