Given the opportunity to go behind the scenes with Team DirtFish on the final round of the World Rally Championship, and the first ever WRC rally in Saudi Arabia, there was one question uppermost in my mind.
With not a cloud in the sky and temperatures well into the 30s over each of the three days, would David Evans ever take off the ever-present sweater?
Before I give the answer to this intriguing question, and we get into just what it’s like being on a rally with the DirtFish team, I have a confession.
I love our sport. When it touches you there is no looking back, and nothing can match the sheer drama, excitement and adrenaline rush of seeing the best drivers in the world pushing a rally car to the limit on Tarmac, gravel, snow and now desert stages.
The breadth of conditions these athletes have to master across a competitive season is unrivalled in any other sport, the images that it creates unparalleled. And I use the word athletes here to emphasize this point – WRC is competing against every other sport for consumer attention, and even the biggest sporting competitions in the world can only dream of such a selling point.
I’ve worked in many sports across my career in broadcast and media and been lucky enough to be involved on the front line of the WRC – but that was more than 20 years ago and a lot has changed since. With the future of WRC at a crossroads in every sense – new regulations, new promoter, disgruntled drivers and teams – there’s a lot to take in for one rally.
But that’s all for another day – today is my first day on the road with DirtFish and I want to see just how they bring us, the fans, the best rally content out there. It all starts at 5:30am in the morning on day one, and it’s good to see no matter what sport you work in, the first priority of the day remains resolutely the same – coffee.
For all the talk of long days for the drivers, they’re also long days for Team DirtFish. Gone are the days when a journalist would follow the event, gather quotes during the day and then file an evening report or a longer piece at the end of the rally. Today it’s all about social – there’s Instagram, YouTube, X, Facebook and TikTok, and that’s before we even get to the DirtFish website and the exclusive Club DirtFish content.
Luckily for us, pretty much every rally brings bucketloads of action, drama and key talking points, and getting the inside line and firsthand reports of the key moments is what sets DirtFish apart from every other media organization covering the sport.
The relationships Colin and David have established are delightful to witness, writes Paul
We’ve gotten used to watching clips and reading analysis by Colin Clark and David Evans from almost every major incident that happens on a rally, and seeing the way the team spring into action the moment a story breaks is most impressive. The energy and the passion to chase THE story, that willingness to go to almost any lengths to get up close and speak to the drivers to give us, the rally fans, the feeling of almost being there ourselves, no matter how hard it is to locate and access the unfolding drama.
So after spending three days on the road, covering hundreds of kilometers, countless stage starts and stage ends, together with the end of day media zones, what are the key takeaways?
What is abundantly clear from seeing Team DirtFish with the drivers is the absolute respect, camaraderie and friendship they all have with David and Colin. Yes these two have been covering the sport for a long time, but rallying, like anything in life, is all about relationships – and the relationships and trust they have built with every driver is what gives them the access and opportunities that, in turn, brings us the most detailed, incisive and informed words out there.
When drivers are in a moment of crisis or despair and they see David or Colin looking for their words, they know they are sharing the moment with a trusted friend. And that’s when we get to see the absolute gold that those moments bring – the raw emotion direct from the heat of competition.
It’s also quite clearly a huge team effort. Whilst Colin and David brought us all the live content from Saudi, the ever-present Eliot Barnard is quite literally a one-man production house, who has either a camera, microphone, laptop or a combination of all three in his hands literally every moment of the day. Back in the UK, Luke Barry and Alasdair Lindsay are ever present, with videos, images, audio files and edited content pinging back and forth throughout the day and night between the team.
As the rally drew to a close, the final media zone had a real end of season feel to it, but with the added significance that this wasn’t just the last time many would see each other this year. For Ott Tänak and Kalle Rovanperä, this could be the last time they would ever be seen competitively at a WRC event, and moments like this when two of the biggest stars bow out don’t come around often in any sport.
Off camera there were warm smiles, laughter and hugs all round as each final interview was done, a mark of the genuine warmth and affection all the drivers have for the guys. And yes, that even included Ott Tänak. Although I doubt he’ll miss Colin’s early morning interviews before the first stage of each day!
So back to that all important question, and the one you’re all no doubt wanting to know the answer too. No, David did not take off the sweater. Not even once in the 16 hours of each day I spent with him. I just hope he brought more than one in his suitcase.
