The World (Rallying) According to Juha Kankkunen

[bowler]

Recce cars have to keep the traffic rules and drive like normal cars.

bluuford, you are absolutely right that the cars should keep to the road rules, and drive like normal cars, and most do. The ones that don't give enormous problems, and put events at risk.

Rally cars also are supposed to keep to road rules, but if you check the noticeboards of the WRC events you will see that some do not

[Tomi]

recce is a difficult requirement.

Don't forget that the roads that are used for rallies have another purpose, either forest or normal road, and to close them for long periods causes difficulties for the normal users of the roads.

Already a public road will be closed twice for a rally, once for recce and once for the rally. That is a major inconvenience to the residents and road users. Asking them to do it twice is enough, but more may be too much.

The issue with gravel cars is interesting because Juha came from a time when everyone had them, and now they don't. The important thing is not to replace them, but to understand why they have gone. They represent another group of people, and therefore cost in an environment when everybody, including the manufacturers, wants to get costs down. These cars also travel early on the roads, before the roads are closed. They often are involved in incidents because they drive at rally speed in conditions that are not prepared fro fast drives. The option is to close the roads earlier which puts more cost on the organisers, takes up more marshal time, and increases the road closures for residents.

Nice to go back to the past, but not easy to use in the present.

Ogier in NZ just showed that two passes is fine, and there is no need for gravel cars, if the driver is good enough.

With a few more recce days the roads would be like they are now, only less roads for recce each day, so actually not a big issue.
What comes to gravel crews, thats only because of safety nothing else, and most drivers (atleast our) pay their gravelcrew from own pocket.

[bluuford]

bluuford, you are absolutely right that the cars should keep to the road rules, and drive like normal cars, and most do. The ones that don't give enormous problems, and put events at risk.

Rally cars also are supposed to keep to road rules, but if you check the noticeboards of the WRC events you will see that some do not

Yeah, If you look at the daily news then you can see that some normal drivers do not keep traffic rules as well :-)