BEHIND THE SCENES
During the weekend Stu managed to drag Terry and his ‘Number 2’, Richard ‘Rat’ Thorpe, away from their duties and grabbed a moment with them for a quick interview:
SC: This is the first Flatlanders rally; what’s going to make it stand out from other rallies? “We wanted to create an old-school, ‘Mini-Mersea’ style rally, run by a young club who’ve introduced new ideas to the things that we know already make a good rally. r We’ve got members from all age groups g and backgrounds. Each of them brings their own element of knowledge, experience and skill. As well as this, we’ve also a listened to seasoned rally and event organisers and taken on the benefit of their advice.”
SC: S What were the most challenging things you y experienced when you were putting the rally r together?
“Originally the council and Covid regulations. It was hard when we received the news that last year’s rally couldn’t go ahead, but in hindsight we gained a lot of knowledge from that experience. We hope that we’ve been able to work those setbacks to our advantage and we’re now at a different venue, the Ramsey Camp, which we think is perfect for the event. We’ve also put processes into place to make the rally experience as smooth running as possible. Things like the QR code scan that links immediately to preordered rally arrivals’ merchandise, which is then handed out to them at the gate. It makes things easier for everyone and more importantly saves valuable rally time!”
SC: What parts of organising the rally give you and the team the most satisfaction? “2020 was a difficult year for everyone, in some ways we think it made some people feel that the scene had become fragmented. Along with this, we also think that there was a feeling of a loss of direction. Where was it all going to end? Now there’s light at the end of the tunnel and hopefully things are returning to normal. We want our rally to contribute to everyone’s well-being, we want them to have a good time and we want them to enjoy the entertainment, the attractions and of course the smell of two-stroke! If we achieve that then we’ve succeeded, and we hope that the rally will go from strength to strength!”
Success
I enjoyed every minute; the atmosphere was friendly and inclusive, the entertainment, food and drink were spot on and over £360 was raised for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Over the weekend there was nothing but positive feedback and those views were later echoed over social media. Having made a stunning debut the team are already planning next year's rally, which is due to take place from September 16-18, 2022 at the Ramsey Camp in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.
If this year's event is anything to go by it'll be another weekend to remember, and even those with five fingers will be warmly welcomed! Words and photos: Stu Smith
....they got over their disappointment, brushed themselves down, dug their heels in and got on with organising this year’s event