The live off-stage thrill Monte Carlo Rally delivered

DirtFish is open to working with commerical partners to deliver more livestreams after last week's in Monte Carlo

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“Five… four… three… two… one.”

If Brenten Kelly (DirtFish head of brand) ever fancies becoming a co-driver, he’ll get a solid reference from me. Clear, concise and calming, his delivery in my ear helped ease the stress of the moment.

I wasn’t quite on the start-line – although the first time control of the 2025 World Rally Championship season was just behind me – nor was I about to launch a rally car.

Instead, I had the honor of speaking to you and launching DirtFish’s coverage of the new season alongside my colleagues David Evans and Colin Clark. As soon as I opened my mouth, I would be doing so for the next three hours.

I don’t remember what I actually came out with first. In rehearsals, I mixed it up every time and sure enough, standing tall on the balcony of Cafe de Paris with Monaco’s Casino Square for a backdrop, I let the moment take control. You can rewatch the stream over on YouTube and let me know what I said (and if it was any good!).

But that entire experience, one week ago today, is one I won’t ever forget. What better way to ramp up the new season than chewing the fat with those who’ll shape it, all while giving away exclusive merchandise courtesy of Toyota Gazoo Racing?

The reigning manufacturers’ champion was instrumental in making this vision a reality – particularly PR guru Hans de Bauw. His help enabled us to make the splash we had intended, and you get your hands on some mega (signed) rally memorabilia.

It likely goes without saying, but I can assure you pulling something like this off is not the work of a moment. Hours of discussion, Google meets and equipment testing were poured in to deliver this product.

I had the easy bit. All I had to do was engage David and Colin (who, let’s he honest, don’t need much encouragement to natter), sell the competition to you (again, it basically sold itself!) and ask drivers and team principals some questions (which is a fundamental part of my job).

It’s the work of Brenten, Eliot Barnard and Alasdair Lindsay that truly made this happen. Before David, Colin and I even arrived in Monte Carlo these three were already in the principality, trialling everything and creating failsafes to make sure absolutely nothing we could control would even go wrong. Even elements we couldn’t, they were devising solutions to mitigate those too.

It’s because of them that what you saw looked so smooth. But as ever with live production, you must always be prepared to go off-piste. Unexpectedly welcoming Andreas Mikkelsen into the fold was one moment of gold, as was getting the lowdown from the WRC’s new #1 Thierry Neuville under an hour before his title defense officially began.

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Driver turnover got a touch hectic at times which was a shame, but only added to the adrenalin as I was told “Elfyn’s coming in hot” or “we need to wrap this up, Thierry is waiting”. Dealing with evolving circumstances is what rallying’s all about after all!

Sébastien Ogier however was the highlight for me. Delivering quality lines like a snowy Monte being the rally’s “true livery” and reminding the world of his incredible stat (at the time) of eight wins and four second places in his last 12 Monte starts. I was particularly pleased to hear that one as I’d actually worked that out the night before, so if Séb said it it must have been accurate!

From Munster’s gear ratios to Fourmaux’s James Bond Casino Royale movie quotes and McErlean’s wonderment to simply be where he was, there was a flavor of everything.

As we wrapped, the exhale was enormous. My knees had almost locked solid having stood in the same spot for three hours; my shoulders freed of the weight of expectation and pressure to deliver. Our entire week had been leading up to this – all we had left was the small matter of reporting on the first round of the World Rally Championship!

Thank you very much for joining us on the venture. I’m sure it won’t be the last time we meet like this.

Interested in partnering with DirtFish on our next livestream? Want to see how we can make our numbers work for you? Contact media@dirtfish.com for details.

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