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Video: Treacherous water crossing causes rally chaos

17th January 2023
Simon Ostler

Well, this feels awfully topical right now as what feels like all of the roads in the surrounding area of Goodwood lie under several inches of water following an extended period of relentless rainfall. Every time we venture out of our office, we find ourselves re-enacting the kind of scenes you’ll find in today’s video.

There’s always something overtly spectacular about a good old watersplash, especially when it’s taken at outrageous speeds by enormous off-road rally raid buggies sending water 100 feet into the air.

It may look like fun, but for these drivers, this small section of the stage is a perilous challenge. It doesn’t take long for the first casualty to wash up on the bank with a drowned engine. As a result, there are several different approaches to tackling the crossing. Some go full steam ahead and rely on brute force to muscle the water out of the way, while others take it slow and view the bigger picture. Then there are some, such as the driver seen in this video at 2:05, who uses an altogether different tactic, we’ll let you discover whether it worked or not.

The longer we spend watching this, the more we begin to wonder why other motorsport disciplines don’t make more use of the water splash. Just think of the photo opportunities.

Welcome to Goodwood Elevenses, a mid-morning helping of motoring-related amusement to help break up your day. Watch the previous video: This Hummer rally run is a time warp to Group B

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