Go back as recently as the 1990s, and stately homes across the country played host to some of the biggest rallies, cars and drivers the sport has ever seen.
I remember as a young boy standing in Tatton Park, waiting for the cars on the 1993 RAC Rally.
Sadly, the number of events using stately home roads is dwindling, which is why I was so excited to catch the action at the recent AGBO Stages, from Weston Park.
I’ve been busy working on some new projects recently, so haven’t updated my blog as often as I would have liked. So while I work on bringing you some exciting motoring news, here’s a video from the archives.
The video is from a shakedown event we competed in at Harewood Hillclimb, coming first in the Modified Production < 1400 class.
Has a Ford KA ever sounded better? Enjoy…
Don’t forget, you can always follow @paulwoodford84 on Twitter for the latest – see you there!
I remember the first time I watched The Sweeney. Other children my age were watching cartoons, but nothing captured my imagination more than watching Jack Regan screeching round the streets of London in a Mk3 Cortina GXL.
Sat with my Dad, car spotting and enjoying the Flying Squad’s totally un-PC DI tearing up the criminal underworld was one of my favourite things to do. Actually it still is – and along with Airwolf, Knight Rider and countless old rally vids, I’m already introducing the third generation to the cult shows I was introduced to by Woody Senior.
The great thing about programmes like those I mention above (and I’m sure you can add plenty of your own to the list!) is that they have timeless appeal, so you can dust off the video cassettes anytime you fancy a bit of nostalgia. And people like me always will.
I owe my love for classic Fords (my first rally car was a Mk2 Cortina which I built with my Dad!), at least in part to Jack Regan and George Carter. And in part, I owe my love for driving and talking about fast cars to what we used to do on Sunday evenings as a family.
Top Gear didn’t need timeless appeal, it moved with the times. Unlike Jack Regan and Stringfellow Hawke, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May are real life characters that myself, my Dad and my seven year old son can relate to.
I can’t think of another TV show that has spanned our three generations; that has appealed equally to all three. But thanks to well-documented events that allegedly unfolded in a North Yorkshire hotel room, for our seven year old Top Gear as we know it will be just a childhood memory. For our six month old it will have to take its place in the DVD cabinet alongside re-mastered editions of The Sweeney and Airwolf. (And it will!)
The biggest record of Top Gear’s unprecedented reign as the BBC’s most valuable global brand isn’t its figures, I would argue. It was in its ability to be a part of the family. A true household name.
On the day the BBC announced it was terminating Jeremy Clarkson’s contract, my Grandma asked me what I thought, my local BBC radio station spoke to me live on air for my reaction to the news, it came up in conversation with my parents, my wife, numerous colleagues, and I used the news to make a point to our afore-mentioned seven year old about treating others with respect blah blah blah.
By the way, I’m not for one second suggesting Tony Hall was wrong to make the call he did. After all, as I said in my interview with Andy Comfort on BBC Radio Humberside, the corporation has a responsibility to send the right messages out to the public, and workplace violence can never be condoned.
Here’s what’s on my mind though; I can’t imagine a motoring TV show ever figuring so highly in all of our lives – not even Top Gear in different hands, unfortunately.
Top Gear empowered petrolheads; certainly Monday morning conversations in the office are unlikely to feature worship for the latest Ferrari and debates about the best new hot hatch. I just hope the new Top Gear in 2016 – alluded to in Hall’s statement – will continue to inspire future generations.
I also hope I can somehow have a hand in influencing that, but that’s a whole different story!
As one of the world’s leading rally television programme makers, Special Stage is constantly leading the way in providing fans with an insight into the high octane, adrenaline-filled world of UK rallying.
While we were filming for the last round of the BTRDA Rally Championship, we wondered what we could do to really give people a feel for the sport, and more importantly show that being involved with rally is not all about big budget rally cars.
Rallying – and motorsport in general – is accessible at a number of levels, and without an army of volunteer and paid supporters, even a single venue airfield event would stand no chance of getting off the ground.
Events and Championships are crying out for people to get involved as marshalls, organisers, support staff, medical crews and other important jobs, so we thought we’d use some airtime on TV to showcase a selection of the jobs being done by the people behind rallying.
Here’s when I stopped for a moment to reflect on the unsung heroes of rally…
Keep your eye on the TV shows section of my site for the online catch up of the latest Special Stage TV show; the Malcolm Wilson Rally, Round 2 of the BTRDA Rally Championship.
If like me motoring is your life, you’ll no doubt be an avid consumer of motoring products and accessories as well as cars and consumables. In fact, even if you’re not a petrolhead, there are tonnes of ‘must have’ gadgets and accessories that could enhance your day-to-day motoring experience.
That’s why I’m going to be bringing you a series of product reviews. I’ve already got some exciting stuff lined up, from things you probably knew existed but never got round to thinking about, to things you never knew existed but once you do, you won’t be able to live without!
First up is a brand that, even if you don’t recognise, you’ll use in a number of ways on a daily basis. Ring Automotive manufactures a wide variety of vehicle lighting and electronic accessories, from consumables we use every day like headlight bulbs, to gadgets we could do to have in the boot for emergencies, such as compact jump start packs.
A well-established brand in motoring, Ring even has a presence in motorsport, including Formula One. So as you can imagine, I’m excited to be working with them to review some products for you, and help you decide what to put in those all-important breakdown kits in the boot. (What do you mean you haven’t got one?!)
It just so happens, I’ve got my hands on a 1960s Austin Healey Sprite Arkley SS, the perfect opportunity to try out a few electronic gadgets. The things I do for motoring, eh?
Keep your eye out here for the latest motoring product reviews, and in the meantime, I’ll see you on Twitter!
If a traditional business card is defined as a vehicle to communicate key details, then Paul asks why can’t you use an actual vehicle to communicate those details?
Here was born the concept of the ‘Business Car(d)’, an original idea that has proved to be a popular way to get the message out.
With everything from a Subaru Impreza to a Jaguar XJ220 sporting Paul’s website and Twitter links, and new models being introduced to the collection all the time, here’s how you could get your hands on a Paul Woodford Business Car(d)*…
1) Write a review of one of Paul’s TV Shows or Motoring Videosand submit it to this website (link below)
2)Tweet an inventive photo to Paul, being sure to include Paul’s website address or Twitter link in the picture
3) Hire Paul for your event, show or project (if you do this, you might even get the chance to choose your model!)
Want your very own innovative business cards creating? Paul will be happy to help with ideas and production. Get in touch.
I have to be honest and tell you that this year’s BTRDA mixed surface challenge is something Producer Wayne (Special Stage) and myself have talked about for years.
Obviously in the intervening year between the British Rally Championship ending and re-launching, it makes sense for the UK’s top gravel and tarmac rally series to join forces, and we’ll see the result in a few weeks’ time as the challenge gets underway.
For me, 2011 was a vintage year for the MSA British Asphalt Rally Championship. It was the year I sat with Champion Damian Cole on the shakedown of the Jim Clark in a Focus WRC, it was the year I had an audience with World Rally Champion Phil Mills, and it was the year we first made a big splash in the world of rallying.
Sure we’d made some shows before this, but at the start of 2011, Producer Wayne gathered the troops together and we agreed we’d do whatever it took to raise the profile of the championships we covered, and at the awards evening for the Asphalt Championship, I realised we’d achieved this.
Well, fast forward to 2015; Damian Cole is now a five times Champion and this season is now challenging the gravel heroes on the loose stuff in the BTRDA Championship, we have a crew out filming pretty much every weekend of the year, and Special Stage has a name for itself that, personally having been there from the start, I’m extremely proud of.
I’m also delighted to tell you that our original sponsors, REIS Insurance have stayed involved the whole time. I’m proud to wear their logo and to use their products.
To celebrate, here’s the 2011 Asphalt Championship review film. Enjoy, and thank you from the bottom of my fuel tank (!) for all your support…
If you’re the sort of Googler who prefers to read than to watch; if you’re on dial-up in deepest darkest Wales for example, here’s a summary of what I think of the new Skoda Fabia.
As you’ll have seen from my posts below, I reviewed the car for a film for radio station KCFM. And I’ve accompanied the film with an article. Grab a coffee and have a read…
2015 Skoda Fabia 2015 – Paul Woodford
As a self-respecting petrolhead, I can appreciate most cars in some way. There is, however a type of car I struggle to come to terms with, and that’s a shopping car. The thing is, I’ve proved you can even fit a toaster in a Lamborghini, so when a supercar can be used for white goods, why do manufacturers think it’s big or clever to make a car specifically for the job?
I digress.
Putting my prejudice aside for a moment, there are shopping cars that do other things well too. Even for a hard core petrolhead. And the Skoda Fabia is one of those cars.
Fifteen years ago, the original Fabia was an overnight success, up with the best in the class for quality, and a credible challenger for a title far removed from the supermarket carpark too – the title of hot hatch.
The first generation of this car made Skoda a serious player, no more jokes; this was now a brand to aspire to, whether you were a self-respecting businessmen, a busy Mum, or a car enthusiast.
Owned by the Volkswagen Audi Group; from the outside at least, the Skoda brand was intended to represent the value end of the family, with VW doing quality, Audi taking care of premium, and SEAT slotting in as the sporty arm.
But since the introduction of the Fabia, Skoda has upset the marketing people, because the definitions are now blurred.
Skoda’s rally campaigns with the Fabia hinted at a sporting pedigree, the trim levels and equipment you get as standard on this new generation car are very executive, and if you close your eyes when you open the doors, it actually sounds like a Golf. (I did that for effect by the way – if you’ve ever shut the door of a Mk3 Golf, you’ll realise it’s a strapline with dubious foundation)
Importantly though (especially if you found this article by Googling ‘should I buy a Skoda Fabia’), with a starting price of £10,600, and standard equipment including Bluetooth, DAB and six airbags, even in the entry level ‘S’ trim, the new Fabia is still great value. A bit like that shelf full of offcuts from the meat counter in bags with yellow labels on. You know, the one that insights violence in even the meekest of pensioners. Yes, value.
Is the new Fabia well-endowed? Well, the engines range from the super economical 1 litre, 3 cylinder 59bhp entry level unit to the moderately capable 1.2 TSI producing 109 horse powers. And there’s something for everyone on top too, with Skoda’s Colour Concept System allowing personalisation of colour and trim combination.
The version I drove was the 1.2 TSI with 89bhp. Now, although this particular engine shows just how far we’ve come with engine technology, as a petrolhead I can’t deny that I’m disappointed there isn’t a VRS version of this new Fabia planned. Although I have a friend ‘at’ Skoda who has told me that I shouldn’t have to wait too long for that news to become old. He told me I could have the exclusive, but then I don’t think he wanted me to mention it, just yet.
Oooops.
If you’re not one of the 3% of buyers of the last car who opted for the hot hatch version (1% globally), you do benefit from the fact that Skoda had to make sure this initial anti-VRS decision didn’t affect sales. I have to be honest and tell you that they did this by giving all the models in the range a sporty edge. And they really have; I look back 15 years and even this 1.2 model is a world away from the utilitarian Fiesta Flight.
Let’s not forget; the Fabia is a car that, to be successful had to appeal to you…and to by cameraman. (Incidentally he actually drives a Fabia)
Ready for the technical bits? (switch off now if you’re only bothered about shopping – this car will more than do the job.)
The new Fabia is lower and wider, so immediately feels more stable. The steering is more reassuring than the last one, precise-ish with a nice bit of feedback. It’s confident.
The gearbox, as you’d expect from a VW-based car feels indestructible, really nice and mechanical – it might be a car destined, on the whole for people who want reliable, dependable, simple transport, but I always like to be reminded that I’m connected to oily things. You do as well – admit it!
Likewise, it’s nice to feel the road, and while the suspension on the Fabia has been designed for comfort and practicality over performance, with impressively low road noise levels, it holds the road well enough for when you’re in the mood for a bit of fun.
The designers have been busy, too. While the car appears smaller, more sculpted and compact on the outside, it is actually bigger on the inside due to being wider, with a longer wheelbase giving more cabin space. And while we’re talking about shopping, the new Fabia has gained an extra 15 litres of boot space. It’s a four-wheeled grocery machine!
There is ample space in the boot for your shopping, it’s compact enough with good visibility for manoeuvring in those tight carpark moments, and the new Fabia will fit around the family, including any lanky teenagers.
So joking aside, if ‘fun’ isn’t a box you’ve ever ticked on the criteria for a new car, because you’ve been too preoccupied with the sensible things, there’s good news. Skoda has actually ticked the box for you – this car is capable of putting a smile on your face without you even having to think about it.
Even if that’s just the feeling of pulling up next to a Polo driver and knowing you got the better deal.
Wow, what a start to 2015 it’s been for the Special Stage Team! After a long winter break, and following our “This is Rallying” special Extra show on Motors TV, the BTRDA Rally Series is almost back on your screens.
Round One, the Wyedean Rally kicks off on Motors TV (Sky channel 447) this Friday at 8pm, with the 1400 series show following later in the evening.
We’ve put a lot of work into the first show of the series, and I think you’ll like the stops we’ve pulled out to make sure the series builds on the popularity of last year to step Special Stage up a gear once again in 2015.
Not long to wait then, but here’s a preview to zap your rally taste buds…
Paul Woodford 
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