Rallying in the UK faces a far from secure future, after a difficult 18 months or so for the sport has been further highlighted by the recent cancellation of the Colin McRae Stages Rally in Aberfeldy. Named after Scotland's infamous World Champion Colin McRae, the McRae Stages was set to be the final round of the annual ARR Craib Scottish Rally Championship, but unfortunately had to be scrapped due to an insufficient number of entrants for the forest based event. However, this merely scratches the surface of the problems British rallying faces right now. The 2014 edition of the Jim Clark Rally acted as a keystone in the future of our sport, after 3 spectators tragically lost their lives on the second day of the event. The onlookers were standing in a dangerous position, and were reportedly told to move to a safer place. David Carney - driving a Citroen DS3 with over 200 bhp - lost control over a hump-backed bridge and speared off into a field where the 3 onlookers were standing. Understandably the matter was deemed very serious, and was compounded by the fact other spectators were critically injured earlier on in the event. Added to the equation was the matter of a spectator being killed in 2013 on a forest track event, and the MSA - the governing body for rallying in Britain - along with the police had no other choice but to launch a full investigation and devise a new set of rules to try and make rallying safer. The consequences for the subsequent 2015 season have proved damaging for the future of rallying in this country. The Jim Clark Rally - run on public roads - was forced to relocate to Kielder Forest due to ongoing investigations, and spectator safety was absolutely paramount. Rally organisers had to be much more strict, designating specific zones for spectators to watch, and making sure absolutely everybody was standing in a safe place before allowing a stage to be run. The hope amongst many has been that if everybody can remain safe and behave themselves, the regulations restricting the freedom spectators have to stand where they like on a stage will be relaxed. But since the Scottish government is involved, it is unlikely an issue as serious as public safety is simply going to evaporate. Currently, the new rules are only affecting rallying in Scotland, but the MSA are set to enforce them all over the country. It goes without saying that spectator and competitor safety is an important issue, but what cost will new legislation have on rallying? Potentially a detrimental one. With new, stricter regulations in place it is likely there will be fewer rallies next year. This means the forestry commissions are going to want to charge more per event, as they aren't receiving as much income from a variety of rallies. In turn, this will push up costs for rally organisers and subsequently the entrance fee for competitors will rise. Next year rally organsiers will be under much more pressure and scrutiny, with increased work load and man hours being injected to run an event. And for what? There is no guarantee that just because there are fewer events, there will be more entrants for the ones that remain. And will the organisers even bother, with all the additional hassle and costs? And don't think that the concept of losing events is altogether new. This weekend's McRae Stages has obviously been scrapped, as was a fellow Scottish championship event - the Galloway Hills - due to a disagreement over the route and HQ of the rally. It is itself a miracle the organisers of the Jim Clark Rally managed to pull together an event in all honesty, considering the intense speculation around the fact they weren't allowed to use the Berwickshire country lanes like the event normally uses. I've been to an event this year with stricter marshaling, and despite the fact it is undoubtedly safer, some of the joy from spectating on a rally has been removed. Freedom has been severely reduced, with access to only around half of the stages and only certain viewing points allowed on each of those. Of course, it is beneficiary and is there to save the sport, but it's frustrating that common sense just won't prevail anymore. It seems that the actions of the minority (those who disrespect marshals and put themselves in danger) have ruined it for the majority. It may all be sorted out effectively of course, but there is no getting away from the fact that the sport of rallying in UK is on the verge of serious trouble. The implications of the 2014 tragedies are severe, and if anything disastrous happens again it could well spell the end of rallying forever.
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BRITISH RALLYINGArticles covering rally in Britain, looking at the MSA BRC Archives
September 2017
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