Originally Posted by RichardPON
Nope, sorry, I disagree.
Most competent fast road drivers with basic knowledge can get on a race circuit, and drive fairly quickly.
Now it came to me that there may be huuuuuge difference because of different traffic in different countries. We still drive vry fast on open road from time to time here. Anyway maybe you're right in a way - there is a lot you can transfer FROM rallying onto the road and not so much from the circut, but from the road.. well if somebody does not practise rally techniques on the road he won't learn tehen just by driving. And basic circut techniques are less technial and more about the line and braking pouint as I said soe skills from the road are kind of enought (altought I can't see anybody learning to shift like racing driver with hill&toe by just driving cars on the road).
To be fast on gravel requires a lot more basic skill, and a much higher level of car control.
I never wrote anything about gravel rallying - that needs some trening. (although some drivers to it naturally)
Reading the road with pacenotes is very very different from reading the road on a small tree lined B road.
Not that different. Some best rallydrivers in world come from Finish "blind rallying" where they got no pace notes. Look how little pacenotes has Marcus Gronholm or Toni Gardemaister and how many french or spanich drivers like Loeb or Sainz. English language pacenotes are somewhere in the middle. In FInalnd they have rallies whre you don't have any recce and you get your road book for next leg on the end of last so you don't kow where you're going and the best come from there. Ari Vatannen started like thata and he IS driving GOD. He still Is after 25 years.