GB Rally under threat

[P R Oban]

See BBC report:-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/moto...ly/3261403.stm

[neilwaynesmith]

Many WRC insiders now believe that Rally GB is run
under the harshest police regime in the entire series
– beyond that of Australia, which has traditionally
seen the most police activity.

I would like, through this site to offer my heartfelt
congratulations to the South Wales Police for putting
their own funding interests first and British sport
last and for driving another nail into the coffin of
Britain's and in particular WALES' reputation as a
holder of international sporting events.

Yours in contempt,

Neil Smith.

[Adam43]

see other thread toohttp://tentenths.com/forum/showthrea...threadid=46310

Its a comedy threat by the FIA. 'If the police think its that bad then perhaps we shouldn't go there'

[mark_l]

Maybe the MSA will realise that the rally needs to be moved from south wales, and return it to its former glory, and so it can rightly be called the Rally GB.

The less compact the route the more roads can be used to take care of the traffic.

[garcon]

Adam, I see what you're saying (and it suggests the saem in the BBC article), but I can't help wondering whether there's more than one level at work here. Firstly, the FIA have to be seen to be concerned about road safety and therefore put it about that they're looking at it closely. But secondly, that the WRC fraternity at large - teams, drivers, organisers - are heartily sick of the confrontational approach of South Wales Police. If they wanted to, they could launch a much more positive safety campaign, rather than simply being intent on catching as many people as they can - competitors and spectators alike.

Personally (and especially since it has become too tightly restricted and too damn expensive for me - and thousands of others - to bother going any more), I think it'll serve the short sighted state nannies right if £15 MILLION of inward investment annually is taken away from them.


Mark hits the nail on the head. Why can't we run it elsewhere, or even move it around the country?

I think I'll continue my rant in a new thread - it's going to go off the point of this one somewhat...

[SJ Spode]

The difficulty seems to stem from the fact that the road sections remain (a throwback to the old road rally trials). The rules state that the cars / crews must observe the rules of the road in each country (so you see the crews paying motorway tolls on some of the European events), and that includes speed, car safety/ integrity etc.

The problem is that these rules are enforced radically differently by the Police in each country. We've all seen cars in a worse state than Marcus' hobbling into service for repair on the Safari or other events; allowing the drivers to remain in the rally.

It's the same with the speeding. Tommi must have been seriously tempted to have broken the speed limit / other rules of the road to get to the stage start in time when he was stuck in traffic.

So something needs to be done to bring consistency in. Maybe the cars don't do the road sections and are transported between special stages on trailers. Or maybe the local Police get more supportive. I don't think it would be beyond the realms of possibility for Marcus to have been escorted at a reasonable speed by the Police back to service, and only stopped if the damage had started to cut gouges in the road surface.

[garcon]

As far as I know, the problem is nowhere near as severe in other countries.

I don't think transporting the cars would solve the problem - for a start it would turn the traffic problems into utter gridlock. And it goes against the spirit of rallying. If cars are no longer required to complete the road sections under their own power then we may aswell give up and call it rallycross.

All it needs is an inclusive approach by the FIA, World Rally and the Police and local authorities.

Conditions inevitably differ from one event to another. The geography of South Wales, and the sheer weight of traffic on the roads does make things more difficult than many other rallies.

Why couldn't a Police Traffic Inspector go along to a pre-rally driver/co-driver briefing? Explain some of the key rules of the road to those who are unfamiliar, explain that on road sections they will have to deal with heavy traffic, and driving through populated areas and so on. And emphasise that speed limits must be adhered to.

And then, instead of trying to make money out of the event by positioning a speed trap between the service area and the shakedown section, why not spend a little money on ensuring a heavy enough police presence, decent traffic management of tricky junctions and routes between stages, with maybe the occasional, clearly marked speed traps at dangerous points to act as a deterrent!

On the subject of the service area and shakedown section, what possessed the organisers to position them either side of a village??!! Would it not be possible to have the service area and shakedown section on the same piece of private land, removing the requirement for rally cars to travel back and forth on public roads?

In the vast majority of cases (I'm thinking of the rally fans here, from Novas to Scoobies), drivers will behave themselves if they know the police are all over the place. That police presence, and a few traps as mentioned, should be all the deterrent that's needed. Anyone still caught doing something stupid deserves what they get.

Instead, South Wales Police were interested purely in collecting as many speeding tickets as they could. They've shown themselves to be completely inept. Hardly any wonder from a force that was shown by BBC's Panorama to be out and out corrupt!!! (Ok, I know that has nothing to do with the roads, but it's worth mentioning). Such a blinkered attitude, driven by the nanny state mentality that seems utterly intent on punishment and correction instead of prevention and education, may well lead to loss of WRC status for Rally GB, and £15 Million of inward investment each year. Well, if it does I hope South Wales regresses to the Third World condition it was fifteen years ago. Because that's evidently what they deserve and what the state wants.

[RTH]

The Police need reminding they are public servants , to work in the interests of the people (in this case ) of Wales,

If the Welsh authorities and people cannot be bothered to keep them in check, then Wales as a country deserves to lose the Event for good.

[JimW]

Or maybe the local Police get more supportive. I don't think it would be beyond the realms of possibility for Marcus to have been escorted at a reasonable speed by the Police back to service, and only stopped if the damage had started to cut gouges in the road surface.

I well remember a leading driver arriving at at a stage I was involved in running (far from the present location) and commenting that he had never had to drive so fast as when the local police were escorting him from the previous stage because he had no lights working.

The local traffic Inspector while enjoying a coffee later said that he was very happy to have organised the safe removal of a car from the road, knowing that it would get repaired. Not that they ignored important safety problems because I remember someone getting a ticket for a silly speed in a stupid place (and serve them right).

Regards

Jim

[Phoenix1]

Silly FIA

I've said this else where but for cars to go on road sections do it at say 10 at a time so they all have escorts. Rules like, no touching the car while waiting for an escort and once in the area the time is 'dead'.

[garcon]

Yep, would certainly help - also stops competitors having to mingle with spectators in traffic jams. And it'd stop well meaning speccies causing even more chaos by trying to let the competitors through.