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Personal
Name:	DAMIEN LONG
Age:	30
Marital status:	Married
Children:	Not as yet
Occupation:	Co-driver and part-time accountant
Place of birth:	Sydney, Australia
Country or county where you live:	London, UK
Does your spouse / partner like rallying?	Yes, very much so. Met her through rallying.
Any other hobbies?	Travelling, jet-skiing, bush-walking, tennis and gardening (when we used to have one in Sydney; no chance in London - too expensive!)
Your opinions
Favourite food:	Thai or Vietnamese
Favourite drink:	Bundaberg Rum and coke
Favourite motorsport paper / magazine:	Motoring News / Rallysport magazine
Favourite sports person (other than rallying):	Pat Rafter and Emma George ( a very attractive Australian pole vaulter - no joke!)
Favourite film star:	Russell Crowe
Favourite holiday destination:	Tuscany and Umbria in Italy, or South Island of New Zealand
Which TV sports programmes do you watch?	Anything to do with rallying, tennis and, sometimes, F1
Starting out
How did you start out?	Saw a rally on television when I was 8 years old and couldn't believe it. Convinced my Dad to take me to the Castrol International Rally in Canberra in 1979, which featured Ari Vatanen / Dave Richards in a works BDA Escort and Stig Blomqvist in a factory Saab. Became instantly hooked and spectated for a few years until Dad's company was approached to sponsor a leading car and the guy took us for a run one night in a forest near Sydney. We both decided we had to get into the sport (didn't sponsor the car!) and bought a 2 litre Escort in 1984. I was 14 years old and the youngest ever co-driver at that time. Have been rallying every year ever since and can't imagine life without it!
First driver you sat with:	My Dad, John Long (now 53 and still getting faster!)
First event:	Road and Rally 500, Sunny Corner Forest, near Sydney (ironically, the wettest place in NSW and not very sunny at all!)
Rallying background
Type of licence held:	International (MSA UK)
Which motor club do you belong to?	North Shore Sporting Car Club in Sydney
Do you contribute towards your rallying?	No, only organisation and promotion
Have you ever driven on a rally?	No, although I came very close. Dad tore his Achilles tendon the night before a rally and I was going to drive and he co-drive but he managed to strap up his (left) foot and do the rally. Finished second outright, but had to strap the crutches into the boot of the car, as he couldn't walk. Got lots of TV exposure!
Did you ever marshal on events? When and where?	Yes, have been road director on a few State Rallies in New South Wales. Have also done the odd time control.
How many events do you get to watch? (eg. per year)	4 or 5
How many rallies do you take part in? (eg. per year)	Normally about 8 - 10
Have you competed abroad? Where and when?	Australia, New Zealand, China, South Korea and New Caledonia
Your opinions on rallying
Favourite rally car:	Subaru WRC 2000
Favourite rally driver:	Richard Burns
Favourite rally co-driver:	Luis Moya
Favourite bit of road or forest:	Any stage in New Zealand. Rallying heaven!
Do you prefer pace notes or map reading events?	Pace notes
Things you dislike about rallying?	5am starts, such as in New Zealand WRC. Very anti-social! Picky scrutineers who don't work in the spirit of the sport. The ludicrous suggestion of a "1000 Pistes" recce system for WRC. What happened to the old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"?
Who do you think will win this year's World Rally Championship?	Richard Burns / Robert Reid
Rallying history
Drivers you have sat with:	J.Y. Park, Hideaki Miyoshi, Marty Beckton, John Long, Miles Sandy, Brett Middleton, Mark Haybittle, Possum Bourne (testing) and Neal Bates (testing)
Best driver you have ever sat with?	Possum Bourne (hope none of the other drivers see this!)
Best result:	First F2 1997 555 China Rally 1st Privateer 1998 Australian Rally Championship
Worst result:	2000 Rally New Zealand WRC 46 hours of flying to do 17.7 km of stage, before the car caught fire!
Championships contested:	Asia Pacific Rally Championship 00 Korean Rally Championship 99 Australian Rally Championship 91 - 99 New South Wales Rally Championship 84 - 98
Best Championship result:	1999 Korean Rally Champion 1998 Australian Privateer Champion 1994 Australian F2 Champion
Best rally memory:	Being bogged in recce at Rally Australia in 92 and having Carlos Sainz, Luis Moya, Juha Kankkunen, Juha Piironen, Didier Auriol and Bernard Occelli all push / pull our car out of the mud! Wish I'd had my camera with me!
Strangest incident on a rally:	Winning a rally in Korea last year by eleven and a half minutes over 75km of competitive stages. Five of the eight cars behind us all crashed on the last stage!
Biggest accident:	1996 Rally Australia Hit a Flame Tree on my side of the car on the Langley Park Super Special. 130 km/h to 0 km/h in 1 second - ouch! Had triple vision for over two hours and I still have to crack a rib into place when I wake up in the morning!
Achievements from rallying:	Have been able to travel the world and see parts of countries which you would otherwise never see as a tourist. Uncountable life-long friendships and opportunities to meet childhood heroes.
Your current performance
How could you improve your ‘own’ current performance?	Improve fitness - becoming more and more important, especially in Asia, where it is so hot and humid.
How could you improve your current driver's performance?	Get him out of F2 Korean cars and into a four-wheel drive car. Improve his English (or my Korean) so that we can put more information into our notes.
If you had £50,000 to spend on rallying, what would you do?	It sounds horribly selfish but put it towards co-driving for a future star!
Your future in rallying
Where would you most like to compete (in the world):	UK and Europe. Have been living in the UK since January this year and haven't done a rally over here yet!! Please ring me!!
Which rally would you most like to compete in?	Rally Finland
Which driver(s) would you most like to co-drive for?	Richard Burns or Colin McRae (everyone has their dreams)
Ambition in rallying for the future:	To make a full-time career of the sport. Still need to have a real job as well to pay the bills.
What would you like to put back into rallying?	To organise events and promote young drivers / co-drivers, once my co-driving days are over.
The future of rallying
Which up-and-coming rally driver can you recommend?	Cody Crocker, a very fast young Australian driver. Just look at his times in Rally New Zealand in a Group N car beating WRC cars. Marty Beckton or Simon Evans, as well.
Which up-and-coming rally co-driver can you recommend?	Me, of course!
What would be the best tip you could give to other co-drivers?	Never believe that you are beyond learning and speak to as many other co-drivers as you can. You'll be amazed at what they'll tell you and what you will pick up. Do as many rallies as possible and, these days, really concentrate on being a pace note specialist. There is so much to be gained by having great notes. Most importantly - have fun. You'll be amazed how much more you can achieve when you are enjoying yourself.
Any other comments	Thanks to Jonty and www.rallycodriver.co.uk A great idea and a great site.
posted 19/7/2000

Damien co-drives for J.Y. Park contesting the Asia Pacific Rally Championship.

Read his excellent rally report: exploits on the New Zealand WRC