RALLY THE GLOBE LIMITED - Key Persons
Andy first got involved with cars working in a garage on weekends and during the school holidays. He bought a Mini after passing his test, and competed in autocross events, before entering forest rallying in his Twin Cam Escort Mk1.
Andy competed as a driver and navigator, with his last competitive drive in 1986 on the Fram Welsh International.
Andy's mechanical knowledge and the fact that he had a support van and trailer led to him assisting with towing and servicing on events. Through friends and contacts he made during this time, he ended up teaming up with Tony Fowkes - a partnership that lasted many years on endurance and historic events as on event support.
The name ‘sweeps' for the mechanical support teams arose from these events, as the support team was usually the last crew to leave and sweep the field, and they never gave up trying to repair competitors vehicles whatever time of day or night.
Having provided ‘behind the scenes' assistance in 2023, Anthony joins the Rally the Globe family full time for the 2024 season. Working as Rally Manager alongside Mark and Fred, he will use his years of experience to help continue the high standards of competitive-yet-friendly events that has become the organisation's trademark.
Anthony began his involvement in classic rally organisation in 1998 when he assisted Mark and others to run events like LE JOG, London to Cape Town and the Inca Trail. These adventures were fitted around his PhD climate research studies at Oxford University.
Having completed his doctorate, Anthony decided to follow the open road rather than staying among the dreaming spires. In 2004, he embarked on a career as a freelance route planner, which has seen him travel the globe, working on numerous well known classic rallies.
Like Mark, Anthony began navigating at a young age. Competing with his father, Mike, in a Hillman Imp and then a Lotus Cortina, they enjoyed multiple successes. Since then, Anthony has had the privilege to compete on many events in the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe, enjoying some notable outright victories.
Dick has been rallying since 1971 when he started to drive on road rallies with his 1965 Morris Cooper S. He soon got involved in organising events up to Motoring News championship level and still helps to run club events. In the late 70's he navigated on stage rallies including the Lombard RAC Rally, the Ypres 24 hours and the Monte Carlo Rally. A spell of autotesting with the same Mini in the 1980's as the family grew up gave way in 1990 to a full rebuild for Historic road rallying.
With son Mark as principle navigator they enjoyed great success, culminating in winning the Safety Devices Road Rally Championship in 1997. Since then Dick has competed regularly on continental road rallies with the Mini, notable results including a win on the Poppy Rally, 1 st 1300cc on the Monte Carlo Historique, and 4 th on the Horneland Rally. When he retired from his work as a Civil Engineer in 2008 he started to specialise in navigating course cars on longer rallies for Historic & Vintage cars. He now spends much of his time navigating, route checking and reporting in the advance cars on major events having done two Trans Americas, 2 Peking to Paris and events in South America, South East Asia and India as well as many events in Europe including 7 Winter Trials. He finds the ‘adventure' exciting and the contribution to making a rally ‘perfect' for the competitors most satisfying.
Recently returned to a new smallholding and conservation campaigning in his native Wales, our Doc has tried to keep team and crews ‘going' during many rallies in remote parts of Asia, Africa and Europe over the past decade. Trained as a GP in the UK, his travel medicine experience has led to decades of travel and supporting expeditions, sports teams, and travellers in the field, combined with 25 years living in India and Africa as medical adviser to the UK Diplomatic service. Happier on a touring cycle than in a car, he tries to keep a bike in the back of the RTG Medic Van when possible, but does also have a 1992 BMW E30 collecting moss in mid-Wales. Why, you might ask!
Fred has been involved in motor sport at the highest level since leaving university. During his 25-year career as a professional co-driver he won five World Rally Championship events as well as the 1997 FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup with the legendary Ari Vatanen. Fred has also been involved in the organisation of events on six continents and is proud to have been Clerk of the Course for the British round of the WRC for 20 consecutive years, a role he also fulfilled in countries as diverse as Kazakhstan and Ivory Coast. He was Rally Director of the Endurance Rally Association from 2015 - 2018 and has led rallies on six continents.
A professional photographer for more than 25 years, Gerard has travelled the world shooting commissions for many and varied clients.
His work has taken him from the world of dog training in the Cotswolds to that of Shaolin monks in China.
Landscape photography, the environment and human interest reportage are some of his personal creative driving forces and he's proud to be a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
Best known however for his work on endurance rallies, Gerard says that he's seen things that you'd never see as either a regular ‘tourist' and has been lucky to have worked in some of the most incredible places on the planet.
Jack started his career working with cars with a modern apprenticeship program in vehicle engineering aged 18. After qualifying, he worked as a restorer on vintage Lagondas and Bentleys at a prestigious firm.
Jack started working for himself 10 years ago, specialising in the preservation and reliability improvements of vintage sports cars.
He has also taken part in a number of rallies all over the world, as both a co-driver and as mechanical support crew.
Most of Jim's career, who joins us as Rally Marshall, was spent with Vauxhall. Before retiring he was responsible for their stands at motor shows and exhibitions. Having an interest in motor sport, Jim says it was a pleasure in the 1990s to look after the company's off-track activities in the British Touring Car Championship and get to know such legends as John Cleland, Yvan Muller and his all-time hero Gerry Marshall.
On retirement, he bought a pair of ex-works Vauxhall Astras which he proceeded to rally with his old mate Peter Stone. Their first event was the World Cup Rally in Tunisia where they crashed, and then they competed in the London to Dakar. In Jim's words "We managed to find the only tree in the Sahara and hit it!"
Jim's first event on the organisational side was the 2010 Peking to Paris. "I've never regretted the move and it's always a pleasure to see the look of satisfaction on the competitors' faces as they cross the finish line at the end of a top-class, well-organised event. I'm looking forward to many more finish lines to come."
John Cotton is a life-long motorsports enthusiast, having competed in many forms of motorsport since 1968, before meeting Gill and introducing her to rallying in 1978.
John and Gill have been competing regularly in rallies at all levels ever since, both as a team and separately. They competed in the early days of historic rallies including many of the late, great Philip Young's events, with John having navigated 5 times on the Monte Carlo Challenge. Gill navigated Alastair Caldwell to victory in the 2002 London to Athens, and Jane Edgington to 8 th overall in the 2012 London to Cape Town World Cup Rallies. Gill has also co-driven on many International rallies including 3 RAC Rallies.
Over the years both Gill and John have been involved in the organisation of rallies, Gill having been Secretary of the UK's biggest Rally Championship for 15 years. Their involvement in organisation of long distance rallies started in 2015 when they joined the "Road to Mandalay" team, and since then they have been on the team of a number of events.
Kitty is our newest member of the team, working in our HQ in Leeds. After 5 years in car rental she decided she wanted a new and exciting challenge, which lead her to Rally the Globe.
Although completely new to Rallying, Kitty enjoys driving whilst on her travels and has done so on 4 different continents. As a massive animal lover, her travel highlights are the Galapagos Islands, Sri Lanka, Australia and 6 months traveling and volunteering through South East Africa and Asia with a friend after University.
Job Titles:
- Marketing and Event Manager
Loren is based in our Leeds Rally HQ and is our Marketing and Event Manager. After spending 10 years in executive recruitment, Loren had a spell working for the University of Leeds in their Alumni and Development Relations Team, before joining Rally the Globe early in 2019, not long after the club was formed.
Loren works closely with the rest of the HQ and on-event support teams to deliver memorable rally experiences for our members and competitors, with a focus on the hospitality side of our events amongst her varied responsibilities.
Loren has travelled extensively around the world over the last 20 years, with notable highlights including trekking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, watching the sunrise over the Himalayas and an up-close encounter with a baboon in Lake Nakuru National Park!
Mark competed in his first rally at the tender age of 11, navigating for his father Dick in the family car. Together they restored a 1965 Mini Cooper S and prepared it for classic road rallies, going on to twice win the national HRCR road rally championship in the mid 90s. During this time Mark was working at Ford whilst studying Mechanical Engineering at University, but on graduation in 1998 he immediately started to organise classic rallies on a full-time basis. Events such as the London to Cape Town, Inca Trail, LE JOG and Classic Malts all benefited from his eye for detail and level head.
After taking some time out to travel South America in 2002, Mark started to plan routes for classic rallies on a freelance basis. He has since set the routes for events across Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and New Zealand. When not on events or route surveys, Mark has continued to navigate on British and European rallies, having gained overall wins on the Tulpen Rallye, Rally of the Tests (6 times), Classic Marathon and many more.
As Rally the Globe's Chief Operating Officer, Mark oversees the day to day running of the organisation to continue to deliver the high quality and competitive-yet-friendly events for which they have become renowned. During events, Mark takes the role of Clerk of the Course, ensuring fair play both on the road and in the bar.
Paul's rallying exploits commenced in 1966 when he navigated for his brother in a Mini Cooper ‘S', competing on road rallies in the South West. They rallied together for 10 years culminating in some half decent results in Motoring News events and a win in the South West Championship.
With the advent of the HRCR and Classic rallying Paul dug his ageing MGB out of the shed and embarked on driving with son Matthew navigating. They competed in many events in the UK, and a number of overseas events, with regular top 5 positions.
Paul has also helped organise more than 30 local club rallies in the South West, including the Palladwr Rally which developed from a road rally to a classic road rally, and the Great Bustard Rally, an endurance event.
He developed a warm relationship with Philip Young whilst competing in Philip's World Cup Category and Endurance Category rallies in his MGZR Endurance rally car. Since retiring from full-time work, Paul has been part of the organising team on many long distance events, including three Peking to Paris, two Trans America, The Road to Mandalay, The Road to Saigon and many others. Roles have included deputy clerk of the course and advance car. He has also driven a course car on 6 Wales Rally GB's.
Paul was a Partner in one of the global accounting firms but unsurprisingly finds rallying much more interesting than auditing. He still competes now and again in the MGZR,and also the trusty MGB.
Rikki first started rallying in the early 1970s.
After his early rallying career, he decided to take a break and instead focus on, in Rikki's words, "girls and horses".
Rikki returned to rallying in 1990, taking part in a couple of historic road rallies before he started Historic Stage Rallying.
He has won numerous rallies in Great Britain and has also been British Historic Champion (Category One) many times. Rikki's most memorable rally experience is winning his class on the Silver Fern in New Zealand.
Rikki has many favourite tales from his rally experiences - which he is happy to share over a gin and tonic in the bar at the end of a rally day!
Russ was an early fan of motorsport, being introduced to watching Group B rally cars on the Lombard RAC rally at the age of 3, and continuing his involvement in spectating and marshalling before going to university to study Motor Sport Engineering.
He joined the University Motor Club and began organising events and, with the help of a loan, bought his first rally car - a 205 Gti - and began competing. Russ has both navigated and driven on numerous road, stage and classic car rallies, including the Manx International in both the 205 and an MG ZR, and the Leukaemia Rally in a Reliant Robin.
After university he went on to run a stage rally and classic car preparation business, leading to working on his first endurance rally. Russ says "Working for Rally the Globe as a Sweep Mechanic allows me to follow my passions of classic cars and travel (never did I imagine I would get to see so many different car parks around the world!). We have a great team at RTG and I really enjoy the camaraderie between organisers and competitors, particularly after a long day on the road."
Sarah joins us as a member of our medical support team. She has been a US registered EMT since 2014, and is now also a Nationally Registered Paramedic, with Advanced Life Support qualifications.
Sarah was previously based in Muscat Oman, where she discovered and fell in love with rallying in 2003. Originally working as team manager and team coordinator for several drivers and teams competing in national and FIA regional Championships, as well as The WRC Production World Cup. In more recent years she has been involved in the organisation for the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, Rally Oman, Abu Dhabi F1, Detroit Indy GP, among others.
Sarah says, "Despite being American, I'm not too annoying". She loves cooking, sour beers, epic adventures, and her rusting but reliable 1989 GMC pickup.