56. Renties Ypres Rally Belgium 2021

[MentalParadox]

Speaking of safety, during the rally I had not one, but TWO unpleasant encounters with Michelle Mouton. The first was on Zonnebeke 1. A safety marshall told me it was okay for me to walk the stage for a couple hundred meters to reach a hairpin (the one just across the bridge over the highway). So, I did as he suggested and went on my way. Literally 30 seconds later Michelle pulls up in her FIA Safety Delegate car and scolds me for walking on the stage. I told her the truth: I would obey, but the safety marshall told me it was okay. She just said she'd told her marshalls not to let anyone on the stage anymore, and that if I did not obey immediately she'd cancel the stage. I left the stage, thinking this one marshall and friends clearly didn't get that memo.

The second was on Dikkebus 2. We were standing behind the tape, guarded by another safety marshall, when Michelle again pulled up and said we were standing in a dangerous spot. Even though people had been standing in that exact same spot during the first run of Dikkebus, and it was marked with tape. We all had to move and the marshall had to move the tape.

I think both of these incidents highlight a problem with communication among organisers (Belgian marshalls working for Rally Ypres vs the FIA).