RICHARDS: TELLING ARI WHERE TO GO

David Richards sat alongside Ari Vatanen during their epic season in 1981 and had a firsthand insight into the skills of the man at the wheel and the trials and tribulations they had to go through to claim the silverware.

During an evening at the RAC Club earlier this year, the pair were reunited to remember that wonderful achievement. We listened in as Richards described just exactly what it was that made this duo stand on top of the world.

Question: What was it you saw in Ari that tempted you to commit to him?

David Richards: “You could tell in those days he was a great character and we had … When we did the Scottish Rally, we went all the way to Scotland in this Opel Ascona. And it was quite a long event and the car eventually had holes in the floor. It was more dangerous being hit by the stones coming through the floor than anything else. Ari won ‘Man of the Rally’ and we got a gallon of Scotch, a great big bottle! Ari took it back to Finland and it got lost…”

Ari Vatanen: “Yes, I didn’t see my brother for six months!”

“But we came back from Scotland in that