If I may, I would like to add a couple of
points to my previous FB post. Without getting anyone else into trouble, the
photographer who took the photo in question was accredited by the MSA and was
indeed on site at the rally with the full permission of the organisers and the
MoD. Given the nature of the facility, there are restrictions, but these were
all complied with.
Perhaps I should also add that I consider the photographer in question
to be a pal, and perhaps I should also admit that I am just as guilty as he is
of instigating this story. We both thought of this as a joke, as did fellow
competitors and officials and indeed the many spectators who later heard of the
antics of the 'perpetrator'. As you are all too well aware such stories are the
very fodder of those who follow rallying and spread like wildfire, no doubt
gaining embellishment at every re-telling.
Anyway, I wrote up the story in my on-line magazine after the rally, so
I'm just as guilty of spreading the story as the photographer. And for that I
apologise.
We need more colourful characters like this in sport, any sport. Even
people who don't know who Jock is, are up in arms at the severity of this
penalty.
He is most undoubtedly a character, and the sport is all the better for
it. There is no 'sponsor-speak' at the end of rallies just genuine expressions
of thanks to those who put the events on and those who help. However, reporters
should always be aware that there is a constant sense of mischief lurking
inside that helmet, and approach him at their peril.
When the competition is underway he is as serious, competitive and
indeed ruthless, as any other driver, and he has two Scottish Championship
titles to prove it, but once out of the car, innocence and shyness are complete
strangers to this man.
He is the 'star-jumping king' of Scottish rallying. When he wins a rally
he star-jumps off the bonnet of his car to show his genuine delight - Oh b*gg*r,
I shouldn't have said that, no doubt H&S will be on the case next.
I have known Jock ever since he started rallying. In fact, I daren't
tell you of an incident that very day that highlighted his capacity for
mischief. That will have to wait till he stops rallying as I'm not sure if retrospective
punishments can be applied.
It's because of this I wonder if the members of the National Court were
fully aware of the character they were dealing with earlier this week. Knowing
Jock, he would be serious and contrite on the day and the 'bare' facts would be
all that was considered during the process.
But one has to look further at the system. The National Court is
independent of the MSA, so they cannot be entirely blamed, therefore one has to
look at Motor Sport Council who are the ultimate authority in motor sporting
matters in the UK. Currently the Council is comprised of 28 members
representing all disciplines and the four home nations and it begs the
question, were each of them fully aware of this case and the details coming up
before the Court?
I have had a look down the list of names on this Council and there are
a few folk on that list who could be embarrassed by their own antics in the
past which I have personally witnessed on events long ago. On that basis I
can't believe that they were fully aware of what was being dealt with last
Tuesday and the actual circumstances on the day of the rally.
If there is a fault in the system, then it was a failing to put the
matter into context. As I said, both the photographer and myself thought this
just another harmless prank and so did everyone else on the day. Had this silly
prank been handled rather more sensitively and privately, there would have been
no public outcry. Beware the power of social media. And that's a lesson for all
of us.
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