Riot police called into Rally OZ

[Matthew Ronke]

Rueters are reporting Riot Police were called for Rally Australia.

The cars of several drivers, including five-time world champion Sebastien Loeb, were pelted with stones while riot police were called in to investigate reports that boulders had been placed on the course and fences cut down allowing cattle to stray onto the track.

Sad news that Australian motorsport is pictured around the world in this light.

"Some people don't like us in front of their house but I didn't ask to come here," Frenchman Loeb said.

I must say this is disgraceful behaviour from the protesters. Someone could have been seriously hurt.

[GTRMagic]

Arent there laws against that stuff, like the people chucking rocks off overhead bridges?

Time to bring in the firetrucks and water cannon devices me thinks.. and not to wash the WRC cars.

I understand the environmentalists' concerns, and am not ignoring them, but when you put people's lives at risk by going out of your way to cause people injury... its time to act quickly, to act skillfully.... and deal out the appropriate punishment!

[retro]

[Rachel Richards]

Sadly, this may just bring the result the greenies are looking for.
You would think that WRC would be having second thoughts about returning for future events.

Contract or not, the get out clauses would be many & varied.

Quite a sad reflection on the NIMBY society we have become...

[Woolley]

Looking at retros pictures, I think if I were a kangaroo I'd be more frightened of the protesters than the rally cars.

Or are those pictures of the local wildlife. I'm sure I saw those last three in a cage at Heallesville.

[retro]

Originally Posted by Rachel Richards

Sadly, this may just bring the result the greenies are looking for.
You would think that WRC would be having second thoughts about returning for future events.

Contract or not, the get out clauses would be many & varied.

Quite a sad reflection on the NIMBY society we have become...

RR should that be NIMBIN...

[Daimlerman]

Originally Posted by retro

RR should that be NIMBIN...

NIMBY = Not In My Back Yard.

[retro]

Originally Posted by Daimlerman

NIMBY = Not In My Back Yard.

Nimbin = Hippie Town in Northern NSW.

here...

[Buckshot]

If you were to put the water cannon on these grubs it would be the first wash they've had in years.

Remember, as far as a Greenie is concerned the life of a tree is more important than the life of a person.

[Daimlerman]

Originally Posted by retro

Nimbin = Hippie Town in Northern NSW.

here...

You learn something new every day

[marcel82]

I'd think releasing the cattle onto the track is more leathal to them than just keeping them off it. could be my weird logic though.

[zac510]

Boycott Repco? I thought we'd all been doing that for years!

[grantp]

It's sad to think that the Eco-madness that seems to have gripped Oz is only a couple of years ahead of Europe in terms of development.

Of course if they succeed in persuading the promoters to abandon Oz as a Rally location they will have 'won'. What they will have won is perhaps less clear.

I assume that Rally Australia is still based the South West? If so why not declare the entire remote coast line a national park to be free of people and move the population somewhere else? That would sort the problem for a while. I'm asure that those who live in Perth and Freemantle could easily locate west and save the federal government a lot of wasteful costs related to running the coountry at the same time.

[zac510]

grant, no it's in the East now (New South Wales). No doubt WA would happily take it back but it's probably better for the event itself to be near the main population (ignoring these eco-numpties).

[grantp]

Originally Posted by zac510

grant, no it's in the East now (New South Wales). No doubt WA would happily take it back but it's probably better for the event itself to be near the main population (ignoring these eco-numpties).

Ah! My mistake.

However it explains everything ....

But CAN you ignore the eco-numpties? They seem to be one of the more surprising results of the development of Oz in recent years.

[Reload]

So that's where Peter Russel-Clarke has got to ?? #8

[nomad_n]

What is wrong with these tree hugging hippys? Whats the difference of the rally cars racing thought the roads than a bunch of hill billys shooting everything in sight?

And to throw rocks at the cars is just bloody stupid are they more concerned about the wildlife or killing someone aghhhhhhhhh

[TWRv12]

Proper Rally Oz thread here:
http://tentenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=118040

[Trevor]

Maybe we (the motorsport fans of Australia) should go up there and throw rocks at the protesters, they might get the point then.

Protesting is fine, but safety is first.

[nickyf1]

Okay, I understand what they are protesting for.. But. I bet they dont have a donkeys about motorsport, they have this impression that the WRC is a big multi-national company that kills everything etc etc etc.. Now, this can't be ignored, but the thing that really annoys me about this is the fact that they are protesting without doing any research into motorsports, and then planning to toss frozen road kill at the cars as they go by.

Environmentalist's? Nah, these are a bunch of mentalists.

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by Big_Trev

Maybe we (the motorsport fans of Australia) should go up there and throw rocks at the protesters, they might get the point then.

Protesting is fine, but safety is first.

Those poor rocks, giving up their lives to land on a pack of loonies

The water cannon idea was the best, maybe the people in retro's pic could take a bath or something...

[Gaz170]

Originally Posted by retro

RR should that be NIMBIN...

Nimbin is the sort of place everyone should go to visit once.

Just once, to see that it's real.......then get the hell out of there.

When I visited 10 years ago, I was continually asked 2 questions. "You got any smoke (maruajana) or "you want any smoke".

The answer to both was a definate NO.

I do like the suggestion about going there and throwing rocks at the protestors, though I'm surprised someone hasn't protested about them hurting the feelings of the poor bloody rocks by throwing them.

[mountainstar]

I would guarantee if someone threw a rock at my rally car I would get out and throw it back.

Just a bunch of looney tunes most likely on public welfare. I think a forest fire or thunderstorm does more damage than any rally cars do. And nightly in Australia kangaroos get killed on roads everywhere. I nearly took out a mob of them myself on a road outside of Gunnedah last time I was there.

[rich07]

This type of nonsense wouldn't happen at Rally Finland, those idiot protestors would find themselves moved along quite quickly and not by the cops either .

I cant believe they threw rocks at some of the cars, thats so incredibly stupid and reckless. I dont care what they have a problem with but throwing stuff at any cars is not right, there is no excuse for that type of behaviour. People have died on our roads because of stupidity like that. if I was nearby I would've gone and thrown rocks at them, see how they like it.

Break out the tear gas and the water cannons I say.........

[NewsStalker]

Time for people to go back and read some of the responses to this - it shows that there isn't much difference between the protesters and those inhabiting these forums.

Let's see - go throw rocks at the protesters? Break out the tear gas and water cannon? Exactly the sort of thing that makes their protest all the more valid (even saying it 'jest')