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Personal
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Name:
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PETER CROFT
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Age:
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49 |
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Marital status:
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Married |
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Children:
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2 |
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Occupation:
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Consultant |
| Place of birth: |
Bradford |
| Country or county where you live: |
North Yorkshire |
| Does your spouse / partner like rallying? |
Not particularly |
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Any other hobbies?
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Motorsport, socialising, travel and food |
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Your opinions
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Favourite food:
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Seafood |
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Favourite drink:
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A good red wine |
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Favourite motorsport paper / magazine:
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Motoring News |
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Favourite sports person (other than rallying):
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Jenson Button |
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Favourite film star:
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Julia Roberts |
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Favourite holiday destination:
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Italy |
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Which TV sports programmes do you watch?
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Any motorsport |
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Starting out
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How did you start out?
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Leeds University Motor club doing 12
car rallies |
| First driver you sat with: |
Steve Gash - 12 car |
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First event:
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A 12 car in a Morris 1000 traveller -
Airedale and Pennine Motor Club |
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Rallying background
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Type of licence held:
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International
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Which motor club do you belong to?
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Durham MC |
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Do you contribute towards your rallying?
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By getting sponsorship and buying maps,
navigator's equipment and drinks, etc. |
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Have you ever driven on a rally?
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Two 12 cars - finished 3rd and 6th |
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Did you ever marshal on events? When and where?
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Many, from the RAC to 12 cars but back
in the days of Bob Bean and Jack Tordoff |
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How many events do you get to watch? (eg. per year)
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Maybe 2 or 3. I prefer to participate. |
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How many rallies do you take part in? (eg. per year)
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15 to 20 |
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Have you competed abroad? Where and when?
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Yes. France, Belgium, Irish Republic,
Corsica, Portugal all in the last 10 years. |
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Your opinions on rallying
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Favourite rally car:
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Lancia Stratos |
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Favourite rally driver:
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Colin McRae |
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Favourite rally co-driver:
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Luis Moya |
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Favourite bit of road or forest:
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Comb |
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Do you prefer pace notes or map reading events?
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I like both |
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Things you dislike about rallying?
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Events are getting too sterilised
and stages too short. |
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Who do you think will win this year's World Rally Championship?
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Colin McRae |
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Rallying history
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Drivers you have sat with:
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Barry Johnson, Steve Petch,
Yuk Hodgson, Mark Higgins, Simon Davison, Ben Briant, Ryan Champion,
Steve Smith, Charlie Payne, Shunichi Washio, Atsumi Yashida, Tim Johnson,
Sam Petch. |
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Best driver you have ever sat with?
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Mark Higgins |
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Best result:
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3rd overall 1999 - Terre
de Corse
3rd overall 1996 - Pirelli International |
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Worst result:
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Not getting to the start
ramp of 1993 Granite City after team had worked all night on the car |
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Championships contested:
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ANCRO - 2000
Scottish - 2000
Mintex - 1993 - 1999
BTRDA Clubmans 1992
ANCC - 1992 |
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Best Championship result:
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Mintex Gp N Champion - 1996
and 1997 |
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Best rally memory:
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Many good memories but the
best were:
3rd overall 1999 Terre de Corse in Corsica
2nd in class and 20th o/a 1991 Portuguese in a 1600cc Corolla
My first RAC
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Strangest incident on a rally:
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Crossing a bridge in Falstone
stage in Kielder with my side of the car hanging over a 20 foot drop
to the river below. We couldn't stop laughing for the next half
mile. |
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Biggest accident:
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1997 Pirelli International
- Wauchope Forest at 70mph - double roll when we bent every panel on
the car |
| Achievements gained from
rallying: |
It has taught me a lot about
team work as no rally crew can function on their own without a good
back up team and preparation.
It is also one of the friendliest forms of sport and I have made many
new friends within the years I have been involved. |
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Your current performance
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How could you improve your ‘own’ current performance?
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You never stop learning.
Keep an open mind and try and pick up on any ideas that other people
may have. |
| How could you improve your
current driver's performance? |
Navigating for two people
this year. One is an old hand and the other brand new.
I believe with both it is really a matter
of getting them to concentrate and cut down on the distractions and
also make them feel at ease by taking away any additional worries.
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If you had £50,000 to spend on rallying, what would you do?
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Do more foreign events with
the best car / driver combination I could afford. |
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Your future in rallying
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Where would you most like to compete (in the world):
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Anywhere that there is a
well organised and competitive event. The great thing about rallying
is diversity. |
| Which rally would you most
like to compete in? |
1000 Lakes (Rally of Finland) |
| Which driver(s) would you
most like to co-driver for? |
Colin McRae or Carlos Sainz |
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Ambition in rallying for the future:
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I'm getting too old for
ambitions, but I would like to do some of the foreign rounds of the
World Championship in a competitive car |
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What would you like to put back into rallying?
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I think that once I have
hung up my helmet I would perhaps like to do some organising of events
and put in to them the lessons I have learned as a co-driver.
It would also be good to try and influence some of the RAC MSA decision-making
process so it truly reflects what the clubmen and spectators want /
need rather than just pander to the works' teams and television. |
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The future of rallying
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Which up-and-coming rally driver can you recommend?
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Barry Johnson |
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Which up-and-coming rally
co-driver can you recommend?
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Me, naturally |
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What would be the best tip you could give to other co-drivers?
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Ask, listen and question.
Try map reading - it can be fun. |
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| Any other
comments |
Rallying
must be the greatest sport in the world and has given millions of people
a lot of pleasure over the years. Please do not let rallying,
as we know it, die for the sake of publicity for the few and knee jerk
environmental reaction.
The beauty of rallying has always been that the clubman can compete
on the same events and rub shoulders with the top level of the sport
and sometimes give them a shock. Let's not lose this for the
commercial requirements of the multi-nationals.
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