RALLYDAY TO GROW
Organisers want to go bigger and better after best event yet
Rallyday organisers have challenged themselves to improve on what was reckoned to be one of the best events in its 17-year history on Saturday.
World Rally Championship stars Jari-matti Latvala, Elfyn Evans, Ott Tanak, Malcolm Wilson and Stig Blomqvist were a huge hit with a paying crowd of around 15,000, while M-sport’s 2017-specification Ford Fiesta WRC stole the show on the track.
Toyota driver Latvala was impressed with how he felt the event had grown since his last visit seven years earlier.
“In the morning, I did nothing except signing autographs,” he said, “all the time, it was signing and the selfie pictures. I was trying to go and have a look at some cars, but it was chaos with people asking [for the autographs]. This is fantastic! It really shows how much the people care and so many people, the event is great – for rallying, it’s great.”
Those sentiments were echoed by Wilson, who had brought some of M-sport’s most famous machinery to Castle Combe for the day.
“There were a lot of people there, more than I remembered,” he said, “and it was great to see so many enthusiasts and so many faces from down the years. I was impressed. The cars went well, but at the same time the MS-RT vans generated a lot of interest as well – we were very pleased.”
Rallyday organiser Tom Davis admitted there was more he wanted to do with the event.
“Pound for pound this year was probably the year with the most stars,” he said. “It was amazing to see the likes of Jari-matti, Ott and Elfyn – drivers from right at the very front of this year’s World Rally Championship – walking around and then getting in their cars and performing brilliantly for the crowds.
“But at the same time, I know we still have work to do. We know there were some drivers who went home having expected more track time; trying to choreograph 80 cars for the feature stage was tricky, and I’m really sorry for those guys. We’ll be working to make sure this doesn’t happen again. The message is a simple one: we run this show, but this Rallyday belongs to the rallying fraternity and we want those guys out there to tell us what they want for the future. I have to say a massive thank you to all the volunteers, all the clubs and everybody who came out to support us and I look forward to working to take another step forward next year.”
It was embarrassing to see some of the reaction to the Manx news last week.
Criticising drivers and calling them names for not wanting to go into a stage is infantile and shows a lack of understanding of the situation.
Hypothetically, if a crew had gone into the stage and found a farmer’s truck at the first corner, because no safety car had run through it within 50 minutes of the actual stage start, then imagine the safety implications.
People seem happy to criticise whichever is the highest profile championship on any given event, when in actual fact, at a time when rallying is struggling, they should be getting behind them to help instead of mocking people for raising safety and other genuine concerns.
It’s worth adding that the crews weren’t angry about contesting that stage with cold cars, but the fact that similar delays had happened all day. It was the frequency at which they were being asked to do it.
Do you know how much a ’diff costs for a Skoda Fabia R5? £14,500. A gearbox? £22,500. Ahlin had to have both after his went on Friday. Is that fair? Constantly asking crews to operate in the cold damages machinery.
Moving on from the shambolic reaction – mostly from people who weren’t there to get an inside view into what was happening – the problem of marshalling yet again reared its head.
In road rallying, crews are asked to bring a marshal. That’s something rallying really needs to look at for events like the Manx. There’s 150 entries. If all the Eu-based crews brought a marshal you’re well north of an extra 100 to float the event. Yes, the crews would have to chip in for the accommodation, etc, of that person, but I’m sure they’d pay it if you explained to them that it could help improve events like the Isle of Man.
Things like this may have seemed radical a few years ago. But we’re reaching crisis point for marshals on rallies, especially ones held in difficult to get to places.
On a happier note, the Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship launched last week with increased furore. A Ford RS200 helped mark the occasion with passenger laps around the Oulton Park Circuit where the first round will be held. When attending these circuit events, it’s like peering into the future. Unless rallying comes together and looks to solve issues like marshalling and poor entries, it will be confined to circuits.
No one wants to hear the death knell for stage rallying.
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