https://rallyinsight.com/2021/07/05/...y-grist-entry/
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More on Wilson's return:
https://www.britishrallychampionship...-title-charge/
I noticed the ever optimistic BRC media says "Wilson will kick start his BRC campaign at this weekend’s Nicky Grist Stages", yet there's no mention of him doing any more rounds. I wonder whether he's actually planning to do anymore?Quote:
Originally Posted by Fast Eddie WRC
Dont know why he'd just do it as a one-off though. M-Sport maybe want to ensure the teams title against Melvin Evans Motorsport ?Quote:
Originally Posted by the sniper
He just did the Pirelli one year, the year the bogey times messed everything up. 2017? As he says, maybe he's just doing this one because of the family history there and quality stages.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fast Eddie WRC
M-Sport @MSportLtd
Our British Rally Championship M-Sport team, Matthew Wilson, Rhys Yates and Seb Perez completed a successful test day at Walters Arena yesterday, in preparation for this weekends Nicky Grist Stages.
https://twitter.com/MSportLtd/status...081830918?s=20
https://twitter.com/skunnercampbell/...14328260808708
Yeah, let them enjoy "their sport"...Quote:
There would seem to be some right selfish, self entitled eejits out there at the moment. The landowner says no spectators. That’s the end of the conversation.
Let the 170 crews enjoy their sport this weekend & stay away. This way we get to enjoy this great venue in the future
To be honest, I'm almost past caring. But as already said, no spectators due to increased operations - which is fine. But this doesn't affect the event. Not sure how that works.
They are the ones who pay for it . . .Quote:
Originally Posted by the sniper
and I'm including the volunteers who help run the events as well as the competitors in that statement.
Cronin's Hankook Fiesta...
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E5xbHBfW...g&name=900x900
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E5xbHBlX...pg&name=medium
Like we don't know...Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Boyd
Can you imagine any other sport where the head of a league/Championship would freely refer to its fans as "eejits" and say of competitors that it's 'their sport'. Can you even imagine the BTCC or BSB considering using such language? Now fair enough, we know our place, British rallying has seemingly fully embraced its position of irrelevance, that is until they need us nobodies to vouch for them and campaign for them to be able to do "their sport" whenever the authorities question why they're letting these blokes tear up their facilities while more socially conscious, environmentally friendly and more popular activities are excluded for their benefit.
Regardless, I have no problem with not spectating on MoD land.
Seems to me a very unfortunate coincidence that the rally is the very weekend that an increased amount of military training is happening...
Nicky Grist will watch his own rally at home:
http://www.nickygriststages.co.uk/ni...nline-at-home/
Live streamed stages will be SS1 at 8.25am and SS5 at 13.15pm.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?sto...__=%2As%2AsH-R
Football, F1 & BTCC are spectator sports - paid for by the spectators, either live or thorough TV subscriptions. Of course the management of those sports aren't going to decry the spectators - they are their customers. National rallying is a participator sport, paid for by those who take part. Spectators don't enter into it and in many cases are a cost and drain on resources. If you want you get near to the action then sign up as a marshal - they're always in short supply.Quote:
Originally Posted by the sniper
Isn't that the whole problem; people decry spectators with 'they give nothing back'. Well, how are we supposed to? It's been suggested many times about a championship 'season ticket'. So you pay approx £50-70 for the BTRDA, or £90-110 for the BRC.....Nothing ever comes of it.
That seems to be the 'get out' all the time...it's not a spectator sport. At BRC level it absolutely should be. Is it any wonder the sport's on it's ar5e in this country?
https://dirtfish.com/rally/brc/spect...-grist-stages/
I was reading this thinking OK it’s not too bad, just a temporary thing, we’re told. Then I read “...come Roger Albert Clark in November there might be spectators.”
Might. Not very reassuring...
That article actually sheds a bit more light on why the MOD and organisers are being unusually blunt in their No Spectators message for this event, in that there's a new MOD management team in place and they want to understand what it means for the ranges (and their operations) to have a rally there.
I may be being naive but I'd like to think that this isn't an indicator of what other rallies may choose to do, and I would hope that NRW and the other forest management organisations take a more relaxed approach as the Covid situation and government guidelines are eased. Will be interesting to see what restrictions are put in place for the Wyedean and the Trackrod, with the Woodpecker already having made its stance clear.
I had planned to go this weekend but I cancelled those plans as I've gone without rallying for 18 months and another one or two won't kill me. I hope people heed the message this weekend and stay off the MOD land, the last thing we need is to lose such an iconic venue just because a few people think they are more important than the future of the sport.
Okaaaay... back to the rally.
Tom Cave update on his return and in a Fiesta:
https://m.facebook.com/1357980964632...494469513/?d=n
The BRC was commercially and exposure wise on a par with at least the BTCC in the 80s or Motorcycle racing (BSB started '88). There wasn't such a chasm between it and the likes of Football, Cricket and Rugby back then. The current position of rallying in comparison to them is embarrassing. Those series didn't stay relevant by accident, they managed to stay true to their product, saw the value in their audience and commercialised that to stay viable. Rallying? Three decades of pruning its 'product', actively driving away it's ever dwindling support base with only intermittent leadership guiding the sport in any meaningful direction. We've got to the point where, the sport is so far from from relevance, that people involved now can only argue, 'duh, this is a private club activity that has nothing to do with you'...Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Boyd
I understand the organiser's public position and, as opposed to what the headline suggests, I hope that all involved in the event act on the day in line with what they're quoted as saying the issue is. No spectating on MoD land, that's entirely fair enough. I know why they've taken the public position they have and I'll comment more fully on that after the event, once we've seen how Saturday plays out.Quote:
Originally Posted by Whinlatter
SS1 Olly Mellors had massive off, big roll.
Radio car is reporting that one is going to hospital for a check up but hopefully a precaution. The car landed very heavy on the nose and rolled.
Mellors crash here at the end of the video: https://www.facebook.com/blackmounta...type=2&theater
Hopefully that wasn't him flat out (the marshall :))
Great battle at the front on the first loop. Still all to play for.
Not very impressed with the coverage on FB which keeps buffering for me. Nice drone footage though.
I always prefer You Tube for motorsport streaming coverage instead of Facebook.... I thought the drone coverage was decent.
No sign of Matt Wilson on the afternoon loop. Showing stopped on a road section on the tracker.
E - his times have come up now, strange.
E2 - Wilson give a 1min road penalty.
So Matt Edwards held on for the win by 5s over Tom Cave, with Osian Pryce at 12s.
Great close battle throughout by these three and an impressive win by Edwards in his first gravel rally in the Polo R5.
Welsh rallying successfully returns to the forests with the 2021 Nicky Grist Stages by Steve Jones.
https://www.rallyinguk.info/post/wel...y-grist-stages
Going back to this to be fair, he's entered the Grampian, so it looks promising, particularly as I seem to remember he was fond of the Trackrod and has done Rally GB a couple of times in recent years, so may be up for the Cambrian: https://www.rallies.info/webentry/20...ies.php?type=uQuote:
Originally Posted by the sniper
Looks like it'll be another strong entry! If the Nicky Grist was anything to go by, another can't miss event... Can't see any mention of accommodating spectators though, one way or the other, literally! https://www.grampianforestrally.com/spectators
I think they'll find it harder to keep people away than Quinton MC did on the Nicky Grist, not being able to threaten people with being hunted by drone and prosecuted under criminal law by the MoD for trespassing on their land, when 40% of the rally was actually on NRW land, with access only restricted for the purposes of the rally. Scotland has a far more liberal (legal and general) attitude towards land access.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sal the 2nd
Edit: I thought the SRC Argyll Rally was non spectator too, but checking their site, this was posted the day before the event:
http://argyllrally.co.uk/argyll-rall...access-update/Quote:
Argyll Rally Spectator Update 24/06/2021
The organisers of the Dunoon Presents Argyll Rally have been working tirelessly with the local authorities over the past few days, including this afternoon to work towards allowing spectators to attend the event.
We apologise for the delay in this announcement but wanted to do our best for this exciting new event.
Whilst we are not banning spectators from attending, we would like to remind all fans and followers of the current COVID-19 situation and to think carefully before travelling.
Please ensure you abide by ALL COVID-19 guidelines including PPE, sanitising and importantly social distancing.
The behaviour of all involved in this rally will have a direct effect on future events so please ensure you act responsibly for the good of our sport.
Thank you for your cooperation.
The rest of the advice given on that page is scarily sensible too, compared to what we've seen elsewhere...
The 'spectator zones'/pig pens have become a complete liability in Covid times... It'll be interesting to see how they handle it on the day. It's a case again where you can see what the public message has to be for various reasons, but there's a common sense approach that can and probably will be used on the day. It's a difficult one to handle.
Just hypothesising, but perhaps the Argyll organisers realised they had to make the Dunoon town centre stage accessible to spectators if it were to run at all, and also realised that they wouldn't be swamped because the rest of the rally is in a fairly remote area. They have a supportive relationship with the local tourist board/council too. The Scottish and Grampian are much closer to large population centres and maybe more at risk of negative reaction from local councils and nervous residents if they attracted a load of speccies?
Whatever the case, I hope things are clearer before Mull because there is no way they can try and run that with a No Spectator policy.
I'm sure a limited number of spectators were allowed at Knockhill, and of course more at Hampden for Euro 2020. There is no reason why spectators shouldn't be allowed at Scottish events, unless organisers don't want them.
I believe Knockhill were allowed 1000 spectators for the BSB, which is only 25% of what circuits in England have been allowed to have. The argument is that ticketed events can prove how they manage fans in a Covid compliant way, where an event in open countryside can't. Would be interested to know if any road cycling events have been taking place and what restrictions they've had to put in place.
So long as everyone in the area closes their eyes as the Peloton passes it's safe. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Whinlatter
The entire rally was within 20 miles of Dunoon.Quote:
Originally Posted by Whinlatter
Yes, I know that but there are no towns or even large villages on the rest of the route. The point I was trying (badly) to make is that the whole route is relatively remote and thus spectator numbers would be modest, but the town centre stage will be different insomuch as Dunoon residents will hopefully have been curious or interested enough to want to come out and watch.Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Boyd