Rally - Nostalgia-fest

Looking back on the R.A.C. …. There might not have been 2 million spectators out there on the Roger Albert Clark Rally last weekend but at times it felt like it. That was the usual number trotted out back in the day of three television channels and CB radios. No mobile phones, no internet and computers the size of double decker buses. And yet the numbers were huge as fans and followers looked out woolly hats, scarves, gloves and boots plus many old and faded team anoraks from days gone by. What a nostalgia-fest it turned out to be.

It might not have been an exact replica of past times but it came damn close although there was one downside. Those fans who were new to the game didn’t quite understand the basic rule which served us so well in the past. When parking, don’t block anyone else in! Narrow back roads and forestry roads are too narrow for these volumes of traffic so common sense is a necessity, and it was sadly lacking in some cases. So what’s the answer? Traffic Polis? Parking Wardens? ‘No Parking’ cones? Barrier tape?

It's something that all rally organisers will have to seriously consider in future. There are too many ‘entitled’ numpties out there who think they can just park anywhere. In all fairness it’s often because they simply don’t know any better so education would be better than enforcement, wouldn’t it?

Yes it means more manpower to publicise this info but that might be cheaper than hiring the Polis or Wardens. On-route signage might help, telling people not to park on both sides of narrow roads, or park only on one side, and these signs would have to be erected on verges on either side of the approach to stage entry or exit roads. Also put leaflets on windscreens of cars already parked to follow this advice when attending future rallies and of course more publicity in the run up to events advising people what is best practice.

It will take just one ambulance or midwife attending an emergency, and who can’t get through, to rouse public opinion against such events in future. And that would be a sad loss to the fans.

Rallying can be such cruel sport, it can also be one of the most physically and mentally rewarding sporting pursuits. It’s all about speed, skill, endurance, stamina and team work but when the end result is thwarted through mechanical failure, accident, or rally route changes or stage cancellations, the down side can be just as exhilarating - in the wrong way! No other sport can offer such extremes of emotions.

Last weekend’s R.A.C. Rally had everything from delight to despair, from high adrenalin to black moods but rally crews must be amongst the most resilient sportspeople on the planet. They have to be! Satisfaction and Results can be celebrated with a pint or a dram, whilst similarly, failure or despair can be soothed - with a pint or a dram!

And whilst crews may have their own opinions about the difficulties and challenges endured, spare a thought for the army of volunteer officials who stood out there in snow, rain, wind and cold. Their tenacity is ill rewarded even when stages are cancelled and have to be ‘taken down’ again, or delays have meant that they had to stand at their posts for hours longer than initially planned.

And what of those oft-forgotten members of all rally teams, those saviours of many an embarrassment, breakdown or unintended encounter with earthly impediments, the service crews. Those stalwarts who spring (age dependent!) into action in, around and under the car, donning ovies and oilskins, gloves and woolly hats, and wielding spanners and jemmies in a flurry of intent to do serious bodily harm. At a time when the crews are stopping for food or a rest, and the marshals and officials are packing up and heading for bed, the sound of hammers and cursing sweeps across the service area and through the night. And let’s not forget the wider circle of WAGS, family members and friends who support and feed this sporting army on the move. Some of the soups and tray bakes on offer would put an Olympic canteen to shame!

And one final point, especially in view of the longer stages. It is MS UK’s daft rule about spectators not rushing to help accident damaged or rolled cars. Because of them many crews were able to keep going and if they were in need of more professional aid/help then those spectators who are first on the scene can call them up. Their efforts should not be overlooked on any event.

Oh, and speaking of MS UK, I wonder if they’ll step in to have a word with the forestry folks about new charges due next year. Apparently rally organisers are going to have to pay a fee simply to recce possible routes for stages next year. Despite the 15 or 20 mph speed limit on forestry roads and despite the fact that the majority of these amateur volunteers will be running their own vehicles and not wanting to go any quicker than 20 mph anyway it looks as though they will have to pay a charge to enter the forests that we, the taxpayers, own.  And who will end up paying this charge?

Rallying really is an absorbing, stimulating, intoxicating and incredible sport, but it is getting awfy expensive!