THEN

Kielder Computers Limited was established back in 1985 by Kim Bolsover to offer computer services at all levels to the corporate marketplace.  Her brother, Jonty Bolsover, came on board as a director.

Neil Broadbent joined the company as technical expert in January 2000 when it was decided to produce a website to promote the career of Jonty, who was already an old hand as a rally co-driver.  We decided to promote all co-drivers, the lynchpin of any rally team, and to bring together co-drivers and drivers by creating a database and setting up a matching system, so that co-drivers could find a driver and vice versa.

After two mad months of relentloss slog, sleepless nights and copious amounts of gin, the rallycodriver website was launched on March 10th 2000.  This coincided nicely with the first round of the Peugeot Super 106 Cup at Weston Park, where Jonty was co-driving for Rory Galligan from Ireland.  Neil had never been to a rally in his life but was persuaded to take his new camera along to capture a moment or two and has been hooked on the sport ever since.  Rory and Jonty won the event and Neil's photos turned out pretty well.  We went on to cover all 8 rounds of the Cup in 2000 and began to add in information about the other major championships in the UK along the way.

NOW

Now, two years later, we cover BRC, BTRDA, ANCRO, National Tarmac, Scottish, 206 Super Cup, Polo Challenge, WRC, World Junior Rally, and have extended our interests beyond good old Blighty to cover the SCCA ProRally Series in North America and have a whole section devoted to rallying in Kenya.

The matching service has gone from strength to strength, and we publish press releases, reports and photos from competitors all over the UK and throughout the world.  Jonty moved on to other things at the end of 2000 but both Kielder Computers Ltd. and the rallycodriver website continue to grow.

The site has sections on car preparation, technical specs, rally photography and features a beginner's guide to rallying which covers co-drivers, drivers, marshalls, spectators, motor clubs, licences, PR, and more.  The site attracts advertisers from companies in car preparation, competition insurance, and rally services of all kinds.  There is a rally shop, with secure credit card facilities, where you can advertise your rally or performance car for sale for a fixed fee, with no time limit, and buy photographs and certificates for the rally enthusiast.

We have regular visitors from Spain, Belgium, Australia, Argentina, Japan, Cyprus, Qatar, Latvia and Russia and lots, lots more countries.  There is a real appetite for rallying out there and it's clear that the rest of the world recognises the UK as the ‘nerve centre’ for rally motorsport.

There are more manufacturers than ever before competing at the top level and four of those teams have bases in the UK where we have three top line drivers and six top line co-drivers competing on a regular basis in this year’s World Rally Championship 

THE FUTURE

Kielder Computers Limited is committed to the present and the future of rallying.  We want to encourage both new starters and old hands alike by providing the best ‘search and find’ and event information services that we can. 

We will be working together with other companies and individuals, who have the same level of commitment to rallying, in an effort to provide the further services and information which our 'surfers' are asking for.

Kim Bolsover
Neil Broadbent
Kielder Computers Ltd.
7/3/02

In 1985, we bought an off-the-shelf limited company which had a particularly dreadful name  - so it had to go! The new company was named after probably the most famous stage on the RAC Rally (now known as the Network Q or Rally GB)

Sounds simple enough?  Not really.......  

You will be relieved to know that Kim vetoed Dyfi immediately - how do you explain to a potential computer client who has never even heard of the RAC Rally that this is pronounced 'Dovey' (as in 'lovey dovey')?

The next suggestion was even worse - Clocaenog.  I ask you?  Even I can't say it properly every time.  And can you imagine the world and his mother trying to spell it?

Penmachno was another one that went in the bin and the other suggestions are totally unprintable.  

Finally, we managed to agree on Kielder. We still have to spell it out for most people but have some laughs telling them the story of how Kielder Computers Ltd. got its name.

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