Don Barrow, 'King of the Navigators'
- a title conferred upon him in 1995 by Eric Bailey, Motoring Correspondent for the Daily Telegraph, after over 30 years as a top British co-driver

The photo on the right shows Don (second from the left) with Willy Cave, Colin Francis and Paddy Hopkirk on the Donor Card Gran Turismo on Oct 12th 2002
Photo courtesy of Dave Shields

read all about it..........

Personal

Name:

Don Barrow

Age:

60+ now a senior

Marital status:

Yes

Children:

Twins – Baz and Viv born in 1964

Occupation:

S/E Semi retired – Rally Navigation Equipment Supplier

Place of birth:

Wilmslow, Cheshire

Country or county where you live:

England

Does your spouse / partner like rallying?

Yes, my wife Gill didn’t have much option

Any other hobbies?

Love tinkering around in my workshop and I also have a couple of classic Cars, one of which is a MK1 Lotus Cortina similar to the one which gave Jim Bullough and myself numerous Rally Championship wins.

Your opinions

Favourite food:

Italian and Indian

Favourite drink:

Red wines – Rioja – Merlot

Favourite motorsport paper / magazine:

Used to like Motoring News – but my name is taboo when they review their 10 – 20 – 30 years ago.

Favourite sports person (other than rallying):

Damon Hill

Favourite film star:

Elizabeth Taylor

Favourite holiday destination:

Italy

Which TV sports programmes do you watch?

Motor Racing & Rallying

Starting out

How did you start out?

I knocked on this guy’s front door one Sunday afternoon and asked if he wanted a navigator.
“Can you navigate?” he asked.
 “Well, yes, I think so.”

First driver you sat with:

George Hulme - 1955 Renault Dauphine – about 36.5 turns from lock to lock when he lost it, which was quite frequently.

First event:

Lancs & Cheshire Car Club – Tricolour Rally – which we won.

Rallying background

Type of licence held:

International

Which motor club do you belong to?

HRCR
Knutsford & Dist MC
Stockport M C

Do you contribute towards your rallying?

No

Have you ever driven on a rally?

Yes

Did you ever marshal on events?  When and where?

Yes – UK – Belgium – France and still do

How many events do you get to watch?  (e.g. per year)

2 - 4

How many rallies do you take part in?  (e.g. per year)

Just the odd one now

Have you competed abroad? Where and when?

Holland, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria – mainly in the 1960s

Your opinions (rallying)

Favourite rally car:

‘Works’ Austin Healey 3000

Favourite rally driver:

Timo Makinen

Favourite rally co-driver:

I cannot think of one, we used to hate each other

Favourite bit of road or forest:

I quite liked the maze in and around Dolgellau

Do you prefer pace notes or map reading events?

Map reading - I hated Stage events

Things you dislike about rallying?

Rally organisers who scrubbed sections because a minority of competitors got it wrong; thus, those that got it right had to protest and appear to be the villains.

Who do you think will win the World Rally Championship in 2002?

Marcus Gronholm

Rallying history

Drivers you have sat with:

Best driver you have ever sat with?

Timo Makinen

Best result:

2^nd overall 1964 RAC Rally
3^rd overall 1967 RAC Rally

Worst result:

There’s no such thing, you achieve the best result possible given the circumstances.

Championships contested:

Motoring News Championship
BTRDA Silver Star Championship
BTRDA Gold Star Championship
RAC Rally Championship

Best Championship result:

Winner of –
Motoring News Championships 1963 – 1964 – 1967 – 1970
RAC Rally Champion – 1967
BTRDA Silver Star Champion - 1962 – 1963 – 1967
BTRDA Gold Star Champion  - 1970

Best rally memory:

Partaking in such a magnificent Sport over the years; they are all happy memories.

Strangest incident on a rally:

Being stopped and threatened by an irate farmer with a shotgun.

Biggest accident:

Salisbury Plain, on the Chieftan Rally, thanks to the inability of the Clerk of the Course in not giving a warning of a 9-inch deep morass of mud, which was about 60 feet long, following a tank manoeuvre the night before. 

This was on a Special Stage where cars were approaching between 120 – 140 MPH over a slight crest with NO warning whatsoever.  He/they should have been hung, drawn and quartered.  Eric Jackson was hospitalised for 4 weeks in Salisbury.

See the wreckage on my autobiography page www.donbarrow.co.uk/autobiography_stage4.html

Achievements gained from rallying:

Rally navigation certainly makes you into a quick thinker under pressure.

Your current performance

Your current driver(s) and events or Championships being contested in 2002

N/A

If you had £50,000 to spend on rallying, what would you do?

Probably sponsor an up-and-coming driver like my son, Baz Barrow.

Your future in rallying

Ambition in rallying for the future:

I simply hope it survives.  If the MSA reduced the noise decibels by at least 10, yes TEN, and banned straight-cut gear boxes, road rallying would be in a better shape than it is at present.

What would you like to put back into rallying?

Exactly what I do at present - teaching newcomers the art of rally navigation.

The future of rallying

Which up-and-coming rally driver can you recommend?

There are so many kamikaze pilots around, it’s hard to choose.

Which up-and-coming rally co-driver can you recommend?

Tony Mason!

What would be the best tip you could give to other co-drivers?

Get as many events under your belt as possible; there’s no substitute for experience.
 

 Any other comments

Check Don's own website for more information and for Rally Navigation Equipment