CHRIS BOYDE
“Isle of Man has a shortage of volunteers”
The Isle of Man has some of the best roads in the world for rallying as full entry lists show.
Unfortunately, it also has a shortage of manpower to run events, highlighted since the MSA’S stage rally requirements become more stringent two years ago.
It was therefore fantastic last weekend to be covering a Manx rally where all the stages ran, particularly given that the island’s weather God, Manannán, threw down the toughest challenge to crews and organisers alike on Friday night.
How bad was it? Well, both Jason Pritchard and Daniel Harper described the famous Druidale stage as the worst conditions they had ever seen, and only three of the top 10 starters made the finish, at which over 15 minutes separated first to 10th on the event overall.
By Saturday morning however it was like we’d been transported to a different world and the rally concluded in warm, unbroken sunshine. That is the unique challenge the island poses. Every single driver you spoke to, led by winner Pritchard, was fulsome in their praise for the officials standing their posts the night before.
So, well done to organiser Manx Auto Sport on a successful event, and the competitors for persisting too.
No-one is complacent however. A sizable portion of the officials came from off-island and a club spokesman still described cover as coming together very late in the day.
The stress of ever-rising workloads being placed on organisers is clear to see, and that is a problem that is unfortunately far from unique to the island.
September’s Rally Isle of Man is the next main IOM event and has a different organising group, but they are making their own strides to try to attract both local and off-island marshals. If any groups would like to become part of the team, they’d be delighted to hear from you.
This weekend also offered a good look at the relaunched Protyre MSA Asphalt Championship. It is a clear success story, series co-ordinator Jane Evans revealing that registrations are now past 120, well above expectations, with almost all the leading crews on the Manx either already on the list or signing up before the start. The prize structure is clearly a great draw, as is the refreshed calendar.
Speaking of which, having rounds of both the Asphalt Championship and the BTRDA Rally Series on the same day highlighted once again the issues that persist with dates.
Several crews would have liked to have been at both the Manx and Plains, not least Hugh Hunter, who has the BTRDA title chase as his main objective and missed a much-needed points opportunity, only to see his Manx run all over within two miles.
The next rounds of each series also clash, with Rally van Wervik and the Carlisle Stages both on June 9. There will be no solution to that problem this year.