Rally drivers banned in Wales
Discussion
See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/3257523.stm 4 of the top drivers banned and numerous others given points and fines.
Most drivers were caught by a camera setup on the "shakedown" section that the drivers use to test the setup of the car. Two miles of the 6 mile section is on public roads.
Apparently those banned will be "allowed to take part in Rallies but not on public roads". As they need to drive on public roads to get from one stage to another this sounds rather odd to me - I guess the navigator will have to take the wheel at those points.
Well done Welsh plod. How long before the Rally stops coming to Wales if the drivers get banned every year? Especially as, with enough bans a prison sentence is likely.
Most drivers were caught by a camera setup on the "shakedown" section that the drivers use to test the setup of the car. Two miles of the 6 mile section is on public roads.
Apparently those banned will be "allowed to take part in Rallies but not on public roads". As they need to drive on public roads to get from one stage to another this sounds rather odd to me - I guess the navigator will have to take the wheel at those points.
Well done Welsh plod. How long before the Rally stops coming to Wales if the drivers get banned every year? Especially as, with enough bans a prison sentence is likely.
Lets just hope the rally does not go back next year and we can then listen to the welsh moaning about lost revenue from the rally
Although saying that I dont think it would be quiet the same running it around the back streets of hounslow
>> Edited by dontlift on Monday 10th November 14:09
Although saying that I dont think it would be quiet the same running it around the back streets of hounslow
>> Edited by dontlift on Monday 10th November 14:09
the bbc said:
Britain's Colin McRae and Richard Burns were also among a total of 17 drivers caught by roadside cameras.
Seems unlikely, seeing as how Richard Burns wasn't taking part, and was most probably in hospital having tests. Do jouralists just make it up ?
Bit I liked best was the plod who stopped Marcus Gronholm trying to drive has badly damaged car on the public highway. His front wheel wouldn't even turn, but he was sure he could drive on the roads for 17 miles no problem.
wales what a load of tossgshughes said:
Britain's Colin McRae and Richard Burns were also among a total of 17 drivers caught by roadside cameras.
Seems unlikely, seeing as how Richard Burns wasn't taking part, and was most probably in hospital having tests. Do jouralists just make it up ?
Bit I liked best was the plod who stopped Marcus Gronholm trying to drive has badly damaged car on the public highway. His front wheel wouldn't even turn, but he was sure he could drive on the roads for 17 miles no problem.
I think actually they got caught last year and the cases were posponed untill after the rally so they could compete
Graham said:
the bbc said:
Britain's Colin McRae and Richard Burns were also among a total of 17 drivers caught by roadside cameras.
Seems unlikely, seeing as how Richard Burns wasn't taking part, and was most probably in hospital having tests. Do jouralists just make it up ?
Bit I liked best was the plod who stopped Marcus Gronholm trying to drive has badly damaged car on the public highway. His front wheel wouldn't even turn, but he was sure he could drive on the roads for 17 miles no problem.
I think actually they got caught last year and the cases were posponed untill after the rally so they could compete
From the BBC website :- Magistrates chairman Cliff Jones said: "The area were these offences happened is particularly dangerous for people to exceed the speed limit under any circumstances."
These guys are used to driving through forests at over 130mph with blind bends, no grip and next to no visibility I think they are more than adequate to judge whether a road is dangerous or not.
Burns got 3 points for 83mph on the motorway... WTF are these Scamera clowns doing.
These guys are used to driving through forests at over 130mph with blind bends, no grip and next to no visibility I think they are more than adequate to judge whether a road is dangerous or not.
Burns got 3 points for 83mph on the motorway... WTF are these Scamera clowns doing.
Graham said:
the bbc said:
Britain's Colin McRae and Richard Burns were also among a total of 17 drivers caught by roadside cameras.
Seems unlikely, seeing as how Richard Burns wasn't taking part, and was most probably in hospital having tests. Do jouralists just make it up ?
Bit I liked best was the plod who stopped Marcus Gronholm trying to drive has badly damaged car on the public highway. His front wheel wouldn't even turn, but he was sure he could drive on the roads for 17 miles no problem.
I think actually they got caught last year and the cases were posponed untill after the rally so they could compete
Makes sense, thought they'd come to court a bit quick. Really sneaky, it looks like they have deliberately gone out to catch them using the shakedown section, bet they were well hidden as well, top rally drivers have rather good eyesight and observational skills I would think.
steff said:
These guys are used to driving through forests at over 130mph with blind bends, no grip and next to no visibility...
but they don't have anything coming the other way... remember in sweeden this year when was it Harri Rovembera caused a major smash by booling round a blind corner and straight into a stranded car?
Read in Retro Magazine that there is to be a Roger Clark rally run on teh old stages of the Lombard RAC next year. Think it will use more historic machinery, (pre-WRC i mean).
However given that the Welsh rally is in danger of becoming rather commercialised (specially if the F1 gimps get their hands on it) i reckon this could be the saviour!!
Anyone with more info??
However given that the Welsh rally is in danger of becoming rather commercialised (specially if the F1 gimps get their hands on it) i reckon this could be the saviour!!
Anyone with more info??
v8thunder said:
Would this happen anywhere else? Or is it just Britain where they think - 'Call off the anti-drugs squad and the burglary response units - we've got a rally on our hands!'
LMAO!
I can just see them now, all lined up in the early hours at the station, stood to attention.... speed gun in holster. Getting a pre mission debrief for catching these "criminals".....
OR maybe instead of a "batsignal" they have a "camera" sign they point up to the sky to call all of them back, ready to redeploy on the testing stage of the rally.....
Unreal...
Buffalo said:
Also rather disingenious to site the speed trap, on the "shakedown section" knowing full well that rally cars use this to test the cars.
Why didnt the rally organisers, given tehm the stretch off of public roads. I reckon Rally GB organisers should be paying the fines etc!!
Wnakers!
Most of the shakedown stage was on private land, but the drivers couldn't keep it in their pants for the 2 miles of public roads. Motorsport needs all the help and PR it can get right now, not this kind if behaviour.
sneak preview of pace notes for forest stage at next years rally.
"3,2,1, go, long straight, caution speed limit 30 miles per hour into slow right at traffic calming roundabout, remeber to indicate, seventy right into long straight, caution speed bumps, 30 right into 20 left past speed camera, long right into contraflow, caution, small straight past mobile camera unit into long left keep to right hand side of the road due to solid white line, long straight into layby for random drink/exhaust emmissions test, long right into tight hairpin right, caution do not spin or stall, clampers and parking attendents operating, small straight into finish.
"3,2,1, go, long straight, caution speed limit 30 miles per hour into slow right at traffic calming roundabout, remeber to indicate, seventy right into long straight, caution speed bumps, 30 right into 20 left past speed camera, long right into contraflow, caution, small straight past mobile camera unit into long left keep to right hand side of the road due to solid white line, long straight into layby for random drink/exhaust emmissions test, long right into tight hairpin right, caution do not spin or stall, clampers and parking attendents operating, small straight into finish.
pablo said:
sneak preview of pace notes for forest stage at next years rally.
"3,2,1, go, long straight, caution speed limit 30 miles per hour into slow right at traffic calming roundabout, remeber to indicate, seventy right into long straight, caution speed bumps, 30 right into 20 left past speed camera, long right into contraflow, caution, small straight past mobile camera unit into long left keep to right hand side of the road due to solid white line, long straight into layby for random drink/exhaust emmissions test, long right into tight hairpin right, caution do not spin or stall, clampers and parking attendents operating, small straight into finish.
Sounds like me driving home from the shops
agent006 said:
Also rather disingenious to site the speed trap, on the "shakedown section" knowing full well that rally cars use this to test the cars.
Why didnt the rally organisers, given tehm the stretch off of public roads. I reckon Rally GB organisers should be paying the fines etc!!
Wnakers!
Most of the shakedown stage was on private land, but the drivers couldn't keep it in their pants for the 2 miles of public roads. Motorsport needs all the help and PR it can get right now, not this kind if behaviour.
Wasn't quite my point - the shakedown is offered for teams to test their cars' settings etc. This should be done off of public roads, as it isn't hard to imagine what simulated runs a rally driver might give his car to check settings.
The organisers (being the RALLY organisers) know exactly what sort of things go on, and they should have either provided the extra two miles on private land or not at all IMO. Damned cheeky (but of course legal
) for the plod to cite this area for tickets, but they shouldn't have had to. In this day of flying liability about regardless, i think the organisers should acknowledge that they have a part to play in this sort of thing and next year, the drivers should not have to test on roads. Last years tickets could have been avoided if the organisers had used their noggin and the plod had not!
"Welcome to Wales"
On top of the 15 scamera vans they already have, another 20 were drafted in to help out ...
That new RAC (Roger Albert Clark - cunning acronym) Rally that they are trying to get off the ground is at www.rogeralbertclarkrally.co.uk
As for leaving the conviniently leaving the court cases a year until after this year's event ...
On top of the 15 scamera vans they already have, another 20 were drafted in to help out ...
That new RAC (Roger Albert Clark - cunning acronym) Rally that they are trying to get off the ground is at www.rogeralbertclarkrally.co.uk
As for leaving the conviniently leaving the court cases a year until after this year's event ...
Well I can see two sides to this. These are, arguably, a collection of the worlds finest professional drivers...and the couldn't keep to the speed limit. How professional is that - given that they MUST have known what it was going to be like....and perhaps they didn't?
However - the other side of this is that the Speed Enforcement teams absolutely but positively targetted both the fans (some of whom were reported as driving like tools, some of whom were perfectly fine) and the professionals. Fair. But harsh...
Whilst I applaud any effort to ensure that the nutter fans don't harm the sensible fans and locals it isn't very welcoming to be handing out so many 3 pointers. I reckon a good few fans will choose not to attend in future.
And as to the professional drivers? You'd have thought that after catching the first one the Chief would have insisted on giving ALL the drivers a little "pep talk" explaining how it was in their best interests to save the fast driving for the stages...instead fines/bans/bad publicity...
I, too, would not be surprised if the rally was held elsewhere next year...
However - the other side of this is that the Speed Enforcement teams absolutely but positively targetted both the fans (some of whom were reported as driving like tools, some of whom were perfectly fine) and the professionals. Fair. But harsh...
Whilst I applaud any effort to ensure that the nutter fans don't harm the sensible fans and locals it isn't very welcoming to be handing out so many 3 pointers. I reckon a good few fans will choose not to attend in future.
And as to the professional drivers? You'd have thought that after catching the first one the Chief would have insisted on giving ALL the drivers a little "pep talk" explaining how it was in their best interests to save the fast driving for the stages...instead fines/bans/bad publicity...
I, too, would not be surprised if the rally was held elsewhere next year...
Gassing Station | General Gassing [Archive] | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff