6 replies to this topic

[Nanni Dietrich]

Martin Holmes, one of the World rallying's most experienced and most respected journalist and author, passed away. He also was a talented rally co-driver, guiding until the mid-1980s a number of great rally drivers, such as Chris Sclater, Timo Mäkinen, Kyosti Hämäläinen, Billy Coleman, Andy Dawson, Erik Aaby, Shekhar Mehta and Jon Haugland, to name just a few. Sad news, indeed.

[proviz]

Martin hasn't quite had the recognition he deserves, but I dare say he was - and is - due some more.

[BRG]

Sad news indeed.  Martin has clocked in a bit too early at his final time control.

 

I knew Martin a little from when we were both members of Sutton & Cheam Motor Club.  I was always the tallest person at our club nights - unless Martin arrived!   He kindly signed my copy of his book on how to go rallying at one club night.  It had been a present from a well-meaning relative who hadn't grasped that I had already gone rallying and could probably have written the book myself (although far, far less well than the real author!).  

 

Martin was, I think, a lawyer by trade and maybe was never prepared to take the final plunge into full-time professional co-driving, so although he had a distinguished roll-call of drivers, as Nanni says in his OP, he never settled with one of the very top guys.  He was of course a writer and journalist as well and these seem to have taken over from his actual competing.  I also wonder if his height - he was a good 6ft 6in or more - also made the top teams less  keen, not wanting to lug a big bloke around when they could get a shrimp to do the job.  

 

One of his last big rallies was the Lombard RAC Rally with Jean Ragnotti in the works Renault 5 Turbo.  We were watching at the down hill hairpin near the old mill in Penmachno forest in Wales.  'Jeannot' arrived too fast and the 5 swopped ends and headed down the escape road backwards.  We rushed to push it - unnecessarily as it happened - and I could hear Martin shouting at Jean to get on with it as they shot off again, to finish 5th, a very good result for a tarmac specialist  driver and car on a gravel rally without pace notes.

 

Martin was one of the two navigators/co-drivers to whom I really looked up and sought to emulate in my own rallying efforts, modest though they were.  The other was Nigel Raeburn, also sadly passed on. I was privileged to have known both of them.

 

RIP Martin.

[Myhinpaa]

His contribution to rallying through his understanding of it and his ability to describe and document it through his journalism is immense.

On the '80 RAC he sat next to Timo Makinen in an Acton prepared and run Rothmans Escort where Timo gave a solid performance to finsih 6th O/A.

The next year Ragnotti drove for him ;) in a works Renault 5 Turbo to 5th, which was very impressive considering all the odds were against them

 

This was to be his last two WRC drives.

 

Some nice words here in a few magazine he contributed to : http://overdrive.in/...olmes-has-died/

 

                                                                                                 https://rallysportmag.com/rsm-rallying-has-lost-a-giant-of-the-sport/

 

One of his more unfortunate reasons for fame was when he was co-driving for Jussi Kinselehto on the '75 1000 Lakes in an ex-works RS1600

Not having the budget or time to recce all the stages properly so Henry Liddon allowed Martin to copy some of his pace notes for Timo.

 

Among the stages not recced was SS23 Raikuu, a stage Timo knew well and in a series of three crests Timo didn't think the first one was necessary

to put in the notes as it could be taken absolutely flat. So the third crest became the "second" in his notes and that was a triple caution one!

So when Jussi and Martin had passed the second one they assumed it was all go from then one, then they came to the third one....

 

https://rallysportma...nish-folk-hero/

 

They jumped over 70 metres and the car was virtually destroyed when it landed, luckily without any serious injuries to the crew.

 

https://s3.amazonaws...291cc86fb_l.jpg

 

https://s3.amazonaws...915d6da83_l.jpg

 

His contributions to rallying is enormous and his series of "World Rallying" books from 1978 to 2011 gives unrivalled insight of the period.

 

RIP Martin.

 

https://rallysportma...holiday-job.jpg

 

https://rallysportma...wman-Holmes.jpg

 

 

PS. Must his enormous archives remain intact and come to a safe place to be used as reference for historians, authors and enthusiasts!

Edited by Myhinpaa, 15 June 2020 - 11:47.

[Ardmore]

RIP Martin. All rally fans owe you a great deal for what you did in recording the history of the sport we love. This is Martin with his cameras in New Zealand in 1987.

 

 

 

 

[GMiranda]

RIP.... A terrible loss

[Nick Wa]

 I know not how but I found myself doing some South Eastern Association rally with Martin. I picked him up from his home and when we got onto the A25 I apologised for the rattle trap clapped out Lotus Cortina Mk1 which had endured the worst Motoring News & the Forestry Commission could subject it to. Martin's reply "I like a car that talks, it shows its been used hard". Anyway we duly won the event so we did a few more. Comes the weekend when he says can you pick me at Waterloo Station I'm doing an event on the Isle of Wight first. Come Saturday evening there is Martin off the Portsmouth train in muddy blood stained overalls clutching his helmet and maps.
What happened?
https://rallysportma...-cortina-crash/
Are you ok....Yes.
So off we go to rally in deepest Kent, it was a typical Kent rally 4 minutes was long section! On some of the shorter sections Martin throws up out of the open window but I am instructed not to ease up and he never looses his place on the maps. I concluded Martin has concussion but we still win with 2 or 3 minutes to spare. After winning the the Whitsend we go off to the big stuff Motoring News in Wales. Now there is a tenner for fastest on each "selective", Fidler wins the first, we collect the second. However after about 4 selectives I conclude Martin can navigate faster than I can drive and the poor old Cortina has had enough punishment.

 

Martin was a lawyer by trade.
So a year later I want to increase my mortgage to build 2 stables and a double garage, an appointment is made for the building society's rep. to inspect and approve the project.

Who turns up?..........Martin wearing his other hat.

Move to '69 RAC Martin is none too happy we with a 1100 Escort are seeded a couple cars in front of him and Sclater in Withers Twin Cam, the odd occasion they caught us we let them through pretty pronto.

Then Galway (74?) Martin organises all the Brits to descend on the local scrutineers with their little yellow books and homologation papers to prove we can run in group 2 with 4 spotlights even if Irish law says you are allowed  only 2 additional lamps.

Finally standing in a paddock in Northam W.A. I reckon the gent inside the rope track side seems familiar so I call him over and we have a final chat.

 

God's speed and see you soon Mate.

Nick.

Edited by Nick Wa, 16 June 2020 - 08:41.