Rally, Like Little Boys in a Man-sized Sport

On Making Rally

By Tony Williams 16/03/2015

This year [1973] the rally would cover both islands of New Zealand. It became a logistical nightmare. I spent weeks driving all over NZ with the rally director as he surveyed the course. I shot hundreds of stills, and cross referenced them to locations on topographical maps.

Five main camera units were set up. Each unit consisted of two off-road vehicles, a trailer and two cameramen. They were completely self-contained and were given detailed maps and instructions and sent out ahead of the rally.

I followed on a helicopter and we leap-frogged around the whole country. Additional student cameramen were instructed to basically spray every interesting corner in NZ with celluloid. I had the privilege to ride with the top five drivers in the world and it scared the pants off me.