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One of the strengths of the rally scene in the USA is that it has much closer links to other extreme sports, and events like X Games helped to cement that. Drifting is no different, with many competitive drifters and content creators having a background in BMX racing, skateboarding and other extreme sports. Perhaps it’s time that the European and World rallying scenes embraced that crossover and used it to their advantage.
Rallying has just as many legendary cars, just as many iconic venues, and some of the most talented drivers in the world. In many cases, those drivers are also filled with passion for what they do, and own wonderful collections of cars; from Jari-Matti Latvala’s historic Celica GT4s, to Thierry Neuville’s 306 Maxi and the MK2 Escort that Oliver Solberg is driving on this week’s Roger Albert Clark Rally. That car is owned by his father, Petter, and was built by Phil Mills, who sat alongside Solberg senior to win the 2003 WRC title. Is there a better example of shared passion for a sport than that?
What we could learn from drifting more than anything though is that engaging fans isn’t just about showing them what happens on the stages. We have to show people that rallying is something that people live and breathe. Just like drifting, it’s a lifestyle. We need to show people behind the scenes, show them the passion, the shared love of the cars, the events and the thrill of what we do.
Kalle Rovanperä has clearly decided that the hectic, hyper-professional WRC schedule isn’t something he can stomach in 2024. If his hiatus is to teach us anything, it’s that we need to inject some of the fun back into rallying, and present it to people in a way that makes them want a piece of it.
That way, he might come back to a sport that is bigger and better than ever before.
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