My Childhood, Life, and WRC.

This wasn't taken on an actual track- it's just a snow covered street in Toronto with tire track

As a young boy, there was nothing more fascinating to me than cars. Many of my relatives did not have to think too hard for my gift idea, since I was an auto enthusiast who was madly in love with diecast and toy cars. One of the best childhood memories was visiting an auto-show with my dad and spending the whole day walking around looking at shiny new cars. I still remember the time I used to go to my uncle's room and play hit titles of the original Play Station, like Need for Speed- Hot Pursuit (1998) and High Stakes (1999), Driver (1999), and Gran Turismo (1998).

But there was one title that I couldn't handle because of the difficulty, and that was called 'Collin McRae Rally'. Unlike the others, that particular game required precise controlling of speed and corner skid, and a detailed adjustment of the car setting for each run. The part that I didn't like the most, was that the game was time-challenge based, rather than competition amongst drivers.

Since the beginning of this year, I've started playing 'Colin McRae Rally 2005' and browsing around the World Rally Championship website, from time to time. Originally, it was an attempt to bring out a nostalgic challenge, but in the past months, I've been really into this whole new culture of the WRC and the joy of driving. 

If you think about it, 'Rallying' is such an unique and interesting concept. Unlike any other motorsport like  Nascar or Formula 1, WRC is always being held in wild terrain, from ice to tarmac, and unexpected weather- which demands patience and improvising skills of the drivers. Speaking of drivers, 'rallying' is the only sport that requires a 'co-driver' who reads the map and informs ahead. Even within the video game, it's impossible to drive properly without carefully hearing the given instruction of a co-driver like "50m,  Jump caution, into immediate right hand bend severity 2 tightens". The Driver, or the gamer like myself, then visualizes the terrain on the head and decides the amount of brake to put, the direction of wheel, and desired gear level.

If I may apply my phony philosophy into the subject, I would say the world of rally represents many aspects of life: You aren't always going to be on a smooth tarmac with crowd cheering beside you, sometimes you'll get on a rough gravel that can flat your tires or mud that will make you loose control. If you have your map thought out, that's great, because you'll know when to hit the gas pedal or brake pedal. However, it's still okay. As long as you are focused and listening to the co-driver, you can improvise and choose the right passage; often co-drivers could be your partner, friends, family, or mentors. The chemistry is a key to success. Sometimes you might be overconfident and refuse to slow down around a corner. You can get lucky and go through it several times, but you'll eventually crash into a tree or roll down a valley. However the WRC consists of many rallies- you might be forced retire on that round, but there will be another set coming up. At the end, life is not about competing others on the same motor way at the same time, but it's about an individual's challenge of reaching the desired goal within the amount of time desired.