Crash Test Dummies: Atko bros help Ken’s Monster asphalt effort

Atko and Block during the Rally de Espana in October

With regular co-driver Stephane Prevot contesting both rallies with Stobart Ford man Henning Solberg (whose regular co-driver Ilka Minor was forced out of the events with a rib injury), Atko called on the services of brother Ben for the Gravel Crew job.

This was the first time since 2005 the Atko bros had worked together and the pair will be teaming up again during this weekend’s China Rally – the final round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship.

With Block contesting his first ever asphalt event on Rallye de France he sent praise to the Atkinson brothers whose experience of the French event really helped with an extensive noting of all safety hazards.

“This was my first tarmac race in the wet, and it was quite a challenge,” says Block. “It was also our first time using a gravel crew to adjust our notes—something I am now grateful for because without Chris and Ben Atkinson’s changes, it could’ve been a disaster. The sporadic rain left many sections a muddy mess. At points I thought we’d be better off on gravel tires!”

Atko’s experience of Gravel Crewing is somewhat limited as opposed to his experience driving in the WRC but the Gold Coaster was more than happy to help out a buddy and roll back into the WRC circus to say g’day to some old friends.

“To be back in amongst the WRC arena was great and I’m glad Ben and I were able to really help Ken and Alex out during the two events. Ken scored his first ever WRC points in Spain and, for an American driver, John Buffum in the 1988 Olympus Rally has been the only other to score points so that’s pretty cool for Ken and so early in his career,” commented Atko. “When you are new to rallying, especially Tarmac rallying, safety notes are extremely vital pieces on information and the way Ken and Alex soaked up the info so well shows how keen they are to learn and develop in the sport.
“Ken’s a quick driver and still crafting his skills in the sport so keep your eye on the Monster Fiesta next season, I reckon he’ll surprise a few for sure!”

So what is a Gravel Crew exactly?

Firstly a Gravel Crew is only required on full asphalt events.

Gravel Crews are already establish rally drivers who head out onto the stages in a road car – much, much earlier than the day’s literary – with their designated competitors pacenotes in hand. The Gravel Crew then drive each stage prior to the actual competition stage start and mark down on their designated competitor’s pacenotes any safety hazards that might play havoc when they tackle the stages during the day.

This all has to be done very early on before the Gravel Crew meet with their WRC crew prior to the stage to hand back their pacenotes with the safety hazards marked accordingly.

“Safety hazards” on asphalt events could be:

Loose gravel on the road – hence the term ‘Gravel Crew’. This is the most common safety issue faced by WRC drivers on asphalt events. Gravel on the road occurs from Reconnaissance over the previous two days when gravel, mud and dirt is often flicked onto the hard surface due to the entire field cutting corners, twice over. While ‘Recce’ is capped with an 80kph speed limit, teams will often practice the correct line for tricky corners, cutting the edges and spraying the roads with gravel. With an asphalt setup, and low-profile asphalt tyres a WRC car can be a death trap on gravel covered tarmac roads if the gravel is not properly noted by the Gravel Crew.

Weather or wet patches on the roads. Often if rain has fallen the night before a rally, corners that are shaded by over-hanging trees stay damp and can catch out even the best WRC drivers.

Wildlife. Sounds silly but when you travel the world racing your 300+bhp World Rally Car in over 13 countries you’re bound to come across a fair share of different wildlife. While many will disburse quickly to the deafening sound of a WRC car exhaust system, a herd of cows could quite happily sit in the middle of the road all day. At 200kph over a blind crest straight into a cow – rally over.

Loss of asphalt. Again due to vigorous cutting of corners by competitors during Recce – especially when rain is involved – sometimes parts of asphalt roads will literally disappear and this must be noted by Gravel Crews as the low suspension Tarmac setup is not designed to take the heavy impact a broken asphalt road might throw at the car.

Safety in Rallying is not just restricted to car safety, it pertains to so many areas of the sport and fortunately WRC teams, working together with the FIA, have made vast improvements over the years to ensure the safety of all involved is paramount.