MARTIN I DROVE THE BEST CAR IN THE BEST ERA ROWE
There are probably quite a few people who are incredibly jealous of Martin Rowe. Competing – and winning – in the British Rally Championship during the late 1990s meant he drove in one of the most revered eras of Formula 2 Kit Cars.And he arguably drove the greatest car of them all: the Renault Maxi Megane.
Rowe won the BRC in ’98 and the one-off Formula Rally series in 2001 after an intense battle with Justin Dale that was decided by the stewards, and then went on to win a world title for production cars in 2003 and the Chinese Rally Championship in 2006.
Now enjoying life in Whistler, Canada, the Manxman took time to discuss topics such as his relationship with the late Richard Burns, why Derek Ringer might have regretted partnering him and Robbie Head’s 1997 Manx International retirement as well as far more pressing issues like giving away toothpaste to strangers, stroking cars and roller coasters. Speaking of which…
Question: What three words would you use to describe your career?
George Butler Via email
Martin Rowe: “Passion, as obviously it’s a sport I’m passionate about; determination as you’ve got to be determined to keep on trying to get the results and then roller coaster! Because obviously sometimes you are right in the bottom of that dip and you’re just coming down off a huge high off a rally and then thinking ‘OK I’m not going to drive for the next month or longer’and you’ve got all the adrenaline or the lows from what you’ve just achieved or not, and then you start the climb back up to try and get back to that high point before you start off on the next event.”
MN: What do you think would be the perfect blend?
MR: “The perfect blend would be success, fun and excitement, but it’s never like that! You could put like trophies, champagne and five-star hotels but no, that’s a lie.”
Question: With the benefit of hindsight it’s clear you were competing in amongst a golden generation of British drivers, but did it feel like that at the time?
Raymond Day Via email
“You didn’t really sit back and think about it. You were just sort of swept along on the wave of everybody else being involved and it was good for the sport in Britain obviously because you can hear
