I was not feeling at my best the day when I went to the Festival of Speed at Goodwood. Consequently, I always gave myself the option to bail out if I wasn’t up to it. One of the things that I figured was most likely to get sacrificed was the rally stage. This was something I was most interested in seeing but it was quite a trek up the hill and, with a hot day and a slight lack of energy, I thought this might end up not happening. In the end I decided to start walking up there and see how I felt as I went – always having the option to change the plan. As it was, while it was very warm, there was a lot of shade on the way through the woods, and I ended up getting there without feeling bad. Always good when you have options!

I first came to the paddock area and that was so much fun to stroll around. So many older rally cars including some Group B examples along with more modern examples. The selection of Audis, Subarus, Lancias and Peugeots was great. Sure, there were lots of others but my strongest memories of 80s and 90s rallying were these types. A couple of cars were driving around including a Mini that had clearly been rolled recently. A while later, the commentary team mentioned that it had indeed been the case. I guess the participants aren’t hanging around with their vehicles on the stage.

Things were pretty quiet when I first got there, things were pretty quiet. However, it wasn’t long before they started up runs through the custom designed rally stage in the woods. A couple of cars came through before I had got to the woods and then things went quiet for quite a while. I wandered along the trails into the woods and wondered if I had missed something when a truck came along the track towing a car. Not sure what had happened, but it clearly hadn’t ended well. Hopefully they got things sorted before too long.

Then it was back to cars running through the stage. Some of them were really giving it the beans while others were making sure that they stayed within their limits. That’s fine by me. If you have a vintage rally car, being reckless with it really doesn’t make sense. Besides, you might have the cool car but that doesn’t make you the greatest driver so do what makes sense. I’m just glad that they have the car and will bring it to an event like this.

Given how hot and dry it had been, the stage was very dusty. The good spots to watch from were often around bends where you can see the cars doing what they do best. It reminded me of photographing on the ramps at air bases. There you will fit yourself photographing a jet and then, as it turns away from you, you will turn your back to avoid the jet wash. This was the same except it was dust and dirt that was being thrown over you rather than hot air. By the end of my time there both me and my camera gear were coated in dirt!

When getting images, you are looking for something that really emphasises the drama of rallying. I was going with low shutter speeds to try and emphasise the speed of the cars as they hurtle through the woods. You also want something that includes cornering since rally cars do a good job of going sideways. If they are throwing up dust, that is even better. Then you get the more interesting moments when they might catch the bank and throw earth up as they bounce back on course. They won’t all be doing that but, when one does, it does look spectacular.

The course designers also included a small jump along one section. There were distance markers on the ground so you could see how far each car went before touching down. There was a lot of variety in the way in which the drivers approached the jump. Some seemed to be barely airborne while others got a lot of distance. I tried being ahead of the cars for a bit and then went with a side on view. The trees were a bit in the way for the images, but it was more about trying to show off the drama of the location.

Up to this point, I have talked about the location and the cars. However, what I haven’t shared is the relaxed nature of the area. It is a bit like going to Oshkosh in that the main venue is absolutely manic, but you can go to the seaplane base and chill out without the thousands of people. The rally stage is like that. Whether people aren’t as interested or maybe they just don’t want to climb the hill. It’s even possible that they don’t know what is there. Whatever it is, there are just not so many people up there. The woods give you loads of places to check out so it is never crowded, and you really feel like things are a bit more relaxed than down in the main areas. If you go to the Festival of Speed, I would definitely recommend some time up at the rally stage. Even if you aren’t a big fan of rallying (and why would that be??), I think you will enjoy it – once you have cooled down after climbing the hill!